Norland Nanny Training Goes from Mary Poppins to James Bond Now Dealint with New Threats to Children

Norland Nanny training is going high-tech to meet the demands of modern day challenges when looking after babies.

For 125 years, students at Norland College have been taught traditional nannying skills as well as housekeeping, deportment and cooking.

Now, spotting online predators, anti-terror training and how to deal with kidnap threats are included on the curriculum.

Nannies trained at the famous institution go on to work with high profile families and even royalty.

“The range of threats exposed to high net worth and high profile individuals and their families is extensive,” says  former head of UK Counter Terrorism Brigadier Paul Gibson, about the social media sessions he delivered.

“The role of the nanny in looking after their children puts them in a unique position to both be targeted and to act as a credible obstacle to actions such as kidnap.

“By understanding how a pattern of life is established through social media and direct observation, mitigating actions can be put in place to best protect the nannies and their charges.”

Self-defence classes, evasive driving skills and how to spot and escape from terrorists now sit alongside perhaps the more draining and difficult skills of the day to day looking after of little children.

Principal of Norland College, Dr Janet Rose believes original founder Emily Ward would be proud of the way the needs of children and their families were constantly being taken into consideration when planning course content.

She said: “The majority of our students go on to become nannies for a wide range of families, each with different circumstances, but the common factor is that our children are our most precious possessions.

“We teach our students that the safety and well-being of the children is their priority.

“All of our training is about equipping our students with the knowledge and skills they need to care for children in a modern age.”