English-speaking nannies in Leiden
Leiden is a university city with a research economy attached to it. The university, the medical centre and the Bio Science Park bring in academics, clinicians and researchers, many of them on fixed-term contracts and many with small children.
Academic contracts start when they start, which is seldom when a daycare place frees up. Families arriving mid-year in Leiden regularly need something to bridge several months, and the early finish to the Dutch school day means the bridge is still needed once a school place appears.
Leiden also sits between The Hague and Amsterdam, so nannies here often cover more than one town. Ask about that directly.
Three steps to a nanny in Leiden
No agency in between, and no contract that ties you in.
Browse reviewed profiles
Create a free account and filter by city, language and availability. Browsing costs nothing and always will.
Request an introduction
Tell the nanny about your family and the care you need. They read your request and accept it if it is a good match.
Meet and agree directly
Once a nanny accepts, you both receive each other’s contact details. You meet in person and agree hours and rates together.
What we check — and what we don't
Every profile is reviewed by our team before it appears in the directory. Here is exactly what that means.
- Identity confirmed — before publishing, each nanny either sends ID photos or has a short video call with us, whichever they prefer. Document copies are deleted after the check; only the outcome is kept.
- Profile review — we read every profile before it goes live: the experience described, the way it is written, and whether it gives you enough to decide who to contact.
- Certificates — a VOG (Dutch certificate of conduct) or paediatric first-aid certificate appears on a profile when the nanny holds one. Neither is required to join, and plenty of experienced nannies do not have them. Ask to see the original document when you meet.
- References — nannies describe their own past families. We do not contact referees, so ask for their details and call them yourself.
The Verified by Expat Nannies badge means our team completed these checks for that profile before publishing it. If a nanny changes key profile details, the badge comes off until we have reviewed the profile again.
We confirm identity and review each profile; we do not employ nannies and cannot guarantee fit. Always meet in person, check references yourself, and do a trial day before you commit.
What you pay, and what nannies pay
Nannies never pay to join, be found or receive an introduction, and we never take a cut of what a family pays them. Creating an account is free, and browsing the directory is free — it needs an account because every profile here is a real person.
Families pay only to send introduction requests: a single introduction is €14.95, a Search Pass covering thirty days is €29, and the urgent search for care needed today or tomorrow is €35. Nothing renews by itself. Nannies set their own hourly rate, which you see on the profile and agree with them directly.
Good to know about Leiden
- International schooling for Leiden families is mostly in The Hague, Wassenaar or Leiderdorp, so the school run often crosses towns.
- The Bio Science Park has its own daily rhythm, and childcare requests here tend to follow it.
- Fixed-term academic contracts are the norm, so defined, time-limited arrangements are entirely normal to propose.
Childcare in Leiden
Every daycare in Leiden has a waiting list. Can a nanny bridge the gap?
This is the most common reason families start looking. Waiting lists for daycare are a normal fact of life in Dutch cities, and a place almost never becomes free on the date you need it. A research contract starting in February or May rarely coincides with a free daycare place in Leiden. A nanny can cover the months in between, or become the long-term arrangement if it suits you better. You agree the scope directly with them.
Can I find part-time or after-school care in Leiden?
Yes. Nannies set their own availability, and plenty offer a few days a week or afternoons only rather than full weeks. Term-length and contract-length arrangements, and part-time weeks built around lab or clinic hours, are what families in Leiden usually ask for. Dutch primary schools finish earlier in the afternoon than many international families expect, which is why after-school hours are such a common arrangement.
Which languages do nannies in Leiden speak?
English carries the international community in Leiden, and families often want a nanny who keeps the home language going too — German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and many others are all common here. You can filter profiles by language once you have a free account, so you can see who actually speaks what before you send anything.
How quickly can we be introduced to a nanny in Leiden?
That depends on the nanny. You send a short introduction request describing your family and the care you need; the nanny reads it and accepts it if it is a good match. As soon as they accept, you both receive each other’s contact details and you arrange to meet. Nobody is obliged to reply, and if a nanny never does, you cancel the request and your introduction credit comes back.
Nearby
Dutch cities sit close together and many nannies cover more than one, so it is worth looking at the places next door as well.
Start your search in Leiden
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