Professional Nanny Training and Coaching for Private Households

You already do the work. The Formator Institute™ gives it the frameworks, the language and the credential to match.

Built Because the Framework Didn't Exist

Built for American Private Household Childcare

Private household childcare is not daycare, and it's not a classroom. It's a relationship-intensive job with high expectations, where documentation matters and professional standards are rarely defined until something goes wrong.

The Formator Institute builds the frameworks, language, and credentials that serious childcare professionals use to do their best work and build careers on their own terms.

Our Programs

Two paths, and both start from the experience you already have.

Certified Formator™

The professional credential for private household childcare. It runs five Parts, nine chapters and about 20 hours, self-paced, and ends with The Antigua Rotation simulation and the Examination & Certification. Start with the free Introduction.

Full Program $350
or any Part $60

Formator Group Coaching

Coaching with other professional nannies, in 12-week cohorts built around two topics, led by certified coaches who have worked inside private households. Cohort 1 covers Communicating with Parents and Burnout and Self-Regulation.

$250 a cohort

Enrollment opens January 4, 2027. Cohort 1 starts Monday, January 11, 2027.

Certified Formator™

Full Program $350
or any Part $60

Formator Group Coaching

$250 a cohort

Enrollment opens January 4, 2027. Cohort 1 starts Monday, January 11, 2027.

What's Included in the Certification

Formator Method™: IMPACT, LISTEN, SBAR and TRACK

Worksheets and templates for the home you work in

The Antigua Rotation, an interactive simulation

A digital badge and certificate on passing

Who are these programs for?

You've done the work. This builds on it.

You have experience in private household childcare and you're ready for more. Formator Method™ isn't remedial nanny training. It's the professional structure experienced caregivers use to communicate clearly, document well and work with authority in households with several properties, an estate team and a principal family's expectations. This is where experienced professionals become Formators.

Formator Group Coaching

What's Included

Cohort 1 covers Communicating with Parents and Burnout and Self-Regulation.

Confidentiality and the Group

Every participant completes the Confidentiality and Discretion course before the first session: under 30 minutes, ending in a quiz you must pass. Once you pass, you’re sent your unique session links and access to the cohort’s mini-course content.

The Formator Institute never reports your participation, or what you say, to an employer or agency, whoever paid for your seat.

Sessions are recorded only by The Formator Institute, for the cohort library. No one else may record, screenshot or photograph a session.

A session is a small group of working nannies, a coach, and the real situations you’re in. You bring one, and the group works it through with you.

Who Coaching Is For

Group Coaching

For career nannies, newborn care specialists and household childcare professionals in private homes, certified or not, from a first job to twenty years in. $250 a cohort. Enrollment opens January 4, 2027, and Cohort 1 starts Monday, January 11, 2027. The waitlist is open now.

Families and agencies can pay for a seat. Ask your family, or ask us how to make the conversation easier.

1:1 Coaching

For the nanny who wants one-hour virtual sessions on her own situation: with Dr. Ginny Schwager at $200 an hour, or with Angie Canny or Megan Summers at $150 an hour. Ask about bulk pricing. Group Coaching cohort members pay the member rate of $100 an hour with Angie or Megan.

What's Included

Cohort 1 covers Communicating with Parents and Burnout and Self-Regulation.

Confidentiality and the Group

The Formator Institute never reports your participation, or what you say, to an employer or agency, whoever paid for your seat.

Sessions are recorded only by The Formator Institute, for the cohort library. No one else may record, screenshot or photograph a session.

A session is a small group of working nannies, a coach, and the real situations you’re in. You bring one, and the group works it through with you.

Who Coaching Is For

Group Coaching

Families and agencies can pay for a seat. Ask your family, or ask us how to make the conversation easier.

1:1 Coaching

Real Tools You Can Use Right Away

You will receive templates for documentation, communication scripts, developmental tracking sheets, and routine planning that are designed for real household environments.

What Changes for Certified Formators

Before:

Seen as "just the nanny"

After:

Using IMPACT to position yourself in every room

Before:

Navigating family dynamics alone

After:

Using LISTEN to navigate complex household dynamics

Before:

Verbal updates and memory-based care

After:

Documenting with TRACK and communicating with SBAR

Before:

Uncertain how to advance

After:

A credential and badge you can show families and agencies

Before:

Seen as just the nanny

Before:

Navigating family
dynamics alone

Before:

Verbal updates and
memory-based care

Before:

Uncertain how to advance

What Certified Formators Say

Certified Formators, in their own words.

Family and Household Testimonials

“Dr. Schwager's exceptional capabilities in team leadership and strategic planning transformed our operations. Her ability to unify diverse team members and establish.

“The Certified Formator program gave me language, structure, and confidence to position myself professionally.”

"I found the Certified Formator Course to be excellent, both in terms of shifting my own perception of the scope and practice of my position and in terms of value for the price point. I know that my investment in this course will have a significant impact on my career prospects, future compensation, and in confidently articulating the value I bring to families. Thank you!"

"The Certified Formator Course gave language and structure to work I was already doing intuitively, while deepening my understanding of developmental science, documentation, communication, and employment practices. It helped me connect the dots between how children develop, how families function, and how thoughtful systems support everyone involved. The biggest insight: Professionalism and care are not at odds — they support one another. Clear communication and sound employment practices create the stability that allows me to be more present, relational, and effective in my caregiving. This training gave me a clearer sense of purpose and direction. I feel more grounded and confident in how I position myself professionally."

"I'm a career nanny specializing in ultra-high-net-worth families and international travel. After experiencing serious burnout, I was truly questioning my place in the industry. Speaking with Dr. Ginny and being introduced to the Formator Institute gave me such a refreshing view of my role and career. It really gives me hope — both for industry standards and for all the new caregivers to come."

"Learning about the history of nannying was really interesting. Diving into the problems that exist within our industry — regarding confidence and being able to convey all that we do to families — was so eye-opening and validating."

"The SBAR and LISTEN frameworks were eye-opening. They helped me see that I have a much more developed skill set when it comes to child-focused problem solving than I originally assumed. I was already doing this work — I just didn't have the language for it."

"This program didn't just teach basic caregiving; it gave me the exact language and organizational tools to articulate my skills to families who value consistent, emotionally informed, and constantly evolving care. I learned how to seamlessly navigate family relations, implement structured household systems, and manage expectations in complex, high-net-worth environments. Because of the course, my confidence has skyrocketed. I now know exactly how to demonstrate my worth during interviews, and how to operate as a strategic partner rather than just a task-doer. I feel exponentially more prepared to step into a HNW/UHNW household and provide top-tier, organized care. I highly recommend the Formator Institute to any dedicated nanny ready to level up their career!"

FROM CERTIFIED FORMATORS™

Hear From the Professionals Who've Done It

Certified Formators on what changed in their work.

Meet Dr. Ginny Schwager

The mind behind Formator Method™.

Before I founded the Formator Institute, I was you. Experienced, capable, and navigating some of the most complex private household environments in the country without a credential that reflected the work or a framework that matched the expectations.

I built the Formator Institute so you have what I didn't and so this profession gets the infrastructure it has always deserved.

Questions from childcare professionals.

More answers, including buying, access and refunds, are in the full FAQ.

Who is Certified Formator™ for? Do I need years of experience?

Experienced nannies, newborn care specialists, governesses and private educators, and rota and estate childcare professionals who work in private households or want to. There's no set number of years. The program builds on experience you already have rather than teaching basic caregiving.

What's in the program?

Five Parts and nine chapters, about 20 hours, self-paced: Professional Identity Transformation, Affluent Family Dynamics, Child Development & Family Values, Professional Standards, and Career Mastery with The Antigua Rotation simulation. The Examination & Certification course follows the five Parts.

How long does it take, and is it self-paced?

About 20 hours, at your own pace. You have five years of access, and the credential is completed within two years of your first purchase.

What is Formator Method™?

Four frameworks taught in sequence: IMPACT for telling the story of your work, LISTEN for coordinating the adults around a child, SBAR for updates and handoffs, and TRACK for documentation. Every Certified Formator learns all four. The course teaches six frameworks in all; Part IV adds Safety and Legal.

What is Formator Group Coaching, and who leads it?

Coaching with other professional nannies in 12-week cohorts, $250 a cohort. Cohort 1 covers Communicating with Parents with Megan Summers and Burnout and Self-Regulation with Angie Canny, and Dr. Schwager leads two of the four open sessions, with the topic coaches leading the other two. Enrollment opens January 4, 2027, and the waitlist is open now.

How is confidentiality handled in group sessions?

Every participant completes the Confidentiality and Discretion course before the first session: under 30 minutes, ending in a quiz you must pass. Once you pass, you're sent your unique session links and access to the cohort's mini-course content. The Formator Institute never reports your participation, or what you say, to an employer or agency, whoever paid for your seat. Sessions are recorded only by The Formator Institute, for the cohort library. No one else may record, screenshot or photograph a session.

How do I get started?

Start the free Introduction at certifiedformator.com. When you're ready, buy the Full Program for $350 or any Part for $60, and check out with the email you'll log in with. For Group Coaching, join the waitlist.

Start With the Free Introduction

The Introduction is free. Start there, and the rest can wait until you're ready.

Professional Nanny Training and Coaching for Private Households

Built Because the Framework Didn't Exist

Built for American Private Household Childcare

Our Programs

Certified Formator™

Formator Group Coaching

Certified Formator™

Formator Group Coaching

What's Included in the Certification

Formator Method™: IMPACT, LISTEN, SBAR and TRACK

Worksheets and templates for the home you work in

The Antigua Rotation, an interactive simulation

A digital badge and certificate on passing

Who are these programs for?

Formator Group Coaching

What's Included

Confidentiality and the Group

Who Coaching Is For

Group Coaching

1:1 Coaching

What's Included

Confidentiality and the Group

Who Coaching Is For

Group Coaching

1:1 Coaching

Real Tools You Can Use Right Away

What Changes for Certified Formators

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

What Certified Formators Say

Family and Household Testimonials

FROM CERTIFIED FORMATORS™

Meet Dr. Ginny Schwager

The mind behind Formator Method™.

Questions from childcare professionals.

Start With the Free Introduction

Formator (fôr-mā-tər)

From the Latin formare: to shape, to form, to develop.

That is what you are here to do.