Child and early years officers: salary in the UK
About £26,953 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.8% on last year
£2,712 a month About £2,246 a month after tax 38 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £25,530 in 2021 to £32,546 in 2026 (+27%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £18,382 | £21,480 | £25,530 | £28,795 | x |
| 2022 | £19,633 | £22,635 | £27,384 | £31,331 | x |
| 2023 | £19,461 | £24,131 | £28,229 | £32,610 | x |
| 2024 | £21,259 | £25,415 | £28,680 | £33,073 | x |
| 2025 | £21,683 | £26,412 | £31,068 | £35,674 | x |
| 2026 | £24,073 | £28,437 | £32,546 | £37,970 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £32,546 a year and half earn more. That is 20% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £28,437 and £37,970; one in ten earns less than £24,073.
Ranked by median, it is number 248 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,246 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,247 in Scotland.
The median for men is £36,589 and for women £32,071, a gap of 12% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £24,073 | £2,006 |
| 20th | £27,403 | £2,284 |
| 25th (P25) | £28,437 | £2,370 |
| 30th | £29,473 | £2,456 |
| 40th | £30,889 | £2,574 |
| Median (50th) | £32,546 | £2,712 |
| 60th | £33,793 | £2,816 |
| 70th | £36,634 | £3,053 |
| 75th (P75) | £37,970 | £3,164 |
| 80th | £40,164 | £3,347 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £36,589 | £39,281 | x |
| Women | £32,071 | £34,368 | 32 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £26,953 | £2,246 |
| Scotland | £26,962 | £2,247 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £33,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 52 job titles to SOC 3222 Child and early years officers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Academic mentor
- Access officer
- Attendance manager
- Attendance officer
- Behaviour manager
- Behaviour mentor
- Behaviour support manager
- Behaviour support officer
- Case worker
- Caseworker
- Child care officer
- Child protection officer
- Child safeguarding officer
- Child support officer
- Children missing education officer
- Contact supervisor
- Designated safeguarding lead
- Education access officer
- Education welfare officer
- Family information officer
- Family liaison officer
- Home link worker
- Home school liaison officer
- Learning mentor
- Learning support mentor
- Outreach development worker
- Parent support adviser
- Parenting practitioner
- Pastoral assistant
- Pastoral care officer
- Pastoral lead
- Pastoral leader
- Pastoral manager
- Pastoral officer
- Pastoral support assistant
- Pastoral support officer
- Pastoral support worker
- Pastoral worker
- Portage home visitor
- Portage worker
- Pupil support officer
- Pupil support worker
- Residential child care officer
- Safeguarding lead
- Safeguarding officer
- School attendance officer
- School enquiry officer
- School liaison officer
- School pastoral manager
- Schools officer
- Sen casework officer
- Welfare visitor
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Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.