Nursery practitioner: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Early education and childcare practitioners (SOC 3232)
About £21,563 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +5.7% on last year
£2,088 a month About £1,797 a month after tax 68 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 £17,565 in 2021 to £25,060 in 2026 (+43%); 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 | £11,211 | £14,488 | £17,565 | £20,335 | x |
| 2022 | x | x | £18,433 | x | x |
| 2023 | £14,231 | £17,761 | £20,586 | £23,375 | x |
| 2024 | £15,212 | £18,958 | £22,057 | £25,636 | x |
| 2025 | £16,598 | £20,616 | £23,714 | £26,534 | x |
| 2026 | £17,301 | £21,297 | £25,060 | £28,121 | 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 £25,060 a year and half earn more. That is 39% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £21,297 and £28,121; one in ten earns less than £17,301.
Ranked by median, it is number 354 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,797 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,800 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £17,301 | £1,442 |
| 20th | £20,661 | £1,722 |
| 25th (P25) | £21,297 | £1,775 |
| 30th | £22,217 | £1,851 |
| 40th | £23,566 | £1,964 |
| Median (50th) | £25,060 | £2,088 |
| 60th | £26,250 | £2,187 |
| 70th | £27,489 | £2,291 |
| 75th (P75) | £28,121 | £2,343 |
| 80th | £29,465 | £2,455 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £27,439 | x |
| Women | £24,991 | £25,896 | 66 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £21,563 | £1,797 |
| Scotland | £21,603 | £1,800 |
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 £25,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 12 job titles to SOC 3232 Early education and childcare practitioners. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Child care practitioner
- Child development officer
- Childcare practitioner
- Early years educator
- Early years practitioner
- Nursery education officer
- Nursery nurse practitioner
- Nursery officer
- Nursery practitioner
- Nursery school practitioner
- Practitioner
- Pre-school practitioner
Similar occupations
All jobs in Associate professional occupations
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.