Early education and childcare assistants: salary in the UK
About £21,921 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.4% on last year
£2,130 a month About £1,827 a month after tax 44 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 £17,653 in 2021 to £25,558 in 2026 (+45%); 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 | £12,578 | £15,058 | £17,653 | £20,769 | x |
| 2022 | £13,400 | £16,589 | £19,057 | x | x |
| 2023 | £14,405 | £18,210 | £21,119 | £24,508 | x |
| 2024 | £16,214 | £19,936 | £22,780 | £26,524 | x |
| 2025 | £17,153 | £20,273 | £24,709 | £27,939 | x |
| 2026 | £18,195 | £22,062 | £25,558 | £29,322 | 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 £25,558 a year and half earn more. That is 38% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £22,062 and £29,322; one in ten earns less than £18,195.
Ranked by median, it is number 350 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,827 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,830 in Scotland.
The median for men is £26,376 and for women £25,457, a gap of 3% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £18,195 | £1,516 |
| 20th | £21,195 | £1,766 |
| 25th (P25) | £22,062 | £1,839 |
| 30th | £23,362 | £1,947 |
| 40th | £24,411 | £2,034 |
| Median (50th) | £25,558 | £2,130 |
| 60th | £27,272 | £2,273 |
| 70th | £28,613 | £2,384 |
| 75th (P75) | £29,322 | £2,443 |
| 80th | £29,878 | £2,490 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £26,376 | £28,795 | x |
| Women | £25,457 | £25,686 | 41 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £21,921 | £1,827 |
| Scotland | £21,961 | £1,830 |
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 £26,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 53 job titles to SOC 6111 Early education and childcare assistants. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Care assistant
- Child care assistant
- Child care supervisor
- Childcare nurse
- Community nursery nurse
- Creche assistant
- Creche attendant
- Creche helper
- Creche leader
- Creche supervisor
- Creche worker
- Early years assistant
- Early years support worker
- Early years worker
- General assistant
- Kindergarten assistant
- Kindergarten teacher
- NNEB
- Nursery assistant
- Nursery attendant
- Nursery education officer
- Nursery governess
- Nursery helper
- Nursery key worker
- Nursery nurse
- Nursery officer
- Nursery room leader
- Nursery supervisor
- Nursery support worker
- Nursery teacher
- Nursery worker
- Play school assistant
- Play school supervisor
- Play school teacher
- Play schools assistant
- Playgroup assistant
- Playgroup helper
- Playgroup leader
- Playgroup organiser
- Playgroup supervisor
- Playgroup worker
- Playschool assistant
- Playschool helper
- Playschool worker
- Pre-school assistant
- Pre-school helper
- Pre-school key worker
- Pre-school leader
- Pre-school supervisor
- Pre-school teacher
- Room leader
- Supervisor
- Warden
Similar occupations
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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.