Nursery Practitioner Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 128,000 jobs.
Median salary
£20,464
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 22.5% below the £25,060 median for people working full-time.
▲ 4.4% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£25,060
Part-time only
£14,192
Mean
£20,844
Jobs measured
128,000
What a typical nursery practitioner takes home
On the full-time median of £25,060, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,797
Take-home a year
£21,563
Income Tax
£2,498
National Insurance
£999
What most nursery practitioners actually earn
Half of nursery practitioners earn between £14,090 and £25,845. Earning above £25,845 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of nursery practitioners earn less than this.
Nursery Practitioner salary by region
8 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £24,420 | £25,355 |
| South East | £20,840 | £20,198 |
| North West | £20,497 | £23,064 |
| West Midlands | £20,152 | £19,583 |
| London | £19,478 | £20,637 |
| South West | £18,836 | £22,475 |
| East Midlands | £18,112 | £18,845 |
| East | £16,474 | £17,823 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Early education and childcare practitioners
- SOC 2020 code
- 3232
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Nursery Practitioner salary FAQs
What is the average Nursery Practitioner salary in the UK?
The median is £20,464 a year and the mean is £20,844, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £25,060 and part-time employees £14,192.
How much does a nursery practitioner earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £13.67 excluding overtime. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Nursery Practitioner salary?
Half of nursery practitioners earn between £14,090 and £25,845. Anything above £25,845 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a nursery practitioner?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of nursery practitioners earn under £9,438 and the lowest quarter under £14,090 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid nursery practitioners earn?
The top 10% of nursery practitioners earn more than £29,993 a year, and the top quarter more than £25,845. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays nursery practitioners the most?
Scotland, at a median of £24,420, is the highest of the 4 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; West Midlands is the lowest at £20,152. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has nursery practitioner pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +4.4% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many nursery practitioners are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 128,000 employee jobs in “Early education and childcare practitioners” (SOC 3232) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
Similar roles
Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.
Add your salary anonymously