2026 guide
UK nursery salaries in 2026
What every early years role actually pays, how we worked it out, and why the whole sector is compressed into thirty-one pence above the legal minimum.
The headline
Thirty-one pence
The median hourly wage in a group-based setting is £13.02. The National Living Wage from April 2026 is £12.71. The entire sector is compressed into thirty-one pence.
Every role
Salary bands by role, 2026
| Role | UK excluding London | London & South East |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery Assistant (Level 2 or unqualified) | £26,400 to £28,000 | £29,000 to £32,000 |
| Nursery Nurse / Level 3 Practitioner | £27,000 to £30,500 | £30,000 to £34,000 |
| Senior Practitioner | £28,500 to £32,000 | £32,000 to £36,000 |
| Room Leader | £29,000 to £33,500 | £32,000 to £37,000 |
| Baby Room Leader | £29,000 to £34,000 | £32,000 to £37,500 |
| Early Years SENCo | £29,000 to £35,000 | £33,000 to £39,000 |
| Deputy Nursery Manager | £30,000 to £37,000 | £35,000 to £43,000 |
| Nursery Manager | £34,000 to £46,000 | £42,000 to £55,000 |
| Early Years Teacher (EYTS) | £30,000 to £38,000 | £34,000 to £44,000 |
How we worked these out. These are guides, not offers, and they assume a 40-hour week. The floor is set by the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, which is £26,437 across a year. The Level 3 band is anchored on the sector median of £13.02 an hour. Bands are uprated using the 6.3% year-on-year pay growth the Department for Education recorded in group-based settings. Part-time and term-time roles scale down from these figures.
Context
What sets the floor
Two numbers govern early years pay. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour from April 2026, which is £26,437 over a 40-hour year. The median hourly wage in a group-based setting is £13.02. Almost the entire practitioner workforce sits between those two figures.
That compression is why a setting offering £500 above the local band fills a vacancy in a fortnight while its neighbour waits four months. At these levels a small difference in pay is a large difference in candidate attention.
Source: The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Ratios
What each qualification level lets a setting do
Pay follows ratio. This is why Level 3 is worth more than Level 2.
| Age | Ratio | Qualification requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 | 1:3 | At least one member of staff holds an approved Level 3 with experience of under-twos. At least half of the others hold an approved Level 2, and at least half of all staff have training in the care of babies. |
| Age 2 | 1:5 | At least one member of staff holds an approved Level 3. At least half of the others hold an approved Level 2. |
| Age 3 and over | 1:8 | Where no qualified teacher, EYTS or Level 6 is working directly with the children. At least one member of staff holds an approved Level 3. |
| Age 3 and over | 1:13 | Where a qualified teacher, EYTS, EYPS or Level 6 is working directly with the children. At least one other member of staff holds an approved Level 3. |
These are the England ratios, set by the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. Scotland and Wales run separate frameworks with different requirements.
Questions
Common questions
What is the average nursery nurse salary in the UK?
Our 2026 guide puts a Level 3 nursery nurse at £27,000 to £30,500 outside London and £30,000 to £34,000 in London and the South East, assuming a 40-hour week.
What does a nursery manager earn?
Between £34,000 to £46,000 outside London, depending heavily on the size of the setting, and £42,000 to £55,000 in London and the South East.
How were these figures worked out?
These are guides, not offers, and they assume a 40-hour week. The floor is set by the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, which is £26,437 across a year. The Level 3 band is anchored on the sector median of £13.02 an hour. Bands are uprated using the 6.3% year-on-year pay growth the Department for Education recorded in group-based settings. Part-time and term-time roles scale down from these figures.
Why is early years pay so low?
The median hourly wage in a group-based setting is £13.02. The National Living Wage from April 2026 is £12.71. The entire sector is compressed into thirty-one pence. Roughly half of staff who leave the sector give pay as the reason.
Benchmarking a vacancy?
Tell us the role and the area and we will tell you what it will realistically take to fill it.