Official pay data
Early Years Practitioner salary guide
Annual pay is £20,610–£26,521, with a median of £23,717, based on ONS April 2025 data for the United Kingdom. The figures cover Early education and childcare practitioners, the mapped occupation used for Early Years Practitioner.
Updated 18 August 2026
Salary guide
What early years practitioner roles pay
Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United Kingdom · gross annual earnings estimate
25th percentile
£20,610
Median
£23,717
75th percentile
£26,521
This ASHE benchmark covers full-time employee jobs, not self-employed income or part-time jobs. ASHE gross earnings include basic pay, overtime, incentive pay such as bonuses and commissions, shift premiums, and other cash pay. They are before deductions, exclude payments in kind, and are not take-home pay or the whole benefits package. Compare the benchmark with an offer on the same working-hours and annual-pay basis.
This is a country-level occupation benchmark, not a local offer estimate. Pay can differ by location, employer, duties, and working pattern.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. Mapped to Early education and childcare practitioners; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
Read the range
Three points, one pay distribution
25th percentile
One quarter of reported salaries fall below this figure.
Median
Half of reported salaries fall below this figure and half above it.
75th percentile
One quarter of reported salaries rise above this figure.
These figures describe broad occupations, not individual vacancies. Seniority, location, employer, and working pattern can move an offer outside the published range.
Put the benchmark to work
Build your Early Years Practitioner CV for the roles you want.
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.