Salary guide
Nursery Assistant salary
What nursery assistants are advertised at on live vacancies we hold — we name the nation whenever we publish a figure.
Official support staff pay spine · 2026/27
NJC pay points 3–43
Full-time, full-year rates from 1 April 2026 (3.3% increase agreed). Show all pay points
| Pay point (SCP) | Annual salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | £25,614 | £13.28 |
| 4 | £26,016 | £13.48 |
| 5 | £26,427 | £13.70 |
| 6 | £26,847 | £13.92 |
| 7 | £27,274 | £14.14 |
| 8 | £27,709 | £14.36 |
| 9 | £28,153 | £14.59 |
| 10 | £28,608 | £14.83 |
| 11 | £29,071 | £15.07 |
| 12 | £29,542 | £15.31 |
| 13 | £30,023 | £15.56 |
| 14 | £30,515 | £15.82 |
| 15 | £31,015 | £16.08 |
| 16 | £31,525 | £16.34 |
| 17 | £32,046 | £16.61 |
| 18 | £32,578 | £16.89 |
| 19 | £33,119 | £17.17 |
| 20 | £33,673 | £17.45 |
| 21 | £34,237 | £17.75 |
| 22 | £34,811 | £18.04 |
| 23 | £35,570 | £18.44 |
| 24 | £36,581 | £18.96 |
| 25 | £37,563 | £19.47 |
| 26 | £38,510 | £19.96 |
| 27 | £39,481 | £20.46 |
| 28 | £40,444 | £20.96 |
| 29 | £41,177 | £21.34 |
| 30 | £42,123 | £21.83 |
| 31 | £43,149 | £22.37 |
| 32 | £44,253 | £22.94 |
| 33 | £45,529 | £23.60 |
| 34 | £46,579 | £24.14 |
| 35 | £47,665 | £24.71 |
| 36 | £48,738 | £25.26 |
| 37 | £49,817 | £25.82 |
| 38 | £50,908 | £26.39 |
| 39 | £51,928 | £26.92 |
| 40 | £53,051 | £27.50 |
| 41 | £54,143 | £28.06 |
| 42 | £55,224 | £28.62 |
| 43 | £56,293 | £29.18 |
Source: NJC for Local Government Services pay agreement 2026 (Annex 1)
Councils and most maintained schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay support staff on this spine; each employer decides which pay points a role sits on. Annual figures are for a full-time (37-hour), all-year post — term-time and part-time staff are paid a proportion of them. Hourly rates are for a 37-hour week. Pay point 2 was removed, so the spine now starts at point 3. Academies, independent schools and private nurseries may use their own pay.
Read the official pay agreement (Local Government Association)Typical advertised pay
£24,563 per year – £26,312 per year
Median advertised range for Early Years Practitioner roles in England
Based on Early Years Practitioner adverts
We don't yet have enough Nursery Assistant adverts with pay to publish a figure of their own, so this shows the closest main role. Based on 11 live public vacancies. Support-staff pay is set locally, so individual adverts vary.
See the Early Years Practitioner salary guideNursery Assistant job openings
Preschool Assistant
Birchfield Community Primary School · Yeovil
Nursery Staff
Greenhall · Stafford
Nursery Assistant
Sundorne Infant School and Nursery · Shrewsbury
Nursery Assistant (Level 3)
Somers Park Primary School · Malvern
Nursery Assistant
High View School · Plymouth
Level 3 Nursery Assistant
Jubilee Park Academy · Tipton
Schools hiring nursery assistants
Ranked by live vacancy volume. We do not publish employer-level pay figures.
Where nursery assistants are being advertised
Areas with the most live nursery assistant vacancies.
Similar roles to Nursery Assistant
Apprentice Early Years Practitioner
See apprentice early years practitioner salary guide
Assistant Nursery Manager
See assistant nursery manager salary guide
Deputy Nursery Manager
See deputy nursery manager salary guide
Early Years Apprentice
See early years apprentice salary guide
Early Years Educator
See early years educator salary guide
Early Years Lead
See early years lead salary guide
Career advice for nursery assistant roles
Frequently asked questions
How much does a nursery assistant earn?
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a nursery assistant figure. Rather than estimate, we show live vacancies so you can see what employers are actually advertising.
Does nursery assistant pay vary by area?
It can, but we only publish area differences where we have enough evidence for that area — we never apply a regional multiplier to invent a local figure.
What pay framework applies to a nursery assistant?
There is no single pay framework that generally applies to this role: pay depends on the employer, the contract and the nation. Use the advertised salary evidence on this page and check the individual advert.
Find your next nursery assistant job
Live UK nursery assistant vacancies from schools, trusts and agencies.
Browse Nursery Assistant jobs