SOC 2020 · 3232
Early education and childcare practitioners
Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations from
Skilled Worker
Not eligible
No Skilled Worker route through this code.
Salary floor
£41,700
The general threshold, £41,700, is the higher of the two.
Shortage lists
Not listed
This code is on neither the Immigration Salary List nor the Temporary Shortage List.
What this occupation actually pays
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, full-time gross annual pay.
- UK pay for this occupation
View these figures as a table
| Percentile | Pay |
|---|---|
| 10th | £16,583 |
| 25th | £20,610 |
| 50th | £23,717 |
| 75th | £26,521 |
| Region | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK 2025 | £16,583 | £20,610 | £23,717 | £26,521 | — |
| East 2025 | — | — | £22,941 | — | — |
| East Midlands 2025 | — | — | £25,303 | — | — |
| London 2025 | — | — | £25,413 | — | — |
| North East 2025 | — | — | £22,935 |
Job titles in this code
What the work involves
Early education and childcare practitioners lead the learning and development of and care for children from birth up to five years of age in a school, nursery, or childcare environment.
Typical tasks
plans children’s day and activities and leads on social, language and numerical development
coordinates observation and assessment on children’s play, development and learning
identifies and responds to health and safety issues
leads on preparing children for transitions to different settings, including school.
communicates with parents, colleagues and external professionals on children’s development and health and well-being
supervises and supports other early education and childcare workers
coordinates nurturing care in bathing, dressing, preparation of feeds, feeding babies, and in changing babies and toddlers clothing whenever necessary
provides a secure and supportive environment and supervises young children at mealtimes
promotes and leads physical activities and children’s games, play, creativity, and problem solving
Entry routes and qualifications
Qualified practitioners need to have achieved an early years degree qualification, such as Early Years Professional, Early Years Teacher, Early Childhood Studies Degree, Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies. A DBS check is mandatory.