Nursery World - Early years expansion 'is limited by low pay'

Government plans to expand the early years sector will be undermined by the low pay and low status of childcare professionals, the Daycare Trust has predicted. A report, Who will care?, launched by the Trust at the Labour Party conference in Brighton this week, puts childcare among the lowest-paid jobs in Britain, earning less than gardeners and cleaners. It says a day nursery manager earns an average of 13,000 to 14,000 a year, and a nursery school teacher up to 18,000.

A report, Who will care?, launched by the Trust at the Labour Party conference in Brighton this week, puts childcare among the lowest-paid jobs in Britain, earning less than gardeners and cleaners. It says a day nursery manager earns an average of 13,000 to 14,000 a year, and a nursery school teacher up to 18,000.

However, a nursery nurse working in a private day nursery could earn as little as 8,000 a year, while a nursery nurse in a school setting would earn between 10,000 and 13,000. A childminder would net about Pounds 5,000 a year, while playworkers in breakfast clubs, out-of-school clubs and holiday playschemes earn between 6 and 8 an hour for between ten and 20 hours a week, rising to 8 to 10 an hour for co-ordinators.

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