What kinds of jobs are available in early childhood education?
There are many different routes you could go down in early childhood education, and you might want to work directly with children or go down a senior leadership or specialist path. The three main categories of early childhood education jobs are:
Direct practice roles
Types of direct practitioner roles typically include an early years practitioner or educator, a nursery assistant, a room leader, a teaching assistant in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), or a nursery nurse.
Seeing children's development over time can be extremely rewarding. You'll likely spend a lot of your time organising activities and free play, guiding children's exploration and learning in a nurturing environment. A typical day involves managing care routines, including snack times, meal times, and sometimes personal care, depending on your setting and role.
Salaries at this level can vary by role, qualifications and setting. Practitioner-level roles typically pay around £24,000 to £30,000 a year, with opportunities to earn more as you gain experience or take on additional responsibilities. With experience and knowledge, you could move into more senior leadership roles that typically offer a higher salary.
Leadership and management roles
You may want to progress into a leadership or management role, particularly if you are looking for more responsibility and autonomy in a role. As a nursery manager, you can expect to oversee organisational processes and control resources to ensure the efficient running of the nursery and take responsibility for the nursery's culture. You would also play a role in the recruitment process for the nursery team and ensure your nursery provides a safe and stimulating environment for children.
Advisory or specialist roles
As an early years specialist, also known as an early years advisor, you could play a crucial role in early years settings to improve practice and learning. The role involves helping to improve the performance of staff within local authorities and local early years settings. This could include monitoring early years settings, sharing tools to help practitioners improve learning, and helping local authorities to address early years issues.
Additionally, you would also play a critical role in ensuring early years staff are highly qualified and understand effective practice and assessment criteria in learning and development. If you're passionate about supporting practitioners' professional development and making sure they are meeting children's needs, this could be a fulfilling career option.
Are you interested in exploring a school business manager career? Read our guide to school business managers.
Types of leadership and management roles
In a leadership or management role, you'll be provided with more responsibility and can expect to guide and motivate others, as well as make more senior decisions. Here are some of the leadership positions you might want to work towards:
Nursery or day care manager
Progressing into a nursery manager role is an exciting opportunity to lead the day-to-day running of a nursery. You'd lead a dedicated team, oversee budgets, maintain quality standards and make sure children receive high-quality care. This can be a great progression path for you if you enjoy a busy role and know how to create an engaging environment for children.
UK salary range: The average salary for a nursery manager is £29,589 per year.
Children's centre manager
If you want to support children and families more widely, a children's centre manager is an option you could work towards. Depending on the centre, your typical day might include providing activities for parents and children, and working with other professionals and organisations. You would provide social services to young children and their families, and this role would also provide the opportunity to manage and supervise child care workers.
UK salary range: The average salary for a children's centre manager is £44,811 per year.
Types of advisory, consultancy, and specialist roles
As you progress, you could aim to take on a specialist role. This is a fulfilling route if you have the curiosity and passion for improving the learning outcomes of nurseries and schools. Or, are you interested in teaching students? You could join a University team and help students become the best possible early years educators.
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Early years adviser (local authority or DfE-funded)
As an early years adviser, also known as an early years consultant, you'd support nurseries and schools to improve the quality of their early years provision. You could provide guidance on teaching, safeguarding, the curriculum and statutory requirements. An early years advisor also typically helps settings prepare for Ofsted inspections.
UK salary range: There isn't a dedicated government salary framework because advisers are employed by individual local authorities, each with its own grading structure. However, Glassdoor provides an estimated average of £43,822 per year, with top earners in senior advisor roles making up to £86,061.
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Early years lecturer
As an early years lecturer, you'd teach pupils studying childcare and early childhood education. If you enjoy teaching, this could be an exciting career that involves delivering lessons, assessing coursework and preparing the next generation of early years professionals.
UK salary range: Universities and FE colleges negotiate salaries independently, so no UK-wide government pay scale exists. Glassdoor provides an estimated average salary of £40,514 per year. However, you could earn a lot more depending on seniority, experience and location.
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Ofsted inspector for early years and pre-school
Ofsted inspectors are responsible for visiting early years settings to assess the quality of education, leadership and safeguarding. You might want to progress into this role if you are passionate about ensuring early years settings provide the best-quality and supportive care.
UK salary range: This role has a published government salary profile. The National Careers Service (GOV.UK) lists a typical salary of £55,000–£87,000 per year for Ofsted inspectors.
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EdTech roles specialising in early years digital tools and curriculum
In this type of role, you'd help develop or advise on digital learning tools, software and resources used in early years settings. These roles typically require postgraduate-level knowledge and a strong track record. Postgraduate education can demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest in leadership in the early education sector. In particular, an MA in early childhood education can help develop valuable research and policy skills expected of you in specialist roles.
What do employers look for in senior roles?
Moving into a room leader position is often the first step into management. At this stage, employers look for practitioners who can take responsibility for leading a team and maintaining high standards of care and education.
As well as a strong understanding of child development and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), employers typically value candidates who can:
- Support and motivate colleagues
- Organise daily routines and activities
- Communicate effectively with parents and carers
- Monitor children's development and identify areas where additional support may be needed
- Maintain high standards of safeguarding, health and safety, and regulatory compliance
- Solve problems calmly and make confident decisions.
Operational management skills
You might want to progress into a deputy manager, where you can expect to have a much broader role in the day-to-day running of a nursery. As well as supporting children and families, you would help ensure the setting operates smoothly and meets regulatory requirements.
Employers often look for professionals who can:
- Supervise and develop staff
- Support recruitment, inductions and training
- Help maintain Ofsted standards and quality improvement plans
- Build positive relationships with families and external professionals
- Manage rotas, staffing levels and daily operations
- Step into the nursery manager's role when required.
Commercial capability
In a senior leadership role, you'd play a larger part in the performance of one or multiple settings. Rather than focusing solely on classroom practice, you'd be expected to help influence the long-term success of the business.
Depending on the role, employers may look for experience in:
- Leading and developing teams
- Driving quality improvement
- Managing budgets
- Supporting successful Ofsted inspections
- Developing nursery growth
- Maintaining regulatory compliance
- Working with owners or trustees to achieve organisational goals.
Explore the MA Early Childhood Education course
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Our MA Education programmes are for people ready to question how education works today, and take a more thoughtful approach to practice and leadership tomorrow.
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