To be jealous my nursery teacher friend is on more than me

[Nurseryh]

I'm a nursery manager on £23,000; have a been in the job a couple of years. My friend is a nursery teacher and comparing wages, I'm shocked. After having a chat, we literally do the similar things. I feel a bit put off by it but I suppose I'm the stupid one for not qualifying.

What is it with the UK government and loving to have staff on the cheap? Why am I on so much less for literally the same job apart from the different name??

So is the friend a secondary school teacher?

I was a Nursery Teacher in a school nursery class I had a degree and a teaching qualification so I was paid the same as other teachers. I later moved into a Reception class but could have taught any class in the school if the Head had put me there. A teaching degree is a teaching degree whatever the age of the children.

Why don't you do your PGCE, you already have a degree so in a years time you would be on a teachers salary.

There are referrals, initial assessments, reports, transitions, potentially have to lead a subject in the school, attend inset days, adds, speech and language link, managing members of staff, potentially being a safeguarding lead. Running an extra curricular club, assessing using complex systems, sims, following curriculum and ensuring everything is covered, keeping up to date with new training, leading others in new ideas, research in education. It's just endless. Professional development...

Apologies if I am naive, but do you do all of the above in your role? Would you have to?

Become a BSL translator. You would earn tons more than 23,000.

There’s a Stephen Bartlett podcast on this very topic (how the exact same skill set can earn significantly more or less across different sectors).
m.facebook.com/SteveBartlettShow/videos/how-to-maximise-your-earning-potential/347002230644653/

Can you re-train as a teacher OP, or set up your own nursery?

@Suprima I'm not devaluing my friend, but similar to nursing, degree doesn't always equal "better", I have over a decade experience in EYFS, a degree myself, continuous development; I am also held to high standards; nurseries are also rated; there is actually someone above me who makes sure we are doing the job right and we also have the welfare standards to follow.

I am, once again, not comparing myself to a year 6 teacher as I would never be able to do that, but I feel like nobody is telling me the difference apart from the qualification? Hopefully one day, experience will be once again recognised

Why would you presume that?

What difference does being a secondary teacher make here? A qualified teacher is on the teaching pay spine-whether they teach nursery or A level.

She's using her degree to maximise her earning potential. You're not.

You could be earning a lot more using your BSL than working in your current role.

@Gwenhwyfar why do you ask that? Primary school teachers have PGCEs. You literally apply for a ‘Primary PGCE’ course and you can specialise in EYFS.

Take this as a wake up call to get on a pgce course. My mum spent her whole life working as a reception teacher so you could do eyfs. There are so many people leaving the profession. If you can cope with the paperwork and the politics you should do it!!

Would most of the work be self-employed though?

I know that you CAN do that if you've already got a degree, but I thought that the normal route for primary teachers was a bachelors in education.

It is absolutely not fair how little people who work in childcare earn. I expect it’s because people don’t want to pay much for childcare.

Do the PGCE. The starting salary for teachers will soon be 30k.

No it varies, some PGCE, some GTP (changed names now), some BEd, usually 3 years now.

I don’t think there is a single teacher at my primary who didn’t do a PGCE.

Staying you stay behind/buy equipment and your general attitude of ‘I won’t let the nursery suffer’ just reminds me of a lot of practitioners I’ve known who martyr themselves and then act resentful. Don’t stay over your hours. Don’t spend your own money on someone else’s business. Do your job as well as you can then go home!

I did that a long time ago but I think most do the degree +PGCE now although you can do a degree in Education so the effect is the same.

You can specialise in Early Years (I specialised in what was then called First School 3 - 8 years) but can be asked by the Head Teacher to take any class.

"I don’t think there is a single teacher at my primary who didn’t do a PGCE."

Ok. Is that a new trend then? Because all the ones I know of (except one who was secondary first) did a degree in education (and all the older ones a certificate in education).

Oh my god 23k for a nursery manager. That’s nothing - Christ

Op leave your job, you can get more elsewhere, the sector is crying out for levels 3’s and managers. Or change the type

of job you are doing:
assessor, send advisor, speech and language support, school office support. Your are under less stress and paid better.

I think you should ask for a payrise. When did you last have a review meeting?...Are you hitting all your targets if so that's grounds for a payrise. Your salary does sound quite low have you checked out what other nurseries pay for similar position?

Would you consider starting up your own childminding service? Where you hire a few childminders in your home?

You could look at the childcare degree qualification which will qualify you as a nursery manager then you will get paid more.
Also as a nursery manager a salary of £23000 is incredibly low even if you are unqualified. My DP is an unqualified nursery manager on £29000. You maybe need to speak about a pay rise with your current employer or investigate other nursery manager jobs.

I'm not making a martyr out of myself? I recognise I don't do the same job as KS1 or KS2 teacher and I'd never want to teach the KS2 age range but I genuinely don't see the difference between what I do and what a nursery teacher does?

As a nursery manager don’t you work specific hours? If you work outside of those then there is an element of martyrdom, you can’t be expected to do that.
A teacher can - there are no set hours, they are on a salaried income and are within reason expected to work around the hours designated to their class to get various things done.
And within a school setting, no one should think the nursery teacher is having an easy ride compared to the reception, KS1 and KS2 teachers. The job varies from year group to year group, sure, but I’ve taught various and have not found the work load itself easier in one than another. If you say you work as hard as your nursery teacher friend, you are working as hard as any teacher in theory. You can’t set her apart from teachers that work with older children.