staff pay

[principalitygirl]

Just saw a job advert for a level 3 nursery nurse in my son's nursery which is part of a large, international chain. £13,200 for full time!! Am absolutely shocked!

[Nomorepeppapig]

Yep shocking pay. That's why I don't work in childcare anymore.

[needtobediscreet]

Sarah - I hope you find your Mr Rich!
I still think you all deserve better pay.

[SarahPatricia]

Nursery workers wage is low, childminders earn sightly more and nannies slightly more still.
All the money the parents pay go to ofsted for registration, courses to maintain the ofsted reg and insurance!
Its a job we do out of love (i'm a nursery nurse working as a nanny)
All our extra time goes to finding a rich man lol!

[principalitygirl]

I know people don't go into nursery work for the money but it more than merits being better rewarded financially IMO. Caring for children is a most important job and needs to be better rewarded. I'd happily pay a bit more every day for my son's place if it meant a wage increase for his carers and not just more profit for the nursery.

[woollybobs]

I did the NNEB 20 years ago and work in the same private day nursery since. I earn £7 an hour. It's the best job in the world and I love it but the pay is terrible. But as someone else said you don't go into nursery nursing for the money!

[insancerre]

in our nursery the hours are 37.5 a week starting on minimum wage
I do 40 hours a week, I've got a degree and am an EYP and I only get £8.50 an hour
sometimes I feel so undervalued
BUT, I know I make a huge difference every day to lots of children and their families, and that difference will last a lifetime
that's why I do it

[readyforno2]

Yeah. 10% discount. Nothing to shout about really

[TiggyOBE]

These days of course, like everything, nursery work is academised to the hilt. You can't get a job as nursery staff unless you have nvq quals - But the qualifications you need now are a lot easier to get than the old ones. The old ones were fairly easy to fail: you really had to work and know your stuff. The new one are really hard to fail. (But lots still seem to manage it somehow)

[InMySpareTime]

I used to work as a senior Nursery Nurse, with a Foundation Degree in Early Years. I earned £6.40 an hour. Once, I had to have a meeting with my boss to let her know that NMW had gone up, but since my wages hadn't I was below it. That's the only pay rise I got in 4 years working there. Technically it was 24 hours a week, but staff were expected to arrive early to set up, work through lunch, and stay late for ratios. I got called in for extra days a lot too, often working full time.
I'm well out of it, I left and set up a storytelling business. It doesn't pay well either, but it's a lot better in terms of working conditions!

[UriGeller]

Wonder if that's where the low opinion (of some) of SAHM comes from? Same as nursing in the old days.

These days of course, like everything, nursery work is academised to the hilt. You can't get a job as nursery staff unless you have nvq quals, my son is trying for apprenticeships in nurseries (to further his education into child psychology) but hits a brick wall every turn.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

I don't know about now, but childcare used to be a final option for people who didn't have the academic ability to do anything else. Hence the historically low pay.

[principalitygirl]

ready -
did you get discounted rates? hope so!

[principalitygirl]

BackforGood - yes, having checked with DH (not a bin man but knows about public sector pay) he says the same. Is truly awful.
Wish I had a public sector nursery I could use but as not in a deprived area there are none close by.

[BackforGood]

Bin men earn a LOT more than that, OP

[readyforno2]

For me it's not having to pay for childcare throughout the holidays when ds isn't at school.

[lilyaldrin]

Also, they don't have to make a profit for an owner. It's the reason you tend to get better quality staff, buildings, resources etc.

[lilyaldrin]

Public sector pays more as Children's Centres and state nursery schools don't rely only on fees for their budgets.

[Cindy34]

Nursery nurses moving into nannying comes up as a topic over on the childminders,nannies board from time to time. Some make the transition others do not. Going from being part of a team to being sole provider is tricky.

Interesting to know that a 40 hour week is probably typical for a nursery nurse, it compares with part time nannying, probably does not compare with full time - 40 hour a week mon-fri nanny jobs are not that common in my view.

Not surprised to hear that nursery staff can not leave at their finish time - childcare is not a job which fits with set hours, thing happen which make parents late, children can't be left alone. It is an issue in nannying, as the nanny can't walk out at end of shift unless another adult is there to take over.

How is it possible for public sector to pay more... Is it due to initial funding, which may have mean unsustainable salaries were offered?

[principalitygirl]

Yes, it's BH! The person leaving which has created the vacancy is moving to the public sector - can't blame her!

Something needs to be done about childcare sector wages! Parents need affordable childcare definitely but how can it be right that staff caring for our children earn about the same as a refuse collector??!

[Wishuponastar011]

I'm on a 40hr week contract, but it's never just 40hrs because we can't leave at the end of our shift half the time because of ratios!!

[readyforno2]

In my last nursery I was on 11,500 for 40 hrs a week, SVQ 3.
My son was also at the same nursery and his fees (more than 1/2 of my wage) came straight out of my wages.

[lilyaldrin]

Most private nurseries pay very poorly, around minimum wage. Many "better" nursery nurses/early years practitioners move into the public sector which is much, much better paid (though funding is being squeezed) - where I am Children's Centre and nursery school/class practitioners are paid between £16k-£20k, more for management.

Alternatively nannying is paid much better too - from about £8 gross an hour outside London up to £13 gross an hour in London. Many nursery nurses would struggle nannying though - the lack of management and colleague support, having to make decisions, plan days, no policies to rely on, time management.

[Cindy34]

Probably a difference in the number of hours worked between a nursery nurse and a nanny.

Any nursery nurses prepared to say how many hours they are paid for per week?

A full time nanny could be doing 50 to 60 hours a week. A part time nanny may well be doing 35 or more.

Though it is still probably a lot higher paid often. Nurseries often seem to try to pay close to NMW when they can. It's a business, they need to make profit and some parents do moan about the cost of childcare.

[TiggyOBE]

part of a large, international chain. - That'll be Bright Horizons then!

[Kez171271]

I earn 14k and im the deputy manager! The manager earns 10p an hour more.