How to become an early education and childcare services manager
Official title: Early education and childcare services managers
Also called: Manager, Club manager, Creche manager, Nursery manager, Childcare manager, Playgroup manager, Base room manager, Child care manager, Play group manager, Pre-school manager, Early years manager, After school manager
Early education and childcare services managers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the administration, support systems and activities that facilitate the effective running of nurseries and early education centres.
Main tasks
- Directs and co-ordinates the day-to-day activities of nurseries and early years education centres
- Helps create a friendly, secure atmosphere to encourage the development of social and language skills and other learning
- Determines staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term requirements and ensures facility meets health, safety, Ofsted and other standards
- Writes reports on children’s development and maintains awareness of health and safety issues
- Communicates with parents and colleagues on children’s development and well-being
How to become one
Entrants will usually have a degree or level 3 qualification in childcare and significant relevant experience. Early years teacher status may be required. An additional management qualification may also be required by some employers. Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications, professional qualifications and/or relevant experience. A DBS check is mandatory.
Ways in
- University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £30,140 a year The middle half earn £25,935 to £36,539.
- About 46,400 people work in this job now, and about 50,600 are projected by 2035. (+9%)
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Questions people ask
How do I become an early education and childcare services manager?
Entrants will usually have a degree or level 3 qualification in childcare and significant relevant experience. Early years teacher status may be required. An additional management qualification may also be required by some employers. Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications, professional qualifications and/or relevant experience. A DBS check is mandatory.
How much does an early education and childcare services manager earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £30,140 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £25,935 to £36,539.
Is an early education and childcare services manager a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 9% by 2035, from about 46,400 to about 50,600 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become an early education and childcare services manager?
Not always. 36% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.