jobfacts

Playworker

Playworkers — SOC 2020 6117

Playworkers deliver and facilitate play opportunities for children in a range of formal and informal settings including play schemes, free play locations, and in pre- and after-school activities.

Also calledChildcare assistantWraparound care assistantPlay rangerPlay leaderPlay leader's assistantOut of school club coordinatorand 12 more titles
People in the job18,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month643↓ 10%on last year · 240th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
Typical pay by regionUK median —
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
Show as table
UK median, —
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 2 years
  • 2023 £23,600
  • 2024 £24,800
↑ 4.9% since 2023

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 643 jobs for playworkers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026460
Jul 2026599
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026646
Apr 2026585
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026630
Jan 2026825
Dec 2025296
Nov 2025729
Oct 2025758
Sept 2025897
Aug 2025549
Jul 2025722
Jun 2025874
May 2025756
Apr 2025531
Mar 2025894
Feb 2025766
Jan 2025909
Dec 2024503
Nov 2024692
Oct 2024824
Sept 2024910
Aug 2024593
Jul 2024911
Jun 2024937
May 2024967
Apr 2024754
Mar 2024637
Feb 2024556
Jan 2024688
Dec 2023417
Nov 2023398
Oct 2023355
Sept 2023422
Aug 2023468
Jul 2023455
Jun 2023732
May 2023709
Apr 2023548
Mar 2023810
Feb 2023672
Jan 2023823
Dec 2022616
Nov 2022775
Oct 2022786
Sept 2022772
Aug 2022542
Jul 2022663
Jun 2022674
May 2022872
Apr 2022593
Mar 2022714
Feb 2022592
Jan 2022694
Dec 2021633
Nov 2021700
Oct 2021757
Sept 2021844
Aug 2021503
Jul 2021579
Jun 2021585
May 2021428
Apr 2021271
Mar 2021412
Feb 2021103
Jan 2021139
Dec 2020191
Nov 2020207
Oct 2020318
Sept 2020385
Aug 2020246
Jul 2020265
Jun 2020168
May 2020166
Apr 2020179
Mar 2020341
Feb 2020595
Jan 2020512
Dec 2019356
Nov 2019363
Oct 2019407
Sept 2019478
Aug 2019319
Jul 2019441
Jun 2019492
May 2019470
Apr 2019306
Mar 2019410
Feb 2019313
Jan 2019373
Dec 2018226
Nov 2018345
Oct 2018404
Sept 2018432
Aug 2018238
Jul 2018368
Jun 2018471
May 2018331
Apr 2018266
Mar 2018380
Feb 2018341
Jan 2018422
Dec 2017294
Nov 2017322
Oct 2017334
Sept 2017436
Aug 2017278
Jul 2017365
Jun 2017499
May 2017524
Apr 2017489
Mar 2017494
Feb 2017420
Jan 2017386
Is there a shortage of playworkers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
32%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for teaching and childcare support occupations, which includes playworkers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London281
Leeds34
City of Edinburgh32
Bristol, City of23
Buckinghamshire23
Wiltshire23
North Yorkshire22
Manchester21
Glasgow City20
Windsor and Maidenhead20
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where playworkers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of playworkers
32%!
n/p
19%!
n/p
18%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2432% (small sample)
25–34Not published
35–4419% (small sample)
45–54Not published
55–6418% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!21%
Higher education below degree!7%
A levels or equivalent!31%
GCSEs or equivalent!27%
Other qualifications!13%
No qualifications!5.6%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent21% (small sample)
Higher education below degree7% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent31% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent27% (small sample)
Other qualifications13% (small sample)
No qualifications5.6% (small sample)

Main employers: primary education (37%), pre-primary education (13%), child day-care activities (12%), other social work activities without accommodation nec (9.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
21%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 31%
Apprenticeships
1
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course to get some of the skills you'll need in this job. You could take a course in outdoor play and learning or a T Level in Education and Early Years.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Playworker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

This usually takes around a year and a half to complete and is a mix of study and workplace learning.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Other ways in

Volunteering

You could volunteer to build up your experience of working with children.

You could volunteer at:

  • a playgroup
  • a school
  • an after school club
  • a holiday club
  • an adventure playground

This may lead into paid work, where you could do training on the job.

Apply directly

You can apply for playworker jobs if you're already a qualified childcare worker.

You can also do the Level 3 Award in Transition to Playwork qualification to help before you apply for roles.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

A paediatric first aid certificate will be useful but is not essential.

A working week can vary from a few hours up to full time. Advertised pay rates are often listed as full-time equivalent (FTE). Actual pay will depend on the number of hours worked.

Further information

You can find more advice about working in childcare from Coram PACEY and Early Years Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for playworker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • supervises children’s games and encourages the development of physical, social and language skills
  • provides play areas and prepares materials for a wide range of children’s activities
  • encourages children’s independence, self-confidence and social interaction
  • organises and supervises children on excursions
  • organises and supervises children’s activities in accordance with Health and Safety regulations, deals accordingly with injuries and emergencies
  • puts away equipment and cleans premises after use
  • liaises with parents, carers and colleagues and keeps appropriate records

Skills

  • communicate with youth
  • supervise children
  • provide first aid
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • apply conflict management
  • assist in children's development of basic personal skills
  • assist passengers
  • attend to children's basic physical needs
  • cooperate with colleagues
  • handle chemical cleaning agents
  • maintain relations with children's parents
  • monitor student's behaviour
  • play with children
  • assess the development of youth

Knowledge

  • common children's diseases
  • health and safety measures in transportation
  • passenger transport regulations
  • workplace sanitation
  • baby care
  • babysitting
  • disability care
  • pedagogy

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for caring personal service occupations, a group of 16 jobs that includes playworkers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 20%about 466,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.9 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.