Learning Disability Nurse Salary 2026/27: Band 5 to 6

This page is for people who want to train as a learning disability nurse, student nurses choosing a field, adult nurses considering a move, and registered learning disability nurses checking whether their band reflects their job. It covers the starting band, the route in, the difference between a registered nurse and a support worker, who employs learning disability nurses and what Scotland pays. For the wider ladder, see Band 5 nurse salary and mental health nurse salary, a separate registered field with a similar band structure. FrontlinePay is independent and every band figure comes from the published 2026/27 tables.

Learning disability nurse pay points 2026/27 (England)

Use the NHS Pay Calculator for your exact take-home pay at any band and point, including High Cost Area Supplement. For every band side by side, see the Agenda for Change pay scales guide.

Scotland's rates

NHS Scotland has its own 2026/27 table. For this role it runs from £34,544 to £52,679. Band 5: £34,544 to £43,039. Band 6: £43,231 to £52,679. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27 for every band.

Band 5 start, and what the review means

NHS Careers describes learning disability nurses as paid under Agenda for Change, typically starting at Band 5, on a standard week of about 37.5 hours that is often worked in shifts, including nights, early starts, evenings, weekends and bank holidays. In England for 2026/27 Band 5 runs from £32,073 to £39,043 over three pay points, and Band 6 from £39,959 to £48,117.

The Royal College of Nursing argues that registered nurses should be graded at Band 6, and in England NHS England has asked organisations to submit a Band 5 nursing job evaluation delivery plan by 31 July 2026, with the target of reviewing all Band 5 nursing roles by October 2028. The review is for England only. It does not mean an automatic uplift: a job is banded by matching its job description to the national profiles, so a post that already has Band 6 duties can be matched higher. Our paediatric nurse salary guide explains the review in more detail, because it applies to every Band 5 nursing field.

The June 2025 review of the national nursing profiles also archived the separate Band 6 team leader (learning disability) profile, and the general Band 6 team leader nursing profile remains. If you think your duties exceed your band, see NHS band regrading and appeals.

The route in: degree, registration and adding the field

NHS Careers says the main route is a university degree. Typical entry is five GCSEs at grade 4 or C or above, usually including English and a science, plus two A levels or a Level 3 equivalent such as a T Level or BTEC, though some universities ask for three A levels. Graduates may be able to take a postgraduate course. The courses listed include undergraduate bachelor's and integrated master's degrees, typically four years, and a two-year postgraduate diploma. Nursing degree apprenticeships and nursing associate apprenticeships are alternative routes. Universities set their own criteria, so check with them directly.

After the course you register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The register records learning disabilities nursing as its own qualification, separate from adult nursing, children's nursing and mental health nursing. That is why a nurse post in this field asks for learning disability registration.

The Royal College of Nursing says an adult nurse can add learning disability registration through an NMC-approved programme, which may be shortened or allow dual registration depending on the university. Our switching careers into nursing guide covers moves from other jobs, and the Learning Support Fund covers funding while you study.

After you qualify, preceptorship supports your first year. See NHS preceptorship explained for what to expect.

Where learning disability nurses work, and how that affects pay

NHS Careers says learning disability nurses work in people's homes, residential and nursing facilities, schools and colleges, specialist units such as prisons, GP practices and hospitals, alongside GPs, psychologists, social workers and therapists. They provide specialist healthcare and support to people with a learning disability and to their families and staff teams, aiming to improve or maintain physical and mental health, reduce barriers to independent living and support people to live fulfilling lives. The role includes education, advocacy and leadership.

The Royal College of Nursing adds that learning disability nurses can work across health, social care, education and the independent sector. That breadth is a strength of the field, and it is also why pay varies. An NHS employer uses Agenda for Change and the bands on this page. An independent or social care employer sets its own pay scale, and may or may not follow the NHS bands, pension or sick pay.

Before you accept an offer, ask which pay scale applies, which band the job is evaluated at, what pension is offered and what the sick pay and leave arrangements are. Our NHS vs private sector pay guide covers the questions to compare. If you move from the independent sector to the NHS, your starting point on the Agenda for Change scale depends on the job, and our moving between trusts guide explains what carries over between NHS employers.

Progression to Band 6, Band 7 and beyond

NHS Careers lists specialisms that include education, sensory disability and service management, and says nurses may move into management, teaching or clinical research. The Royal College of Nursing says learning disability and mental health nurses can also pursue Approved Clinician status, which requires nurse consultant-level work, a master's level education and a portfolio approved by a regional panel.

In band terms, the national nursing profiles describe where those posts land. The Band 6 profile covers a nurse who assesses patients with complex needs, uses specialist nursing skills, may develop specialist programmes, supervises others and may be responsible for a caseload, for example in the community. A community learning disability nurse who carries a caseload may fit that description. A separate Band 6 profile covers a team leader who is responsible for work allocation and supports registered and non-registered staff. The Band 7 profiles cover a nurse who delivers specialist care to a defined caseload and provides highly specialist advice and education, or one who provides leadership and management to the team.

A band is decided by the job description matched to a profile, not by years of service or the title. If you want to move up, look for posts with a caseload, supervision or specialist duties, and make sure those duties are written in your job description. For the realistic timeline, see NHS band progression, and for advanced practice, the ACP route, pay and training guide.

Shifts, nights and on-call

Learning disability nurses in hospital and other round-the-clock settings work shifts. For Band 4 and above in England, Section 2 of the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook adds 30% for Saturdays and weekday hours between 8pm and 6am, and 60% for Sundays and bank holidays, on top of basic hourly pay. Those rates are the same for a nurse in any field on the same band, so an inpatient rota earns the same enhancement as an adult ward rota.

A community learning disability team may work a weekday day pattern with little or no enhancement. On-call arrangements, where a service has them, are agreed locally by each employer and its staff side rather than set as a national percentage, as our on-call payments guide explains.

When you compare posts at the same band, compare the rota. A day-only community post and a rotating inpatient post can differ by thousands of pounds a year in total pay. Our unsocial hours payments guide sets out the rules, and the Unsocial Hours Calculator turns a rota into a figure.

NHS Careers lists benefits that include a pension scheme, health service discounts and 27 days' annual leave plus bank holidays.

Learning disability nursing in Scotland

NHS Scotland uses the same band numbers on its own 2026/27 table: Band 5 is £34,544 to £43,039 and Band 6 is £43,231 to £52,679, against £32,073 to £39,043 and £39,959 to £48,117 in England. NMC registration is UK-wide, so the learning disabilities nurse qualification is recognised across all four nations.

The Scottish table has fewer and larger pay points than England's, so a Scottish nurse reaches the top of their band sooner. The structure is explained on NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27. Since 1 April 2026 the Agenda for Change working week in NHS Scotland has been 36 hours, which affects hourly rates and overtime but not annual salary.

The Band 5 nursing review described above is for England only. For banding questions in Scotland, ask your health board, your employer or your union. If you are comparing a Scottish post with an English one, compare the pay point you would land on and the rota, not only the band label, because both can change what you take home.

Worked example: take-home pay for a learning disability nurse

Using the same 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension Scheme rules as our NHS Pay Calculator, here is what a full-time learning disability nurse on the England scale takes home outside a High Cost Area Supplement zone, before any unsocial hours enhancements.

Why you can trust these learning disability nurse pay figures

• ✓ Every band and pay point comes from the published 2026/27 Agenda for Change tables, not from job adverts.
• ✓ Facts about training, registration and progression are checked against the sources listed below, and the date is shown at the top.
• ✓ No NHS, DHSC or trust affiliation: an independent reference, not official guidance.

Sources: NHS Health Careers, learning disability nurse; Nursing and Midwifery Council, registration and qualification codes; Royal College of Nursing, registered nurses careers resource; NHS Employers, national profiles for nursing; NHS Employers, national Band 5 nursing review; NHS Employers, pay scales 2026/27. Last checked October 2026.

More on pay and the tools that go with it