Paediatric Nurse Salary 2026/27: Band 5 to Band 6

This page is for people considering children's nursing, student children's nurses who want to know what their first post will pay, and newly qualified paediatric nurses checking their band. "Paediatric nurse" and "children's nurse" mean the same registered role: the Nursing and Midwifery Council's register uses "children's nurse". The page covers the band, the route in, why a paediatric nurse is not paid more than other nurses at the same band, and what the national review of Band 5 nursing roles in England means for you. For the full nursing ladder, see Band 5 nurse salary and how to become a nurse. FrontlinePay is independent and every band figure comes from the published 2026/27 tables.

Paediatric 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 national review means

NHS Careers describes children's nurses as paid under Agenda for Change, typically starting at Band 5, on a standard week of about 37.5 hours worked in a shift pattern. In England for 2026/27 Band 5 runs from £32,073 to £39,043 over three pay points.

There is a live debate about whether that is the right level. The Royal College of Nursing's position statement of 21 July 2026 argues that registered nurses should be graded at Band 6, with automatic progression after a period of consolidated learning or preceptorship, and says about half the UK nursing workforce is still at Band 5. In England, NHS Employers reports that the government has committed to reviewing all Band 5 nursing roles. NHS England 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 page covers England only.

What that means for you: nothing automatic yet. A review means jobs are evaluated against the national profiles, and a job that matches a higher profile will be banded higher. It does not mean your band changes on a set date, and nobody should promise an uplift. NHS Employers says the updated national job matching profiles for nursing and midwifery (Band 4 and above) published in 2025 should inform local reviews of nursing job descriptions.

If your duties already exceed a Band 5 profile, see NHS band regrading and appeals, and for the realistic timeline, NHS band progression.

Routes in: degree, apprenticeship and registration

NHS Careers says the main route is an undergraduate degree. Typical requirements are five GCSEs at grade 4 or C or above, including English and a science subject, plus two A levels or an equivalent Level 3 qualification such as a T Level or BTEC, though some universities ask for three A levels. Graduates may be able to study at postgraduate level, and nursing degree apprenticeships and nursing associate apprenticeships are alternative routes. Universities set their own criteria, so check with them directly.

To work as a registered children's nurse you join the NMC register. The register records the children's nurse qualification as its own entry, separate from adult nursing, learning disability nursing and mental health nursing. That is why a "paediatric nurse" post will ask for registration as a children's nurse, and why you should check the person specification of any post that is advertised as paediatric.

Employers also look for communication and interpersonal skills, judgement and evidence that you apply the NHS Constitution values. NHS Careers describes the job as caring for patients from newborns to teenagers, supporting their families, and reading a child's behaviour and reactions because children may not be able to describe pain or symptoms. Children's nurses work in hospitals, day care centres, clinics and the community, including a child's home.

Our Learning Support Fund guide covers funding while you study, and NHS preceptorship explained covers your first year after registration.

Moving from Band 5 to Band 6 and Band 7

There is no automatic move from Band 5 to Band 6 in England today, and no fixed timeline. A band follows the job. The national nursing profiles describe the difference. The Band 5 profile covers a nurse who provides nursing assessment, plans and evaluates programmes of care, provides clinical supervision to others and gives health promotion advice. The Band 6 profile covers a nurse who assesses patients with complex needs, uses specialist nursing skills, may develop specialist programmes, provides day-to-day or clinical supervision, and may carry a caseload, for example in the community. A separate Band 6 profile covers a team leader who allocates work and supports registered and non-registered staff.

Band 7 profiles describe a nurse who delivers specialist nursing care to a defined caseload and provides highly specialist advice, specialist education and audit leadership, or a role providing leadership and management to registered and non-registered staff.

NHS Careers says that after qualifying you can specialise, for example in health visiting or school nursing, or move into management, teaching or clinical research. Our guides to health visitor salary and school nurse salary cover those routes, and neonatal nurse salary covers the neonatal unit. The Neonatal Nurses Association says adult nurses, paediatric nurses and midwives can all become neonatal nurses.

Inside a band, pay moves up the points on your incremental date, as explained in our pay progression guide.

Shifts, nights and what they add

NHS Careers says the standard week is about 37.5 hours on a shift pattern that can include nights, early starts, evenings, weekends and bank holidays. For Band 4 and above in England, Section 2 of the NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook adds 30% for Saturdays and for weekday hours between 8pm and 6am, and 60% for Sundays and bank holidays, on top of your basic hourly rate. These rates apply equally to a children's ward, an adult ward and a clinic, so a children's nurse on a rotating rota earns the same enhancement as any other nurse on the same band and hours.

What differs is the rota. A children's ward, an assessment unit or a hospital emergency service may be rostered across the full week, while a day clinic or a community children's service may follow weekday hours with little enhancement. Check the rota and the shift length in the job advert, because the same band can produce very different take-home pay.

For the full rules, including how enhancements work across midnight, see NHS unsocial hours payments explained, and use the Unsocial Hours Calculator or the rota take-home calculator for your own pattern.

If you are weighing extra bank shifts, our bank versus substantive post comparison explains the trade-offs.

Children's 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 a children's nurse registered in one nation can work in another subject to the employer's checks.

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 NHS Employers page on the Band 5 review is about England only, so the review timetable above does not apply to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you work in those nations, check with your health board, employer or union about local arrangements for banding.

Worked example: take-home pay for a paediatric 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 paediatric nurse on the England scale takes home outside a High Cost Area Supplement zone, before any unsocial hours enhancements.

Why you can trust these paediatric 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, children's nurse; NHS Employers, national Band 5 nursing review; Royal College of Nursing, position on nursing being a Band 6 profession; NHS Employers, national profiles for nursing; Nursing and Midwifery Council, registration and qualification codes; Neonatal Nurses Association, becoming a neonatal nurse; NHS Employers, pay scales 2026/27. Last checked October 2026.

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