Playworkers: pay and what the work involves

Occupation 6117 · Caring, leisure and other service occupations

Playworkers

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.

How people enter it

Entry may not depend upon academic qualifications, although some employers will expect candidates to possess or be working towards a relevant qualification. NVQs/SVQs in Child Care and Education are available at levels 2 and 3. A DBS check is mandatory.

What the work involves

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

Also called

Afterschool club coordinator · Play leader · Playworker · School club leader

What it pays

Measure	Hours	Basis	Period	Value	Source
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	14,400.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	15,500.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	17,000.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	1,200.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	1,500.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	18,200.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
6117 : Playworkers	None	None	2026-03	1,100.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Region	Measure	Hours	Value	Period
East	6117 : Playworkers	None	withheld	2026-03
East Midlands	6117 : Playworkers	None	withheld	2026-03
London	6117 : Playworkers	None	2,900.00	2026-03
North East	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,300.00	2026-03
North West	6117 : Playworkers	None	2,400.00	2026-03
Northern Ireland	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,200.00	2026-03
Scotland	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,500.00	2026-03
South East	6117 : Playworkers	None	2,600.00	2026-03
South West	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,300.00	2026-03
Wales	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,100.00	2026-03
West Midlands	6117 : Playworkers	None	2,000.00	2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber	6117 : Playworkers	None	1,700.00	2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for playworkers vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 10 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Childminders · Early education and childcare assistants · Educational support assistants · Nannies and au pairs · Teaching assistants