Annual Salary
£30,000 to £45,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Social care or Therapy or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Social care or Therapy or go back to all job sectors
Children's nurses provide care for children and young people with health problems.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
There will be
3.8% more Children's nurse jobs in 2027.
In this role you could:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a hospice, at a children's care home, at a GP practice or at a health centre.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through a university course or an apprenticeship.
You can do a degree in children's nursing approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. You might be able to study another area of nursing alongside children's nursing on some degree courses.
You might be able to join the second year of a nursing degree if you already have a degree in:a health-related subject; psychology; life sciences; social work
Full-time courses usually take 3 years.
You'll usually need:
You might be able to apply for a Registered Nurse Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship, if you work in a healthcare setting like a hospital.
The degree apprenticeship takes around 4 years and is a mix of academic study and on-the-job training.
You'll need the support of your employer to do a degree apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You might find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience in healthcare before you apply for nurse training. It might also be useful to have experience working with children or young people.
You'll need to:
You can find advice about how to become a children's nurse from the Royal College of Nursing and Health Careers.
With experience, you could:specialise in an area like burns, child protection, cancer care, neonatal nursing or intensive care; run a ward or team of nurses by becoming a clinical team leader or ward manager; work towards a management role like matron or director of nursing; train as a health visitor, school nurse or practise nurse in a doctor's surgery; do further study to become a nurse consultant and carry out research and training
The NMC has more information on registering if you qualified as a nurse outside of the UK.
You'll need: