What a School Nurse payslip looks like
A typical UK school nurse payslip is paid monthly and shows a basic pay line at the top. Registered nurses who lead public-health, safeguarding and immunisation work for school-aged children in the community. The line items below depend on grade, shift pattern and contractual additions, but the structure usually mirrors HMRC's recommended payslip layout: a payments block, a deductions block, a year-to-date column, and a net pay summary.
Common employers in this occupation include NHS community trusts, local authority public-health services, school-nursing and 0 to 19 services. Each employer runs payroll slightly differently, but the underlying PAYE computation against tax code 1257L and Class 1 National Insurance is identical across the UK (excluding Scotland for income tax). The biggest variability between two school nurse payslips at the same gross will be in the additions block: Agenda for Change Band 5 to 6, but as mainly term-time daytime work there is little unsocial-hours pay. Term-time-only contracts are normally annualised across 12 months, so check pay is spread evenly. The NMC fee (£120, rising to £143 on 1 October 2026) is tax-relievable.
Year-to-date columns are critical to verify on this role because the additions and salary sacrifice items change month to month. If your YTD gross divided by months elapsed in the tax year does not match your expected annual run-rate, that is the single best signal that something is mis-coded.
Depends how you are engaged
Flat rate expenses for uniforms, work clothing and tools and school nurse pay
The heading above the £125 is about who employs you: health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers. A school nurse on a local authority or NHS trust contract is inside that list and claims £125. One employed directly by an independent school is employed by none of the four, and drops to the £60 laundry figure for a uniform no national agreement covers. The payslip logo tells you which you are.
- Standard rate where your trade has no agreed figure
- £60 a year
- What a £60 deduction is actually worth
- £12 a year at the 20% rate
Educational only. Whether this reaches your own pay turns on your contract and how you are engaged, and tribunal and claim time limits are short. Check the limit that applies to you before relying on a date.
Flat rate expenses for uniforms, work clothing and tools: the rates, the payslip lines, what goes wrong and the 27 primary sources. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 367 (fixed sum deductions for repairing and maintaining work equipment), sitting inside the general rule at section 336, with the agreed amounts published at EIM32712, in force for the tax years 2008 to 2009 onwards, the span the published table of amounts gives itself.
Applies to some of this work
Term time only pay and holiday pay for part-year workers and school nurse pay
School nursing is the one clinical post built around the school calendar, and where the contract is term time only it is normally annualised so that the same amount lands in August as in March. Annualising is exactly what hides the reduction: the Agenda for Change band you were appointed to is a full year figure and your salary is a percentage of it, with neither the percentage nor the full year figure written anywhere on the payslip. Plenty of 0 to 19 services run through the holidays for immunisation and safeguarding work, so it is the contract rather than the job title that settles whether any of this touches you.
- Statutory paid annual leave
- 5.6 weeks
- Accrual rate for irregular hours and part-year workers
- 12.07%
Educational only. Whether this reaches your own pay turns on your contract and how you are engaged, and tribunal and claim time limits are short. Check the limit that applies to you before relying on a date.
Term time only pay and holiday pay for part-year workers: the rates, the payslip lines, what goes wrong and the 17 primary sources. Working Time Regulations 1998, regulations 13A, 15B, 15F, 16 and 16A, as amended by the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1426), and Harpur Trust v Brazel [2022] UKSC 21, in force leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, with Brazel decided 20 July 2022.
Depends how you are engaged
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and school nurse pay
This role splits on the commissioner and the contract, not on the work. School nursing is commissioned by local authority public health, but a great deal of it is delivered by NHS community trusts and social enterprises under contract. The scheme's eligibility rule is that employees able to join the NHS pension scheme are generally barred from the LGPS, so a school nurse holding an NHS trust contract is in the NHS scheme, and one employed directly by the council's public health service is in the LGPS. Term time only pay annualised across twelve months is the actual pensionable pay the band is read from, which is lower than the headline whole year rate for the grade.
- Lowest band, England and Wales
- 5.5% on actual pensionable pay up to £18,400
- A middle band, England and Wales
- 6.5% on £29,001 to £47,300
Educational only. Whether this reaches your own pay turns on your contract and how you are engaged, and tribunal and claim time limits are short. Check the limit that applies to you before relying on a date.
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): the rates, the payslip lines, what goes wrong and the 22 primary sources. The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2356), in force 1 April 2026 for the contribution bands, with career average build-up since 1 April 2014.
School Nurse salary bands (UK 2024)
ONS ASHE 2024 full-time gross pay. Net figures use 2026/27 PAYE bands and assume 5% of qualifying earnings (£6,240–£50,270) under a net-pay arrangement — before income tax, but not before National Insurance.
| Band | Gross / year | Net / year | Net / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile | £39,959 | £30,941 | £2,578 |
| Median | £42,170 | £32,445 | £2,704 |
| 75th percentile | £48,117 | £36,489 | £3,041 |
Common deductions for a School Nurse
- PAYE income tax.Calculated against tax code 1257L. Cumulative coding means refunds can appear if you start mid-year.
- National Insurance (Class 1).8% between £12,570 and £50,270 of annual earnings, then 2% above. Period-by-period method is standard.
- Pension.Auto-enrolment minimum 5% employee on qualifying earnings (£6,240 - £50,270), unless your employer runs a more generous scheme such as the NHS, Teachers Pension or Civil Service alpha.
- Salary sacrifice patterns.Common in this occupation: cycle-to-work, electric-car salary sacrifice, additional pension contributions, and where applicable workplace nursery vouchers (still tax-efficient via pre-existing schemes).
- Union or professional body.Tax-deductible for HMRC-listed bodies. School Nurses commonly hold subscriptions covered by section 344 ITEPA 2003 (List 3).
School Nurse payslip FAQ
What is the average School Nurse salary in the UK in 2024?
According to ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024 for SOC code 2231, the median full-time gross annual salary for a School Nurse in the UK is approximately £42,170. The 25th percentile sits at £39,959 and the 75th at £48,117.
What is take-home pay on a median School Nurse salary?
On £42,170 gross with the standard 1257L tax code and 5% of qualifying earnings into a net-pay pension, monthly take-home is approximately £2,704 after PAYE income tax, Class 1 employee National Insurance and auto-enrolment pension. Actual figures vary if you have student loan, salary sacrifice or a non-cumulative tax code.
What is unusual about a School Nurse payslip?
Agenda for Change Band 5 to 6, but as mainly term-time daytime work there is little unsocial-hours pay. Term-time-only contracts are normally annualised across 12 months, so check pay is spread evenly. The NMC fee (£120, rising to £143 on 1 October 2026) is tax-relievable.
Which tax code should a School Nurse typically be on?
Most people in this role on standard PAYE will see 1257L. Check the prefix and suffix carefully: a K-prefix means deductions exceed your allowance (often after a bonus or P11D benefit), 0T means you have no allowance left at this employer, and BR means basic rate on the whole job (common in second jobs).
Salary estimates: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024, full-time gross annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation. Figures rounded to nearest £100.