Appendix 9: Suggested Outdoor Space Area Provision Per Child

Appendix 9

Suggested Outdoor Space Area Provision Per Child
 

There is currently no minimum requirement for outdoor space for Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings in the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, or in any other Irish ELC policy or guidelines. However, best practice suggestions children require a substantial area of outdoor space for play, robust physical activity, and contact with nature.
 

This current guideline document suggests at least 9m2 per child would be appropriate. This figure follows on from the 2002 National Children’s Nurseries Association (NCNA) document ‘We like this place – Guidelines for Best Practice in the Design of Childcare Facilities’ (NCNA 2002).

“... at present there is no guideline in Ireland in relation to outdoor space. A minimum of 9m2 per child is recommended based on the specific number of children for which space is intended to be used at any one time. This excludes car parking and the ‘set back building line’.” (page 14).
 

This figure of 9m2 per child is comparable to the average level of outdoor area provision in other countries as illustrated by research conducted by Children in Europe (2005). Some examples of these countries are listed below in Table 1 in order of highest to lowest outdoor space requirements: 

Table 1 Outdoor space requirements per child in a number of Early Learning and Care settings across Europe (as published in 2005).