Criterion PF101 #

The design and layout of the premises:

• support varied indoor and outdoor experiences;
• support effective adult supervision without unduly limiting children’s access; and
• include quiet spaces, areas for active play, and space for varied individual and group learning experiences appropriate to the number, ages, and abilities of children.

Guidance#

How to show you are complying#

The design and layout of your service’s environment will influence the curriculum experiences provided to children.

This means you will need to have indoor and outdoor space for both individual and group learning experiences and set up activity areas so children can explore a variety of learning experiences.

In practice, for indoor spaces should support both larger and smaller group activities, allowing children to gather comfortably in ways that suit different learning needs. Small, separate rooms can make it difficult to support larger group activities and effective supervision. Low furniture such as shelving along with carpets or mats, can help define flexible activity areas while still maintaining clear lines of sight for supervision.

Adults should be able to scan the environment while working alongside children. An open or varied outdoor layout gives children space to be active and creative, and helps adults supervise effectively. Long and narrow, or complex shapes (like an L-shape) can limit play activity options and make supervision harder.

In these cases, you might be asked to explain how supervision is managed, close off certain areas, or increase staffing to make sure children are safe.

Regulation 22(5c) allows the Ministry to require additional staffing above regulated maximums if there are concerns about supervision. For example, the number of staff insufficient to effectively supervise the entire space due to the design and layout of the premises even if you’re meeting the required ratios.