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When it comes to Wales’ childcare standards, your child’s nursery and other childcare providers must follow the National Minimum Standards (NMS) in Wales and regulations to be allowed to operate. The National Minimum Standards aim to ensure your child is supported to reach their potential as individuals.
The regulatory body responsible for ensuring standards are upheld by childminding and day care providers is Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)
National Minimum Standards are used by the regulator to determine whether early years settings provide adequate care for your children.
What are the childcare rules in Wales and who upholds them?
The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) monitors, inspects and publishes reports to ensure that early years providers in Wales uphold the minimum standards and provide high quality childcare. The CIW assesses each provider based on the national minimum standards Wales. It looks at well-being, care and development, environment as well as leadership and management.
CIW reports help parents and guardians make informed decisions about childcare and early years education and ensures each provider is held to a high standard.
What are the National Minimum Standards?
National Minimum Standards apply to all registered providers of childcare in Wales unless specifically indicated. There are 24 standards which childcare providers for children up to the age of 12 must meet.
The National Minimum Standards for childcare for Wales cover 8 areas:
- Information
- Planning for individual needs and preferences
- Empowering service users, encouraging lifestyle choices
- Quality of care
- Staffing
- Conduct and management of the services
- Complaints, protection and notifications of significant events
- The physical environment
The standards are put in practice in different ways because different nurseries across Wales take different childcare approaches. For example, some childcare providers may follow the Reggio Emilia approach, but regardless of a nursery provider’s approach, they must all adhere to the NMS and meet regulatory requirements.
National Minimum Standards for childcare in Wales
Each of the 24 standards is listed and summarised below. This includes staff ratios, meeting individual needs, and more.
The below standards are the minimum requirements providers must meet to provide quality childcare in Wales. It is expected that they continuously work towards exceeding these standards.
1. Information
You as a parent/ guardian must be given sufficient accurate information. This enables you to make an informed decision about the service. Providers must compile a Statement of Purpose outlining aims and objectives, services offered, facilities available and more.
2. The contract
Your nursery provider must ensure a written contract has been agreed with you as a parent/guardian. It should outline the expectations of both parties about the care of the child, activities etc. Your contract must include the terms and conditions, e.g. information about dietary needs, financial matters and fees and complaints.
3. Assessment
Your child should have their needs and preferences identified and your as a parent should be informed of how these will be met.
You as a parent and your child should be encouraged to visit before your child starts attending. This is to make sure each child’s needs are clearly identified.
If you are a parent, you should be asked about any information you need to share to ensure the best possible care for your child.
4. Meeting individual needs
Your child’s individual needs, including any Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, should be planned and provided for.
Early years providers are responsible for ensuring that they can meet the assessed needs of children placed with them. They must ensure that their staff have the skills and experience necessary to plan for and meet your child’s individual needs and preferences.
5. Records
You as a parent and the CIW should have appropriate access to a full range of records maintained by your early years provider.
Records that must be kept include the name, address and telephone number of the registered person, the responsible individual and every person living, working or employed on the premises where childcare is provided.
The records of the name, address, date of birth and sex of each relevant child should be kept. Each child’s special dietary or health needs or allergies must also be on record. The contact details of parents must also be on record.
Any accidents, serious illness and other significant events on the premises which affected the welfare of children must be recorded and maintained.
In particular, records about your child must be kept secure and confidential and available to the CIW on request.
6. Working in partnership with parents
You, as a parent, must be kept fully involved and informed about your child’s activities, achievements and progress.
As a parent, you should receive details of what your child has achieved during the day, including significant changes in behaviour. Providers must regularly share information with you about activities and keep records with details about your child and their progress.
When caring for children under two years of age, providers must ensure there is a daily system for the exchange of information between you as a parent and the key worker, about a child’s changing developmental and care needs and routines.
7. Opportunities for play and learning
Childcare providers must ensure children have a range of experiences that contribute to their emotional, physical, social, intellectual, language and creative development. The experiences must include freely chosen, unstructured and self-directed play.
Staff must observe what children do to help plan play, learning and development. For three to seven-year-olds, The Foundation Phase’s seven areas of learning should be applied appropriately.
When giving care for children under two years of age, nursery providers must ensure the children interact with a consistent adult at frequent intervals throughout the day, that there is clear planning of activities.
Children under two should be fed and changed by their key worker or a consistent adult.
8. Nurture and well-being
Your child should feel secure, happy and comfortable with their carers and in their environment. Their rights should be respected.
The settling-in process must be appropriate for the individual child to minimise separation anxiety and distress from you as a parent/guardian.
9. Behaviour
The behaviour of children is managed in a way that respect their rights and promotes their welfare and development. A written behaviour management policy must be drawn up and implemented.
Physical punishments or the threat of them, must never be used.
10. Healthcare
Providers must identify health care needs of every child and address them as appropriate. Your child should benefit from the way good health is promoted.
Premises and equipment must be kept clean and hygienic. Children should be encouraged to learn about good personal hygiene and practise it as part of their daily routine.
At least one person caring for the children must have a current qualification in first aid appropriate for the age of the children.
11. Medication
Your child must be safeguarded by the setting’s policies and procedures about medication and receive the medication they need.
Any medication administered to your child must be with the written agreement of you as a parent/guardian and with an understanding of the possible side effects. If medication is self-administered by your child, it must be in line with written guidance from the parent/guardian.
12. Food and drink
Childcare providers must ensure that children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs.
Information about individual dietary requirements (including cultural, religious and therapeutic) should be obtained from parents/guardians and complied with.
Meals and snacks should be nutritionally balanced. Fresh drinking water should be freely available at all times.
13. Suitable person
Children’s needs must be fully met by those who look after them.
For childminders: Childminders and any assistant employed by them must be suitable to look after children up to the age of 12. They must have the appropriate skills, experience and qualifications to meet the needs of the children.
They must have undergone a vetting procedure. This includes a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) enhances disclosure check before commencing caring for children.
For day care: The registered persons must ensure they are able to demonstrate their suitability and that of any other person providing day care. Suitability checks include DBS enhanced disclosure checks.
The person in charge (manager) must have at least two years’ experience of working in a day care setting prior to their appointment. The person in charge must have at least a recognised level 3 qualification.
At least half of non-supervisory staff must hold at least a level 2 qualification, and 50 per cent of these must have a level 3 qualification.
For full day care, at least 80 per cent of non-supervisory staff must hold a level 2 qualification. Half of these must hold a level 3 qualification.
14. Organisation
When it comes to childcare standards in Wales, you as a parent/guardian and your child should benefit from a well organised and planned service. An operational plan must be developed and reviewed periodically.
All children must be allocated a key worker. The keyworker is mainly responsible for their wellbeing on a daily basis and who communicates with parents/guardians.
Children under two years old must be cared for in groups of no more than 12.
15. Staffing ratios
In day care, minimum staff ratios are:
• One adult to three children under two years
• One adult to four children aged two years
• One adult to eight children aged three to seven years
• One adult to ten children aged eight to 12 years
The maximum number of children a childminder may care for is:
• 10 children up to 12 years of age
• Of those 10 children, no more than six may be under eight years of age
• Out of the six, no more than three may be under five years
• Of those three, normally no more than two may be under 18 months
16. Equal opportunities
All children must be treated with equal concern and respect.
17. Financial procedures
Your child and you as a parent must be safeguarded by the registered provider/person operating sound financial procedures.
18. Quality assurance
Your child and parents, should benefit from a quality service that is effectively monitored. The provider must ensure there are effective quality assurance and quality monitoring systems in place. The views of your child and you as a parent are sought as part of the process.
19. Complaints
All childcare providers are responsible for ensuring that there is a simple, clear and accessible written complaints procedure in operation. Children and parents’ complaints must be listened to, taken seriously and acted on.
20. Child protection
Children must be protected from harm and abuse. You, as their parent/guardian, should be confident that all possible steps to protect children from abuse are taken. The protection of the child must be the first priority and everybody’s responsibility.
21. Notifications of significant events
Any impacts on children’s welfare must be made known.
Day care providers and childminders must immediately inform the CIW of any changes in persons looking after children.
Any changes in facilities, outbreaks of infectious disease, allegations of serious harm to a child and any other event likely to affect a child’s welfare on the premises must be reported to the CIW.
22. Environment
The environment in which children are cared for must be safe, secure and suitable for its purpose.
Rooms should be maintained at a temperature of at least 18 degrees Centigrade. Play areas should be large enough for free movement and spread out activities.
Outdoor play space should normally be provided. In the event this is not possible, children should be taken to parks, playgrounds or the equivalent on a regular basis.
23. Equipment
All furniture, equipment, toys and materials should be appropriate and suitable for the children’s needs.
For children under two, equipment should provide varied sensory opportunities both indoors and outdoors. Cots or other appropriate furniture must be provided for rest or sleep.
24. Safety
At all times, safety must be promoted within the childcare setting and on outings. Proper precautions must be taken to prevent accidents. All health and safety regulations must complied with at the childcare setting. Early years staff should be trained to understand them.
Children must be supervised at all times. There must be a system for managing access to the nursery premises and a record of visitors should be kept.
A risk assessment of the premises should be completed at least annually. It must be reviewed when there are changes to the premises or the needs of the children.
Always check inspection reports
When looking for a nursery or other childcare setting, it is vital that you check a childcare setting’s inspection report, to ensure they meet and exceed Wales’ childcare standards.
You can search the CIW’s directory to find inspection reports.
Read tips and advice on how to find a nursery that suits your child, including questions to ask.
