National Minimum Standards for Regulated Day Care - Open Access Play for children aged 5 years to 12 years: statutory guidance - Audience and overview

The Introduction, Regulated Day Care – Open Access Play and Exceptions sections of the NMS statutory guidance provide information to help registered settings understand what they need to consider when caring for children. The guidance document then sets out all the Standards, followed by supplementary guidance in relevant Annexes and a Glossary of useful terms.

Each Standard begins with the Child’s Voice and a related Wellbeing Outcome, followed by the specific requirements. 

Each Standard includes links to the principal regulation(s) that are most relevant to the requirements detailed within that Standard. 

The list of relevant Regulations for each standard is not comprehensive, and it remains the responsibility of the registered person to ensure compliance with all applicable legal requirements and regulatory requirements related to their setting.

Links to Further Guidance and Support are also included throughout. 

The NMS will be put into practice in different ways according to the nature of the service or setting concerned, but all registered persons must have regard to the NMS and meet the relevant regulatory requirements for their service. Registered persons must also comply with any conditions of registration and provide their service in accordance with the Statement of Purpose for the service. 

The NMS are minimum standards for registration and the provision of quality childcare. The general expectation is that registered persons work toward ensuring that these standards are exceeded.