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

Child minders and day care providers are required to register in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 (the Measure) and associated regulations. The National Minimum Standards (NMS) is statutory guidance, made under section 30(3) of the Measure and regulation 14 of the Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010 (the Regulations), which applies to registered child minders and providers of day care for children up to 12 years of age.

The standards are designed to assist registered providers to meet the Regulations that are relevant to the service they provide. Registered persons must have regard to the standards which relate to the type of care provided. 

This NMS statutory guidance for regulated open access play are intended to allow a flexible approach, allowing providers to develop quality provision tailored to the needs of children, parents and local communities. They are intended to reflect the needs of children from 5 years to 12 years and to be proportional in the way in which they are applied. 

Throughout this document all references to Regulations refer to the Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010(as amended).

Please note: In all cases, the registered person, namely the registered provider of day care (open access play) is ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with the Regulations, having regard to the relevant NMS. This is always the case, even though in practice the responsibility may be delegated at a day-to-day level to a manager, person in charge or designated member of staff. Where day care is being provided by an organisation (a body corporate or an unincorporated association), a responsible individual who is responsible for day-to-day supervision of the provision of day care must be appointed by that organisation. 

If the organisation is a body corporate, the person appointed as the responsible individual must be a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the organisation. If the organisation is an unincorporated association the responsible individual must be an officer or member of its governing body.

The responsible individual must meet the regulatory requirements in terms of their suitability for the positions (as specified in regulation 6(3)(b)(iii) or (iv) of the Regulations. 

It is the responsible individual who will generally be expected to demonstrate the ongoing compliance of the day care provision with the various requirements of the Regulations, having regard to the relevant standards in the NMS. 

A person in charge must be appointed if the registered person is an organisation and the responsible individual is not in full day-to-day charge of the day care - open access play provision, or if the registered person is an individual who is not in full day-to-day charge. The legal requirements for appointment of a person in charge are found in Part 3 of the Regulations. 

Any reference to parent(s) includes carer(s) and those who are not parents but have parental responsibility.

References to staff include unpaid staff or volunteers.

The legislative framework for regulated day care in Wales sets out the functions of the Welsh Ministers as the registration authority. These functions are carried out on behalf of the Welsh Ministers by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).

In Wales, child minding and day care provision for children up to 12 years of age is regulated by CIW.  CIW registers, inspects and takes action to improve the quality and safety of regulated services for the well-being of the people of Wales. 

Regulated child minding and day care encompasses a wide range of different types of provision, which are subject to national minimum standards.  The standards within this document are for Regulated Day care - Open Access Play services. Open Access Play does not include overnight care. Childminding and other day care services are subject to different standards.

Individuals and organisations who make a registration application must meet the statutory test under section 26 of the Measure, namely that they are not disqualified from registration and satisfy and are likely to continue to satisfy the suitability requirements set out in the Regulations. 

Further information about registering to provide a service is available - Register to provide a service | Care Inspectorate Wales.

All registered providers are responsible for ensuring they continue to meet the requirements for registration. This includes the requirement to communicate with CIW regularly and keep them updated about their service. CIW carry out inspections of all registered child minding, day care and play provision.

Further information about inspections is available from CIW here - Our inspections | Care Inspectorate Wales.

Care for children aged 12 or over is not currently subject to registration under the Measure, but children aged 12 and over may be cared for at a setting that is registered under the Measure to provide care for children under 12 years of age.

Regulated childcare falls into two categories, Child minding and Day care.

A person provides day care for children up to the age of 12 if at any time the children are cared for on non-domestic premises.

Anyone who proposes to provide day care for children must be registered with CIW unless they are excepted from registration under Part 3 of the Child Minding and Day Care Exceptions (Wales) Order 2010 (as amended). 

Day care on non-domestic premises includes a range of provision types and CIW registers day care providers under the following categories: Full day care, sessional day care, out of school childcare, creche and open access play. 

The Regulations defines open access play provision as the provision of day care that does not require—

a) a prior arrangement with the registered person to provide such care; or

b) that children are escorted by a parent or other responsible person to and from the relevant premises.

For the purposes of registration under the Measure; ‘premises’ includes any area or vehicle. 

Open access play provision is staffed playwork provision, which is appropriate for children of all ages. For regulatory purposes, staffed Open Access Play provision is for children aged 5 to 12 years. It can be permanent or temporary provision, located in a variety of settings, which may operate with or without fixed premises. There is no prior arrangement with the registered person to provide childcare. Children are not required to be escorted by a parent or other responsible person to and from the relevant premises. Children are not restricted in their movements, other than where related to safety matters. 

For further information on the definition of play refer to ‘Wales – a Play friendly country’ statutory guidance for local authorities- Wales: a play friendly country | GOV.WALES.

The National Minimum Standards for all other Child minding and Day care are provided separately. See: National Minimum Standards for Regulated Childcare for children up to the age of 12 years: statutory guidance | GOV.WALES

Fixed site – after school, weekends and holidays

The service operates on an adventure playground or play centre. The service is open every weeknight from 3pm - 5.30pm, on Saturday from 10am – 3pm and during the school holidays from 10am - 3pm. 

Fixed site – school holidays only

The service operates from a community building and its grounds. The service operates for three weeks during the school summer holidays on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am - 4pm. 

Peripatetic– school holidays only 

Temporary play provision across 4 sites across the local authority area during the six-week school summer holidays.

Site 1 – Community centre grounds – Monday and Wednesday from 9.30am – 12pm.

Site 2 – Park – Monday and Wednesday from 12.30pm – 3pm 

Site 3 – Woodlands – Tuesday and Thursday from 12.30 – 3pm 

Site 4 – Grassland in a housing estate – Friday from 10am – 2pm. 

Exceptions - before April 2027

The Child Minding and Day Care Exceptions (Wales) Order 2010 (the 2010 Order) identifies circumstances under which providers are not presently required to register as child minders or day care providers in Wales. The exceptions are outlined below: 

Child minding exceptions

• The person is not required to register as a child minder to care for their own child, their foster child, a child they have parental responsibility for or a child they live with.
• If a person operates their service for exactly 2 hours or less per day, they are not required to register as a child minder.
• If a person is directly employed by the parents of up to two families to care for their children, and care is provided in the home of either of the families, the person is not required to register as a child minder. 
• If a person only cares for children between 6pm and 2am the following day, they are not required to register as a child minder. 
• A person is not required to register as a child minder where the person looks after children through the course of friendship and no payment (whether money or money’s worth) is made for the service.

Day care exceptions

• If the service operates at a given location for 5 days or less in any calendar year, they are not required to register as a day care provider. The provider will need to inform Care Inspectorate Wales of the dates they intend to run the service, before the first day of operation in that year.
• If a person operates their service for exactly 2 hours or less per day, they are not required to register as a day care provider.
• A person is not required to register as a day care provider if the care is provided at a care home, secure accommodation or a residential family centre that is already registered to provide care under the Registration and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.
• A person is not required to register as a day care provider if the care is provided in a hospital to a patient (whether that care is provided by the provider of the establishment directly or by a person employed on the provider’s behalf).
• If a person only cares for children between 6pm and 2am the following day and, the care is provided at a hotel, guest house, or other similar establishment for a child staying there, and the person providing the care does so for no more than two different clients at the same time, then they do not need to register as a day care provider.
• A person is not required to register as a day care provider where they are caring for children at a school and the care provided is incidental to the provision of the education. 
• A person is not required to register as a day care provider if all children attending are at least age 11, any care provided is incidental to youth work and there is nominal or no payment for this service. 
• A person is not required to register if providing coaching or tuition in no more than two of the following activity types: 
  
  - Sport
  - Performing arts
  - Arts and crafts
  - School study or homework support
  - Religious or cultural study

The provider can do any number of activities within each activity area, provided the focus is that the children receive coaching or tuition in the activity and any care given is incidental. If all children attending are aged 5 or over, the provider is not required to register as a day care provider. However, if they provide a coaching and tuition service for children under 5 years of age and they attend for more than 4 hours a day, they must register.

Guidance on these exceptions can be found at: Registering as a childcare provider: exceptions | GOV.WALES

Exceptions - from April 2027

The Welsh Government has undertaken a review of the 2010 Order and, as a result, a number of changes will be made to the exceptions in the 2010 Order. Those changes are set out in in the Child Minding and Day Care Exceptions (Revocation and Transitional Provision) (Wales) Order 2026 (the 2026 Order) which will replace and revoke the 2010 Order. 

The 2026 Order comes into force on 1 April 2027; providers will need to consider their provision against the 2026 Order to identify if they are exempt from registration as a child minder or day care provider in Wales. 

During a one-year transitional period, between April 2027 and April 2028, providers that are no longer exempt from registration because of the changes introduced by the 2026 Order will be required to apply for registration. Providers will have until 31st March 2028 to submit their application for registration to Care Inspectorate Wales. After this date, enforcement action can be taken where a provider is found to be operating without required registration. 

Given this change in the law, it is important to contact CIW for further advice to discuss your provision and whether you are required to register. 

Guidance on the new exceptions will be published in Autumn 2026. This will be available on the Welsh Government and Care Inspectorate Wales websites.