Legislated requirements for outdoor play/environment and physical activity
Province/
Territory
Act and
regulations
Requirements re: outdoor environment
Requirements re:
time and program
aspects of physical
activity
Newfoundland
and Labrador
Child Care
Services Act.
1998.
Child Care
Services
Regulations,
2005, 89/05
8.(1) A child care service
(a) shall, if it is centre based,
(vi) if it operates more than 4 hours a
session, have access to an outdoor play area
on-site, surfaced, enclosed, of a size and
equipped in the manner determined by the
minister, and
(vii) if it operates for 4 or fewer hours a
session, have access to an outdoor play area
which, if it is on-site, shall conform to the
requirements of subparagraph (vi), but if it is
not on-site, which is safe and appropriate for
the purpose, in the opinion of a director; and
(b) if it is a family child care service which
has an on-site outdoor play area, it shall
conform to the requirements of
subparagraph (vi), but if it does not have an
on-site outdoor play space, then with
subparagraph (vii).
Not specified
Prince Edwards
Island
Child Care
Facilities Act.
1988. Chapter
c-5.
Child Care
Facilities
Regulations.
PART II
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
12. A facility shall provide a minimum of
3/1/2 square metres of indoor
space and a minimum of 7 square metres of
outdoor space for each child
enrolled in the facility. (EC475/87)
13. Where there is no outdoor space
immediately adjacent to the facility,
nearby parks or other open space, which in
the Board's judgment is
appropriate to the nature of the program
activities offered, may be used.
(EC475/87)
Not specified
Nova Scotia
Day Care Act,
1989.
Day Care
Regulations (a
mended 2011
by N.S. Reg.
155/2011)
Outdoor play equipment and space
requirements for facilities
22 (1) An outdoor play space used by a
facility must be accessible to all enrolled
children, including those with diverse
abilities.
(2) Children enrolled in a full-day program
or a school-age program must be provided
with either of the following:
(a) One or more outdoor play spaces
located at the facility that are safe and
suitable for the age range of the children
enrolled in the program; or
Program
18 (3) For children
enrolled in a full-day
program or a family
home day care
program, all of the
following must be
provided daily:
(a)a rest time;
(b) a developmentally
appropriate period of
outdoor activity in the
morning and afternoon,
(b) access to a safe and suitable outdoor
play space that is within a reasonable
distance of the facility and that is suitable for
the age range of the children enrolled in the
program.
(3) Except for outdoor play spaces located
at a public school or a private school, for the
purpose of clause (2)(a) an outdoor play
space located at a facility must meet all of
the following requirements:
(a) it must provide at least 7 m
2
(75 ft.
2
) of
play space per child using the play space;
(b) it must be large enough to
accommodate the largest age group of
children enrolled in the program, other than
infants;
(c)it must be enclosed by a fence that is at
least 1.2 m (4 ft.) high.
(4) If any infants are enrolled in a full-day
program, there must be a separate outdoor
play space for the infants at the facility or in
the immediate vicinity that meets all of the
following requirements:
(a) it must provide at least 7 m
2
(75 ft.
2
) of
play space per infant using the play space;
(b) it must be large enough to
accommodate all of the infants enrolled in
the program;
(c)it must be enclosed by a fence that is at
least 1.2 m (4 ft.) high.
Outdoor play space requirements for
family day care homes
24(1) An outdoor play space used by a
family home day care program must be
accessible to all enrolled children, including
those with diverse abilities.
(2) Children enrolled in a family home day
care program must be provided with an
outdoor play area that is
(a) on the premises of the family day care
home and enclosed by a fence that is at least
1.2 m (4 ft.) high; or
(b) within a reasonable distance of the
family day care home and that has been
determined by the agency to be safe and
appropriate.
(3) An outdoor play space used by children
enrolled in a family home day care program
must be supervised in accordance with the
staff-to-children ratios and group sizes set
out in Section 34 for a family home day care
program.
except when extreme
weather conditions
exist;
(c)opportunities for
physical activity.
New Brunswick
Family
Services Act
and Daycare
4.6 Outdoor Play Space
4.6.1 Day Care Centres
Outdoor play space must:
Not specified
Regulations.
1980.
Child Day
Care Facilities
Operator
Standards
(Interim, June
2012)
-be measured by the Coordinator and
provide a minimum of four and one half
-(4.5) square metres (48 square feet) per
child to accommodate fifty per cent
-(50%) of the centre’s approved capacity
-be enclosed on all sides by a fence of a least
1.22 metre (4 feet) in height for
-children under the age of five (5)
-have gates equipped with bolts and latches
which must be locked at all times
-when children are using the play space
-have a surface which is well drained and
free from depressions in which
-water may stand
-be maintained free of glass, debris, animal
litter
-be adjacent to the centre
Day care centres, approved to care for
children under the age of two (2) must
either:
- ensure this age group use the outdoor play
space at a time separate from all
other age groups
or
- designate an area within the outdoor play
space to meet the needs of this age
group
A fenced outdoor play space is not required
for school age children. Day care
centres, approved to care for school age
children, must ensure that the children
have access to an outdoor play space; if this
space is not adjacent to the facility,
it must be within reasonable walking
distance.
4.6.2 Community Day Care Homes
Community day care homes must provide
outdoor play space, which is either directly
adjacent to the Operator’s home or within
walking distance, for example, a
neighbourhood park or playground.
Quebec
Educational
Childcare Act.
2006.
Educational
Childcare
Regulation.
§4. Outdoor play spaces and outdoor play
areas
39. A permit holder must provide the
children with
(1) an outdoor play space, enclosed by a
safety fence at least 1.20 m in height,
situated less than 500 m from the facility to
which the permit holder has access during
the hours childcare is provided and whose
minimum area must be 4 m
2
per child,
allowing for at least one third of the
maximum number of children stated on the
114. Unless prevented
from doing so by
inclement weather, a
childcare provider must
ensure that the children
are taken outdoors
every day to a safe
place where they can
be supervised.
permit to be accommodated at a time; or
(2) an outdoor children's play space in a
public park within 500 m of the facility,
delimited by a fence and accessible during
the hours of childcare.
The play space must be suitably and safely
laid out and, if it has an outdoor play area,
that area must be adapted to the age of the
children. The distance of 500 m is measured
by the shortest route taken to walk the
distance safely.
Ontario
Day Nurseries
Act. 1990.
Playground
21. (1) Every operator of a day nursery shall
ensure that each day nursery operated by the
operator that has a program that runs for six
hours or more in a day has an outdoor play
space that is at least equivalent to 5.6 square
metres for each child based on the licensed
capacity, unless otherwise approved by a
Director. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 262, s. 21 (1).
Program
53.(5)(b) each child
over thirty months of
age that is in
attendance for six
hours or more in a day
plays outdoors for at
least two hours each
day, weather
permitting, unless a
physician or parent of
the child advises
otherwise in writing.
R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 262,
s. 53 (4); O. Reg.
50/91, s. 1.
Manitoba
Community
Child Care
Standards Act.
2004. Chapter
c-158.
Child Care
Regulations
62/86.
Space
9(3) Every licensee who operates a full time
child care centre, a nursery school which
provides child care for more than four
continuous hours per day, or a school age
child care centre shall provide or have
access to outdoor play space which provides
for a minimum of seven square metres per
child and accommodates the greater of 50%
of the number of licensed spaces or 55
square metres, and
(a) in the case of a full time child care centre
or nursery school providing child care for
more than four continuous hours per day the
space shall be located within 350 metres of
the centre; (b) in the case of a school age
child care centre the space shall be located
within 700 metres of the centre.
Daily Program
10(4) Every licensee
who operates a full
time child care centre,
a nursery school which
provides child care for
more than four
continuous hours per
day or a school age
child care centre, shall
provide outdoor play
for children attending
the child care centre on
a daily basis except
where (a) prohibited by
a child's parent,
guardian or family
physician; (b) the wind
chill is below !25;
(c) the temperature is
below !25° C; (d) the
wind chill or
temperature would,
according to the policy
of the school division
where the facility is
located, prohibit
outdoor play by
children; or (e) another
form of weather or a
condition exists that
would affect a child's
health, safety or well-
being.
Saskatchewan
Child Care
Act. 2000.
Child Care
Regulations
2001
Outdoor play area
58(1) The licensee of a centre must provide
a safe outdoor play area of seven
square metres per licensed child care space.
(2) Unless otherwise provided in the licence,
at least half of the outdoor play area
required by subsection (1) must be adjacent
to the centre and the remainder must
be within walking distance of the centre,
determined in relation to the youngest age
category for which the centre is licensed.
66 A licensee of a home must provide a safe
outdoor play area that is sufficient for
the number of licensed child care spaces and
resident child care spaces and that is:
(a) adjacent to the home; or
(b) where there is insufficient outdoor play
area adjacent to the home, within
walking distance of the home, determined in
relation to the youngest child
attending the home.
Not specified
Alberta
Social Care
Facilities
Licensing Act.
2000.
Child Care
Regulation
180/2000.
Outdoor play space
19(1) A licence holder must provide outdoor
play space that is adjacent to or within easy
and safe walking distance from the program
premises and accommodates at least 50% of
the licensed capacity at a level of not less
than 2 square metres for each child under 19
months of age and not less than 4.5 square
metres for each child who is 19 months of
age or over.
Not specified
British
Columbia
Community
Care and
Assisted
Living Act.
2002.
Child Care
Licensing
Regulation
332/2007.
Play area, materials and equipment
16 (1) A licensee, other than a licensee who
provides a care program described as
Occasional Child Care or Child-minding,
must have for each child at least 7 m
2
of
outdoor play area.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a
licensee who provides a care program
described as Family Child Care, but the
licensee must provide an indoor and outdoor
play area for children.
(3) A licensee must ensure that the entire
outdoor play area is
(a) enclosed in a manner that is suitable for
the age and development of children, and
will ensure that children are free of harm,
and
Program of activities
44 (3) A licensee,
other than a licensee
providing a care
program described as
Occasional Child Care,
must provide each
child with daily
outdoor play periods
unless weather
conditions would make
it unreasonable to do
so.
(b) constructed in a manner, and using
materials, that are suitable for the age and
development of the children intended to use
it.
Northwest
Territory
Child Day
Care Act.
1990. Chapter
c-3.
Child Day
Care
Standards and
Regulations.
Nutritional
standardsNutri
tional
standards
Exterior
20. (1) Every operator shall provide safe
outdoor play space.
(2) Where the outdoor play space is not
adjacent to the child day care facility, the
operator shall
(a) provide safe access to the space; and
(b) ensure that the space is within walking
distance of the facility.
(3) Where the outdoor play space is adjacent
to the child day care facility, the operator
shall ensure that
(a) a minimum of 5 m² of play space is
provided for each child; and
(b) the space is fenced if the surrounding
environment is potentially hazardous to
children.
Daily program
22. Every operator
shall provide daily
outdoor play activities
for each child unless
(a) outdoor play is
prohibited by the
child’s
parent or guardian or
the health care
professional providing
health care to the
child; or
(b) the weather is
inclement
Yukon Territory
Child Care
Act. 1990.
Child Care
Centre
Program
Regulation
1995/087.Nutr
itional
standardsNutri
tional
standards
Space requirements - outdoor space
11.(1) The operator must provide access to
outdoor playground space, either on the
premises or off, of sufficient size to allow
not less than five square metres of play area
per child for each child using the outdoor
space (it is not necessary that required
outdoor playground space be provided for
every child in the program, however, at no
time may the operator allow the number of
children using the space to exceed the limit
provided for above).
(2) Unless it is a public playground, the
outdoor playground space provided by the
operator must: (a) be surrounded on all sides
by a fence at least 1.2 metres high; and (b)
be suitably surfaced and drained for safe and
comfortable play; and (c) be designed to
allow required supervision of children; and
(d) be maintained in a safe and sanitary
condition, according to established
guidelines; and (e) provide an area for sand
play and other activities; and (f) contain
equipment allowing for large muscle
activity; (g) provide an area for quiet
activities.
Program of activities
16. (2)(b) an opportunity to play outdoors
every day except in inclement weather
Program of activities
16. (3) The daily
program must
include…
(d) physical activities
which promote large
muscle development
and physical
competence such as
running and climbing.
Nunavut
Child Day
Care Act.
1990. Chapter
See Northwest Territories
