In May 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) ran a consultation in England regarding changes to indoor floor space requirements under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. Today (5 November 2026), the DfE has published the results of its consultation and confirms there will be no changes made to the early years space requirements in England. The consultation received 1,243 responses, of which around one-fifth (236) were from home-based childcare providers.
What was proposed?
The DfE proposed to include “free-flow outdoor areas” within floor space requirements for children over two, with the following definition:
“Free-flow outdoor areas may also be included in these measurements for children aged 2 years and above. For an area to be defined as ‘free-flow’, doors to the outdoor area must be open and the outdoor area accessible to children at all times. Children must have safe access in all weathers including having adequate shelter and shade. The area must be suitably equipped to meet the health, safety, wellbeing, learning and development needs of all children.”
The two proposals were:
- Include free-flow outdoor space in the EYFS space requirements (without a cap). 79% of consultation respondents opposed this proposal.
- Include free-flow outdoor space in the EYFS space requirements (but with a cap on how much providers can use this to increase their capacity to try to mitigate against any overcrowding). 55%of respondents were in favour of this proposal.
The aim of this change was to meet the increasing demand for childcare places with the expansion to the funded entitlement offers for working families in England.
Following careful consideration of the proposals and engagement with our members, Coram PACEY responded to the consultation setting out our concerns on behalf of childminders. You can read our full response here.
The Government’s full response published today (5 November 2026) can be found here.
Ka Lai Brightley-Hodges, Head of Coram PACEY comments:
“We welcome the Government’s decision not to proceed with proposed changes to floor space requirements in early years settings and we thank the 236 childminders who took the time to share their views in the consultation. We raised concerns about these proposals from the outset, particularly the limited benefit they would bring and the potential practical challenges for childminders working from domestic premises.
“While it is right to explore ways to increase the availability of childcare places, small tweaks like this will do little to address the wider challenges facing the sector. Given the vital role childminders play in providing affordable, high-quality and flexible childcare for families, reversing the decline in the profession must be a priority.
“We have consistently presented Government with meaningful measures to support the sustainability and growth of childminding. This includes introducing fairer funding rates and a funding model that better reflects the way childminders work; removing the unfair restriction that prevents childminders from claiming funding for related children; and improving the Ofsted registration process to tackle delays that prevent new childminders from entering the profession and existing childminders from offering more childcare places through the recruitment of assistants.
“If the Government is serious about increasing the supply of high-quality childcare and ensuring more children and families can access the care they need, it must focus on tackling these longstanding barriers and delivering meaningful change.”
