Under-five play ban faces review

3 February 2009 Early Years

The government has promised guidance to clear up confusion over whether open-access play schemes should ban under-fives.

At the moment, many settings ban under-fives to avoid registering on Ofsted's early years and childcare register of approved providers.

But CYP Now has learned that Communities and Local Government is working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), Play England and play sector skills council SkillsActive to end the confusion. It will clarify whether play workers in open-access schemes such as adventure playgrounds, need to register and therefore deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

A DCSF spokeswomen said that although the government had taken steps to exempt such schemes from registration, settings providing supervised care for under-fives needed to register to safeguard the child.

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