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Washington Administrative Code (Last Updated: November 23, 2016) |
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Title 170. Early Learning, Department of |
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Chapter 170-295. Minimum licensing requirements for child care centers. |
Section 170-295-2130. Do I need an outdoor play area?
Latest version.
- (1) You must provide an outdoor program that promotes the child's coordination, active play, and physical, mental, emotional, and social development based on their age. The play area must:(a) Adjoin the indoor premises directly or be reachable by a safe route or method;(b) Have adequate drainage and be free from health and safety hazards;(c) Contain a minimum of seventy-five usable square feet per child using the play area at any one time. If the center uses a rotational schedule of outdoor play periods so only a portion of the child population uses the play area at one time, you may reduce correspondingly the child's play area size.(2) If you provide full-time care, the activity schedule must provide the child daily morning and afternoon outdoor play;(3) If you provide drop-in care only, at our discretion we may approve equivalent, separate, indoor space for the child's large muscle play;(4) You must ensure appropriate child grouping by developmental or age levels, staff-to-child ratio adherence, and maintain group size;(5) Staff must be outdoors with the children in continuous visual and auditory range;(6) You must provide a variety of age-appropriate play equipment for climbing, pulling, pushing, riding and balancing activities; and(7) You must arrange, design, construct, and maintain equipment and ground cover to prevent child injury.