There are a number of things that affect how many children you can look after in your tiney home.
EYFS Ratios
Insurance requirements
EYFS space requirements
In this article i'm going to briefly outline the EYFS space requirements, what they mean and how you can accurately measure your home.
What the EYFS says:
3.57. The premises and equipment must be organised in a way that meets the needs of children. Providers must meet the following indoor space requirements
Children under two years: 3.5 m2 per child
Two year olds: 2.5 m2 per child
Children aged three to five years: 2.3 m2 per child
3.58.Providers must provide access to an outdoor play area or, if that is not possible,
ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis (unless
circumstances make this inappropriate, for example unsafe weather conditions).
Providers must follow their legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (for
example, the provisions on reasonable adjustments).
These calculations should be based on the net or useable areas of the rooms used by the children, not including storage areas, thoroughfares, dedicated staff areas, cloakrooms, utility rooms, kitchens and toilets
What this means:
You must measure the free space for play available to you. You should not include space that is obscured by large furniture and as a result of this you may want to consider the furniture you will be using in your main childminding space. Hallways are not normally to be counted in your available space.
How to measure your room:
There are a number of apps that can help you measure the avilable metres squared in your home, or you can just use a good old fashioned tape measure. I'd suggest drawing a rough plan of your room and writing each measurement on it to allow you to work out the metres squared.
Take the length of a section x the width and this gives you the area.
So 5m x 3m = 15m2
Do contact the tiney team if you have any questions.