Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres
Last updated on August 28, 2024Design plays an important role in providing a centre that is welcoming, inclusive, safe, enriching and joyful for children, families, caregivers and early childhood professionals. Thoughtful and quality design enables learning, play and building social, emotional, cognitive and physical skills essential to a child’s healthy development.
Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres (design guidelines) have been published to help organizations with child care space creation projects achieve a balance between consistent, quality and functional child care centre designs, which will benefit children, families, early learning professionals and communities for years to come.
They build on the health and safety standards in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation and will help organizations create centres that are safe, accessible and promote the health and well-being of children, educators and families.
The design guidelines are meant to be used as a tool alongside other supports, such as the inclusion toolkit, local bylaws and building standards.
On this page
- Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres
- Accessibility and inclusion
- Resources
- Contact information
- Frequently asked questions
Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres
The design guidelines were informed through engagement with local governments, First Nations, Indigenous organizations, school districts, child care professionals and other interested groups.
They may be used by a variety of audiences and professionals and are meant to be a resource for the sector. They are available for consideration and are not mandatory. Professionals are expected to rely on their professional judgement when applying the guidelines to child care projects.
Child care centres that are built with the design guidelines in mind will better meet the needs of their communities, foster a sense of belonging and facilitate respectful living and learning through inclusive and accessible design. They will also guide the creation of spaces that are functional, are long-lasting, contemplate the needs of both families and providers, are cost- and energy-efficient to run, incorporating climate resilient strategies and considering environmental impacts.
Some local or Indigenous governments have specific build and design requirements beyond those included in the ministry’s design guidelines. We encourage project managers to consult with their local or Indigenous government about any specific requirements they may have when designing new child care centres.
The guidelines provide information on the design phases of a project as well as specific guidance to develop quality, inclusive and culturally safe child care spaces, including selecting an effective project team, space allocations, primary spaces for child care centres and essential design elements.
Accessibility and inclusion
An inclusive, culturally safe child care environment designed to celebrate diversity and accessibility benefits everyone. The design guidelines provide guidance to achieve higher and more consistent quality child care that is accessible and inclusive for all.
Well-designed child care centres consider the location and design elements of each of the key spaces in the centre to support cultural safety, accessibility and inclusion, learning and development, elements of care, health and safety and the functional flow of daily activities.
Example: land-based learning is a critical component to Indigenous cultural programming. In consultation with community, exterior design for all child care programs should provide opportunity for land-based learning wherever possible.
Inclusion and accessibility elements are found throughout the design guidelines. For information on human rights and inclusion, refer to section 1.4 Child Care Design Principles, on page 11.
Released in July 2024 by the Ministry of Education and Child Care, B.C.’s Inclusive Child Care Strategy describes the foundation for a future state where every child has access to child care, including children from diverse backgrounds and those with support needs or complex medical needs.
Resources
Section 7.3 in the Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres has a list of resources that we encourage you to access as you move through the different phases of your child care space creation project.
Improving access to child care for B.C. families requires long-term, sustainable growth along with growth in the workforce’s capacity to provide these important services.
- Learn more about how government is taking action to recruit and retain early learning professionals and lift up the child care sector on the Support for Early Childhood Professionals web page.
The following resources may also be helpful.
Contact information
The Child Care Community Development team supports strategic expansion and equitable access to child care in all regions of the province and is available to support public and non-profit organizations including Indigenous organizations and First Nations governments with project concept development. This includes identifying potential partnerships, considering viable operational models and workforce development to sustain child care projects once construction is complete.
Contact the Child Care Community Development team for support on how to use the design guidelines effectively.
School districts with questions about capital concept development can contact their Regional Director and Planning Officer team.
Stay up to date on ChildCareBC and child care sector initiatives by signing up for the bi-weekly ChildCareBC Bulletin, delivered directly to your inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Are the design guidelines mandatory for child care space creation projects?
The design guidelines are a tool available for consideration and are not mandatory – they are not attached to any new regulations.
The intent of the design guidelines is to provide help organizations with child care space creation projects create consistent, quality and functional child care centre designs that will benefit children, families, early learning professionals and communities for years to come.
The design guidelines may be used by a variety of audiences and professionals and are meant to be a resource for the sector. Some new centres may not be able to meet elements of this guidance due to the unique aspects of their project. Professionals are expected to rely on their professional judgement when applying the guidelines to child care projects.
The design guidelines build on the health and safety standards in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation. It is important to note that the Act and Regulation continue to be the standards that must be met in order to get licensed in the British Columbia.
Do I need to re-design my existing child care centre to be compliant with the design guidelines?
Existing child care centres do not need to re-design their spaces to be compliant with the design guidelines. They are available for consideration and are not mandatory or attached to any new regulations.
Existing operating centres that undertake space creation projects or renovations are encouraged to consider incorporating elements of the design guidelines into their project but are not required to do so.