OOL/ 1.6.2017
Staff/Child Ratios & Grouping of Children
Staff/Child Ratios
Grouping of Children
Ages
Staff/Child Ratio
Ages
Maximum Group Size*
Under 18 months 1:4
0 to 18 months 12
18 months up to 2 ½ years 1:6
18 months to 4 years 20
2 ½ years up to 4 years 1:10
5 years and older 30
4 years 1:12
*Except during meals, naptime, outdoor activities, specially scheduled
events (for example, parties, community speakers, films, etc.), and daily
information sharing sessions (for example, “circle time”)
5 years and older 1:15
Ages
Staff/Child Ratio
Required Criteria
Under 18
months
1:10
1. All children under 18 months shall be sleeping while all children over 18
months shall be resting or sleeping.
2. At least one staff member shall be physically present in the room or area
in which children are napping and shall be able to summon other staff
members without leaving the room or area
3. A sufficient number of staff members shall be in the facility and readily
accessible to ensure compliance with staff/child ratios
4. Naptime preparations shall have been completed.
18 months up to
2 ½ years
1:12
2 ½ years up to
4 years
1:20
Mixed Ages Staff/Child Ratio Calculator
Ages:
0-18
18-2.5
2.5-3
4
5-13
Instructions:
1. Select the number of children from the left
column and the children’s age from the top
column.
2. Follow the grid to where the two columns meet.
3. The resulting value is the number of staff
required for the given age and number of
children within that group. Always round up to
the next number, for example 3.2 would require 4
staff members.
4. To calculate the staffing needs for a group of
children larger than the chart you can add values
together. Example: To determine the staff
requirements for a group of 30 children age 4,
add the values for a group of 10 (.8) plus one of
20 (.8 + 1.7) or 3 staff members (2.5 rounded up).
5. For mixed age groups add the values together.
Example: A class of 15 children, made up of 8
children age 4 and 7 children ages 5 and 6. The
ratio value for the 4-year-olds is .7 plus .5 for the
5 and 6-year-olds.
.7 + .5 = 1.2, or two staff members
Ratio:
1:4
1:6
1:10
1:12
1:15
Number of Children:
1
0.25 0.17 0.10 0.08 0.07
2
0.50
0.33
0.20
0.17
0.13
3
0.75
0.50
0.30
0.25
0.20
4
1
0.67
0.40
0.33
0.27
5
1.25
0.83
0.50
0.42
0.33
6
1.50
1
0.60
0.50
0.40
7
1.75
1.17
0.70
0.58
0.47
8
2 1.33 0.80 0.67 0.53
9
2.25
1.50
0.90
0.75
0.60
10
2.50
1.67
1
0.83
0.67
11
2.75
1.83
1.10
0.92
0.73
12
3
2
1.20
1
0.80
13
3.25 2.17 1.30 1.08 0.87
14
3.50
2.33
1.40
1.17
0.93
15
3.75
2.50
1.50
1.25
1
16
4
2.67
1.60
1.33
1.06
17
4.25
2.83
1.70
1.42
1.13
18
4.5
3
1.80
1.50
1.20
19
4.75
3.16
1.90
1.67
1.33
20
5
3.33
2
1.75
1.40