Safer Sleep Outside

When the safer sleep requirements were published by DfE recently, Childcare.co.uk wrote to DfE to ask about exemptions for those providers who have babies and children sleeping outside, safely cocooned in buggies or prams.

Childcare.co.uk have received an answer - the safe sleep requirements will be added to the safeguarding and welfare section of the EYFS from September 2026 and DfE has confirmed that there will not be any exemptions for any reason. DfE state in their reply to Childcare.co.uk, 'Neither the wishes of a parent/carer, nor a signed waiver, does not exempt a setting from meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS, of which safe sleep is a part.'

If you are an 'outside most of the day' provider or if your children have always slept outside in prams and buggies due to space restrictions in your house - and because it's healthier to sleep outside - you will need to review your sleep setup because you cannot use buggies or prams anymore.

There will be a number of considerations to take into account, including practicality, safety and the children's welfare and wellbeing. For example, you will need a new safe sleep setup if you have previously used lie-flat buggies and prams with rain covers; you will need to consider how children are monitored, given they are safe in buggies but can crawl off mats or climb out of cots (especially if you do not have access to internet or electricity to power a monitor); and you will need to consider the children's welfare as they will be outside sleeping in all weathers.

Buggies and prams provide children with warmth, shelter, safety and a sense of containment and security which is why they have always been so popular with early years providers as sleep spaces, so you need to think - what next? What does a similar job?

Taking inspiration from 'outside all day' and Forest School providers who have already made adaptations, you might create an insulated sleep space using, for example, a pop-up outdoor sleep tent. Adding a weatherproof sleep shelter to your outdoor space might be an expensive option but it will allow you to ensure babies and children are covered for sleep. There are cheaper, less permanent options using tarpaulin or bushcraft and you might be able to create a semi-permanent sleep area with windbreaks.

Wet, windy and cold conditions are likely to be your biggest challenge. You will need a shelter to protect children from the rain and wind and children will need to be warm or cool depending on the time of year. You can only use a BSEN 16781:2018 appropriate weighted sleep bag and / or a lightweight blanket and you cannot cover heads with hats, coat hoods etc when babies or children are asleep, so their warmth will need to be carefully considered.

In the cold weather, if you are using sleep mats, you will need to layer the children for sleep and ensure they are warm from underneath. You should raise the sleep space off the floor and could, for example, pre-warm the areas with hot water bottles - but ensure you remove them before sleep. In the wet weather, you will need to provide a waterproof rain cover and ensure the base is waterproofed with heavy duty tarpaulin and a groundsheet.

Ideas for raising children off the floor include using thick roll maps, camp beds or wooden platforms. Bear in mind the mattress must be flat, firm and waterproof - a mattress placed on the floor is unlikely to be safe following manufacturer's instructions and you cannot roll up cushions around them, lay them on fleeces or use blankets to mimic the warmth and security of the buggy - apart from one lightweight blanket tucked in under their armpits. Alternatives to a buggy cover include BSEN safe sleep bags, appropriately rated for the temperature. Children can then wear appropriate clothes for the season.

You will need to monitor sleeping babies and children and ensure they are a safe temperature and comfortable throughout their sleep which means thinking about how to meet the needs of other non-sleeping children in your care - they cannot, for example, continue to roam in a Forest School scenario if you are a sole provider and tied to one place watching sleeping children.

On that note, you will need to carefully consider supervision - children will not be secured with straps in a buggy or pram anymore, so you will need to ensure they are always in clear line of sight. They must be regularly visually checked to ensure they are breathing and to make sure their lightweight blanket has not come loose / is not near their face and touch checked behind their neck to ensure their temperature is constant. If they are bundled up for the weather there is an increased risk that they could overheat, so this needs to be more carefully monitored than for a child sleeping indoors.

DfE has stated that the new sleep rules should be in place now and, they will be legislation from September. You might find some children need a gradual transition and will struggle without their safe-space buggies. You will need to work closely with parents to ensure they are getting enough sleep and use familiar sleep cues - the same timing every day will help them and background music can be useful. You should also bear in mind that children cannot have additional blankets or hats / anything on their heads and you cannot give them comfort objects until they are 1 year old. Lullaby Trust also advise that dummies should be phased out between 6 months and 1 year of age.

What documentation will you need? You will already have a comprehensive risk assessment for the prams and / or buggies that you have used to date, so this will need updating. You might also have a Safer Sleep Policy and other documents, adapted for your outside sleep setting, that you share with parents. Childcare.co.uk suggest you document the process of change and how you have adapted for each child - you will be able to share this with Ofsted during your next inspection.

Sadly, there isn't a perfect one-to-one replacement for a lie-flat buggy or pram in outside conditions, especially in heavy rain and the cold of winter. What you will likely need to build instead is a modular system which includes shelter and insulation and routine and supervision - and possibly planning to bring babies and children inside to sleep in very inclement weather. That combination can be effective, but it will take thought, collaboration with parents, a robust risk assessment, more care given to your outside sleep space setup and consistency. If you care for different age ranges of children, you must also consider the ongoing care and learning of non-sleeping children during the time when babies and children are asleep.

If you need any more guidance - do you have any outside specialists in your Local Authority you can speak to for more support? You might reach out to local Forest School providers or colleagues who are facing similar challenges. There are also inspiring Forest School websites which might provide ideas.

More Safer Sleep information

Find more Safer Sleep information and resources