Nursery Cleaning Requirements: What Ofsted and the EYFS Framework Actually Ask For

Written by Iva, founder of Iva Cleaning Services London.

Nursery managers ask us the same question in two forms: “what does Ofsted want to see?” and “what does the EYFS actually say about cleaning?” The honest answer is that the Early Years Foundation Stage framework says less about cleaning than people expect, and Ofsted inspects against the framework. There is no statutory cleaning schedule. What there is instead is a set of welfare requirements about health, infection, premises, food and nappy changing, and an expectation that a provider can show how they meet them. A cleaning schedule is the evidence.

This guide quotes the relevant requirements from the framework that applies from 1 September 2026, explains what an inspector asks to see in practice, and sets out the cleaning regime that satisfies both. It is the basis of our nursery cleaning in London contracts.

What the EYFS requires

These are from the EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers, effective 1 September 2026, section 3 (the safeguarding and welfare requirements). Paragraph numbers are from that edition; check them against the current PDF on gov.uk if you are quoting them in a policy.

Infection (3.60). Providers “must have a procedure, which must be discussed with parents and/or carers, for taking appropriate action if children are ill or infectious. This procedure must also cover the necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection.” That procedure is where your cleaning and disinfection routine lives, and it is what an inspector asks for after a sickness bug.

Food (3.72). “There must be suitable facilities for the hygienic preparation of food for children, if necessary, including suitable sterilisation equipment for babies’ food.” All staff who prepare and handle food must receive food hygiene training. In practice the kitchen is also inspected by the local authority’s environmental health team under food law, separately from Ofsted.

Premises (3.80). Premises, including outdoor spaces, must be “fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for”, and providers “must comply with requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements.”

Toilets and intimate hygiene (3.88). Providers must ensure there is “an adequate number of toilets and hand basins available”, “suitable hygienic changing facilities for changing any children who are in nappies”, and “an adequate supply of clean bedding, towels, spare clothes, and any other necessary items.” Children’s privacy is to be considered when changing nappies and toileting.

Risk assessment (3.93). Providers must take “all reasonable steps to ensure staff and children in their care are not exposed to risks and must be able to demonstrate how they are managing risks”, with written risk assessments where they are helpful “to demonstrate how they are managing risks if asked by parents and/or carers or inspectors.”

Nowhere does the framework say “clean the toilets twice a day” or “disinfect toys weekly”. It says have a procedure, prevent infection, keep the premises fit for purpose, and be able to demonstrate it. The frequency is yours to set, and to justify.

What Ofsted asks to see

Inspectors do not run a finger along a shelf. They look at whether the setting is clean and safe on the day, they ask how it is kept that way, and they look for the evidence. From the inspections our nursery clients have had, the questions come in this order:

• The nappy-changing area: is it clean, is it away from food preparation, are gloves, aprons, wipes and a nappy bin there, is the mat wiped and disinfected between changes, and is there a hand-washing basin for the adult.
• Toilets and hand basins: clean, stocked with soap and paper, at child height, and how often they are checked during the day.
• The kitchen and snack areas: the food hygiene rating, the cleaning schedule on the wall, the fridge temperature log.
• Toys and resources: how and how often they are cleaned, particularly mouthing toys in the baby room, sand and water trays, dressing-up clothes and soft furnishings.
• The infection procedure: what happens when a child vomits, who cleans it, with what, and the 48-hour exclusion for diarrhoea and vomiting that UKHSA guidance sets.
• Cleaning products: stored out of reach, COSHH data sheets available, and whether the people cleaning know what they are using.
• Bedding and sleep mats: one per child, washed regularly, stored clean.
• Outdoor area: no animal fouling, sand pits covered, equipment clean.

The cleaning regime that answers those questions

UKHSA’s health protection guidance for education and childcare settings says cleaning with detergent and water is normally all that is needed for routine cleaning, that a comprehensive cleaning schedule has daily, weekly and periodic elements, and that the schedule should describe the activity, the frequency and who does it. That is the document to build:

Several times a day (staff): nappy mat disinfected after every change; toilets and basins checked and cleaned mid-session and at close; tables and highchair trays before and after food; spills and bodily fluids cleaned immediately with a combined detergent and disinfectant and disposable cloths.

Daily (contractor or staff, at close): all floors vacuumed and hard floors mopped; toilets, basins, taps, flushes and door handles cleaned and disinfected; nappy bins emptied and wiped; kitchen surfaces, sink and bins; mouthing toys in the baby room washed; touch points (handles, light switches, gates, stair rails) wiped; bins emptied; entrance and buggy park swept.

Weekly: all toys and resources washed or wiped by room on a rota; dressing-up clothes and cushion covers laundered at the hottest temperature on the label; sleep mats and cots wiped; sand changed or sieved; water trays emptied and disinfected; windows inside; skirting, radiators and shelving dusted; fridge cleaned inside; carpets and soft play vacuumed thoroughly.

Termly or holiday deep clean: carpets and upholstered furniture hot-water extracted; soft play dismantled and cleaned; all cupboards and storage emptied and cleaned inside; walls washed at child height; ceiling, lights and vents dusted; kitchen deep cleaned including the oven, extractor and behind appliances; outdoor equipment pressure-washed. The frequency table in cleaning frequencies for schools and nurseries goes into the numbers by pupil count and season.

During an outbreak of sickness, the daily list is done twice and touch points more often; alcohol hand gel does not work against norovirus, so hand washing and surface cleaning carry the load.

Who cleans what

The split that works in most settings: staff own anything that happens while children are present (nappy area, tables, spills, toys in use), and a contractor owns the end-of-day clean, the weekly deep tasks and the holiday deep cleans. The contractor’s staff should be DBS-checked if they are ever on site during opening hours, should work from a written schedule you can show an inspector, and should use products you have the data sheets for. Our cleaners working in nurseries are vetted in the same way as the staff at a salon or office we clean, and we leave a signed tick sheet after every visit for the file. The same model, with its own regulatory list, applies to our salon cleaning in London clients.

In one sentence

The EYFS asks you to prevent infection and demonstrate how; a written cleaning schedule, followed and signed, that covers daily, weekly and termly tasks is the demonstration.

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