A daily Attendance and Ratio Register is the primary evidence that your setting is keeping children safe by meeting the legally required adult-to-child ratios at all times, as set out in the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 4 January 2024, updated 1 September 2025). Without an accurate, contemporaneous register, an Ofsted inspector cannot verify compliance with the ratios; a single unexplained gap is sufficient grounds for an "Urgent improvement" or "Inadequate" welfare judgement and can trigger enforcement action under the Childcare Act 2006, section 40.
Childcare Act 2006, section 40; The Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/938, as amended); The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development, Early Years Register and Welfare Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1338); EYFS Statutory Framework for Group and School-Based Providers (DfE, effective 4 January 2024, updated 1 September 2025), Section 3 (Staffing, Safeguarding and Welfare, Record Keeping); UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (storage limitation principle)
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Good to know
The 2-year-old ratio was changed from 1:4 to 1:5 by The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development, Early Years Register and Welfare Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1338), which came into force on 4 January 2024; the change applies only where the additional staff member released by the new ratio is still counted as working directly with children. The 1:3 ratio for children under 2 and the 1:8 (or 1:13) ratio for children aged 3 and over remain unchanged.
Source: Childcare Act 2006, section 40; The Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/938, as amended); The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development, Early Years Register and Welfare Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1338); EYFS Statutory Framework for Group and School-Based Providers (DfE, effective 4 January 2024, updated 1 September 2025), Section 3 (Staffing, Safeguarding and Welfare, Record Keeping); UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (storage limitation principle)
Good to know
A daily Attendance and Ratio Register is the primary evidence that your setting is keeping children safe by meeting the legally required adult-to-child ratios at all times, as set out in the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 4 January 2024, updated 1 September 2025). Without an accurate, contemporaneous register, an Ofsted inspector cannot verify compliance with the ratios; a single unexplained gap is sufficient grounds for an "Urgent improvement" or "Inadequate" welfare judgement and can trigger enforcement action under the Childcare Act 2006, section 40.
The 2-year-old ratio was changed from 1:4 to 1:5 by The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development, Early Years Register and Welfare Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1338), which came into force on 4 January 2024; the change applies only where the additional staff member released by the new ratio is still counted as working directly with children. The 1:3 ratio for children under 2 and the 1:8 (or 1:13) ratio for children aged 3 and over remain unchanged.
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This checklist stops the two failures that close kitchens: food sitting in the danger zone (8 to 63 degrees C) long enough for bacteria to multiply, and staff working from memory instead of a record an Environmental Health Officer can read back. A weak opening compromises food before the first order; a rushed close lets fridges drift, pests settle, and yesterday's record go unsigned.
A proper opening check, done before the first customer or the first food is touched, is your strongest defence against a poor Food Hygiene Rating, a customer falling ill, or an enforcement notice. The Environmental Health Officer scores how well you manage safety every day, not just on inspection day, so a signed daily record that proves you check temperatures, allergens and sickness exclusion is what protects the rating and the business.
A closing checklist stops the overnight failures that trigger enforcement notices, voided insurance claims, and food poisoning: fridges drifting above 8C unnoticed, hot food cooled too slowly, gas left on, fire exits blocked, and cash left out. These are the specific things an EHO inspector or an insurer's loss adjuster looks for, and the closing record is the proof you did them.