Criterion PF124
# Sleep furniture and items (such as cots, beds, stretchers or mattresses):
allow children using them to lie flat
are of a safe design and arranged so that:
adults have clear access to at least 1 side lengthwise
there is sufficient air movement to minimise the risk of spreading illness in the area surrounding each child and
children can sit or stand safely as they wake.
Guidance
How to show you are complying
You must provide sleep furniture and items intended for children to sleep on—such as cots, beds, stretchers, or mattresses—that allow children to lie flat and are designed to support their safety.
These items should be arranged and spaced so adults have clear access to at least one length side, allowing them to check on children easily, monitor their breathing and temperature, and respond quickly in emergencies. This spacing will also help to maintain air movement to reduce the risk of spreading illness and allow children easy access, so that they do not disturb each other.
Current health advice recommends providing approximately 1.4m² for large, free-standing baby cots.
Sleep furniture must be assessed for safety based on the child’s developmental stage (mobile or non-mobile), the height of the furniture (beds must be less than 700 millimetres above the floor), and the potential for hazards such as strangulation, choking, or limb entrapment.
Items that do not meet these requirements cannot be used.
Children must be able to sit or stand safely when they wake. For example, if they can sit or stand then they must not be placed in the upper level of a stacker cot; if they are non-mobile then they should not be placed to sleep in a bed where there is a risk they may fall out onto the floor and be injured.
Cots
Cots are a suitable option for infants and must be enclosed on all four sides to prevent falls. You should ensure cots have no gaps, protrusions, or sharp edges that could trap an infant or catch clothing. The sides must be high enough to prevent climbing and free of footholds. Cots should be sturdy, allow good airflow, and be easily washable. Mattresses must fit firmly inside the cot to avoid gaps and should not be too soft, as this poses a suffocation risk.
Portable cots cannot be used in centre-based settings. These are typically made of textile or mesh and cannot be adequately cleaned for use by multiple children.
Multi-level cots (stacker cots)
Multi-level cots may only be used if specific conditions are met. You must ensure that each cot is well ventilated to prevent the build-up of carbon dioxide, moisture, and heat. Your local National Public Health Service must have no concerns about airflow, and Fire and Emergency NZ must have no concerns about their use. Cots must be securely fixed to the wall and easily accessible to staff, with sufficient separation to prevent cross-infection. Children who can sit must be able to do so safely in the lower level.
Multi-level cots must only be opened from the outside by an adult. They must have no gaps, protrusions, or sharp edges, and the sides must prevent climbing. Mattresses must fit firmly and not be too soft. Children who are able to sit or stand must not be placed in the upper level, as they may fall or be injured. Once children are too large or mobile, they must be moved to a single-level cot, stretcher, mattress or bed.
Stretchers and mattresses
Mattresses must be firm, so the mattress does not present a suffocation risk to infants.
Stretcher fabric must remain taut and be monitored for wear to prevent sagging over time. Inflatable mattresses are not permitted, as they can smother a child’s face.
Cots are the preferred option for infants, as it is challenging to sustain sufficiently warm temperatures at floor level for sleeping infants on a mattress.
Beds
Beds are single-level sleep furniture with the mattress surface less than 700mm above the floor. There should be no gaps between the bed frame and the mattress that could trap or wedge a child. Children should be able to get in and out of beds independently. Infants must not be placed in beds, as they may roll off.
Bunk beds and elevated beds
Bunk beds and elevated beds, where the mattress surface is 700mm or more above the floor, cannot be used. These pose a falling risk and so do not meet the design requirements for child safety. Increasing supervision or using safety matting does not mitigate this risk or meet the criterion.
Transport items
Items designed for transportation—such as slings, backpacks, prams, buggies, and car capsules—must not be used as sleep furniture. These do not allow children to lie flat and are not designed for safe sleep.
When assessing whether you comply with PF124
Questions we are likely to ask
Can you show me where children sleep and how the sleep area is set up?
How you determine which sleep furniture is appropriate for different age groups?
What steps have you taken to ensure that sleep furniture allows children to lie flat and sit or stand safely when they wake?
If using multi-level cots, how do staff know the ages/stages that children are allowed in the top or bottom options?
We are likely to look at, measure or count
Measure the height of any beds or elevated sleep surfaces which are not cots to make sure they are less than 700 millimetres above the floor.
Look at the spacing between sleep furniture.
Look at the types of sleep furniture you provide and their suitability for the age of children you are licensed for.
We are likely to request
The hash symbol # indicates that we might ask for a report from the National Public Health Service, under Regulation 55 of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
Advice on safe sleeping to reduce risk of SUDI is available on the Ministry of Health website.
Creating a sleep environment that is safe and comfortable supports children's physical development and helps reduce the risk of injury or harm.
Doing more than the minimum can shape better outcomes for children.
You could consider having a cot on lockable castors near the exit of the sleep room to support the evacuation of the sleep room in an emergency.