Room size
Record each room's floor space, and what Meadow does (and doesn't yet do) with it.
When you add or edit a room, you can record its floor space. It's optional, and today it's purely a place to note the number — Meadow doesn't yet do anything automatic with it. This page explains what you can record now, why it's worth doing, and what's planned to build on it.
If you haven't set your rooms up yet, start with Managing rooms.
Recording a room's size
The Size (m²) field appears in the room sheet when you add or edit a room. It's the usable floor space of the room, in square metres.
- Go to School settings, then Classrooms.
- Click Add Room to create a new room, or hover a room card and click the pencil icon to edit an existing one.
- Enter a number in Size (m²) — for example 30.
- Click Create Room (or Update Room).
The field is optional. If you record a size, the room card shows it as Size: followed by the number and m². If you leave it blank, no size is shown.
Note: Size must be a positive number. Decimals are fine — for example, 23.2 is valid.
Why record floor space
Irish early years regulations set a minimum floor space per child, and the figure most services work to is 2.32 m² per child for the relevant age group. Recording each room's size gives you the number you need to plan capacity by hand.
For example, a room with 23.2 m² of usable space works out at roughly 10 children at 2.32 m² each.
Tip: Floor space requirements differ by age group, so always check the figure that applies to the room you're planning rather than relying on a single number across the service.
What Meadow does with size today
Right now, nothing automatic. Size (m²) is a field you fill in for your own reference — Meadow stores it and shows it on the room card, and that's all.
In particular, Meadow does not currently:
- Have a setting for the space-per-child standard.
- Calculate a maximum number of children per room.
- Track staff-to-child ratios.
These are planned, and they'll build on the sizes you record now. Until they arrive, recording floor space lets you work capacity out yourself — and means the numbers are ready when the calculators land.
Common questions
Is the Size (m²) field required? No. It's optional on both the Add Room and Edit Room sheets. Leave it blank if you don't want to record a size.
I entered a room size but it won't save. Size (m²) must be a positive number — decimals are allowed, such as 30 or 23.2. A zero or negative value triggers the message Size must be a positive number. If you don't want to record a size, just leave the field empty.
Can I set the space-per-child standard or a maximum number of children in Meadow? Not yet. There's no setting for the per-child standard, and Meadow doesn't compute a room's capacity for you. For now, record each room's size and work the capacity out yourself using the figure that applies to that age group.
Where do I record room size? On the Add Room or Edit Room sheet, under School settings then Classrooms. See Managing rooms for the full walkthrough of adding, editing and archiving rooms — including who can make these changes.