Absorbent Minds Ballintyre, Dublin 16 — inspection reports and findings

Sessional · 2 - 6 Years · Dublin 16, Dublin · Tusla ID TU2015DR171 · Registered since 1 January 2026

An inspection records what inspectors saw on one day; services respond with corrective actions — how to read this.

(2)(d) The required police vetting was not available for one adult who had lived outside the state for longer than six consecutive months as an adult. (4) There was no evidence available to demonstrate one of the adults employed held the required qualification

Provider's corrective action:

(2)(d) The correct police vetting was obtained from the staff member. The correct police vetting will be sought from anyone new joining us that has lived outside of Ireland for longer than 6 months. This is part of our recruitment policy. (4) A letter from Dundrum College was obtained confirming the completion of the level 5 course in Early Learning and Care stating that the certificate is to follow. The certificate will be added to the staff members file as soon as she receives it

General Safety: 1. In the sanitary area off the Big room the toilet seat was loose posing a potential injury risk. Infection Control: 2. In the Little room the cover on the child size sofa was torn and therefore could not be cleaned effectively for infection control purposes. 3. In the Little room there was a hole in the mat provided in the rest area. Action submitted by the Registered Provider

Provider's corrective action:

General Safety: 1. The toilet seat has been secured by a professional on 27/05/2025. The staff have been reminded to report any damage within the classroom and toilets along with our daily and weekly risk assessments. Infection Control: 2. The sofa has been replaced. The staff have been reminded to report any damage within the classroom and toilets and a monthly check for this has been added to our assessments. 3. The mat has been thrown out and replaced. The staff have been reminded to report any damage within the classroom and toilets and a monthly check for this has been added to our assessments

Found compliant: Regulation 11, 15, 19, 25.

Immediate action notice. An Immediate Action Notice was issued on the 6 November 2023 under

(2)(a), (b) The registered provider did not complete all required recruitment procedures to confirm the suitability of employees. Eleven written references provided for staff members had not be verified by the registered provider

Provider's corrective action:

(2)(a),(b) All references provided by staff have been verified. Each staff member has 2 verified references in their staff file. We have purchased a Telephone Reference Validation book to ensure that no references are submitted to the staff files without the validation record sheet attached

In the Little room adequate and suitable facilities were not provided for children over 2 years to rest and sleep. At 12.50 pm five children were observed lying on two large, shared mats and a sixth child was lying on the child size sofa. Each child was not provided with an individual sleep mat or bed to rest and sleep as required

Provider's corrective action:

Infection Control: 1. Nappy changing practices observed on the day of inspection in the service were inadequate for infection control purposes. Staff were observed redressing the children while wearing the same soiled gloves used for nappy changing and the nappy changing mat was not cleaned between children. 2. In the sanitary area used by the Little room the nappy changing bin provided was unsuitable as it was lidded bin rather than a pedal operated and posed an infection control risk. 3. In the Big and Little room the pedal operated bins were broken. Action submitted by the Registered Provider

Provider's corrective action:

Infection Control: 1. A staff meeting was held to address the mistakes with the nappy changing procedure. All staff were asked to re-read the procedure on the wall before changing a nappy. 2. The nappy bin was replaced with a pedal operated bin in the nappy changing area of the Little Room. This will be checked regularly to ensure it is maintained and replaced if necessary. 3. The bins in the Big and Little Room have been replaced. This will be checked regularly to ensure it is maintained and replaced if necessary

(1) An Immediate Action Notice was issued on 06 November 2023 as a person trained in first aid was not immediately available to the children at all times on the day of inspection. The registered provider submitted a response on 07 November 2023

Provider's corrective action:

Six staff members have begun their FAR training and are due to complete the course on 7th December. Two other staff members have completed Paediatric First Aid on 15/11/2023. A 3 month reminder will be put in place to ensure the First Aid certs don’t go out of date again

Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 19, 26.

Absorbent Minds Ballintyre