Inspection of 21 October 2024 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. • An Immediate Action notice was issued to the service on the 21 October 2024 in relation to Regulation 23- Safeguarding, Health, Safety and Welfare of Child. Information regarding the non-compliance is documented in body of the inspection report. On the 22 October 2024 the registered provider responded to the immediate action notice with the measures implemented within the service.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (4) Documentation was not available to demonstrate that one adult who worked directly with children attending the service held at least a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 or above on the National Framework of Qualifications or a qualification deemed eligible by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Provider's corrective action:
- (4) Teacher who was working in the service who does not have a level 5 certificate, will remain as a student and will no longer work as a preschool teacher until they achieve a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5. In future, the registered provider will make contact to any college to double check before recruiting new teacher
Regulation 15 — Record of pre-school child
- (1) From a sample of 18 children’s registration records reviewed, the registered provider did not ensure children’s registration records were fully completed for children attending as follows: (b) the date on which the child first attended the service was not completed on 18 childrens records. (e) authorisation for the collection of the child information was not completed on 5 children’s records. (f) details of any illness, disability, allergy or special need of the child, together with all the information relevant to the provision of special care or attention was not completed on 15 childrens records. (g) the name and telephone number of the child’s registered medical practitioner was not completed on 1 child’s records. (h) record of immunisations, if any, received by 5 children had not been completed and immunisations while confirmed as completed, the record of immunisation was not present for 7 children. (i) written parental consent for appropriate medical treatment of the child in the event of an emergency, was not completed on 3 childrens records. Parental consent is required in the event of a medical emergency occurring
Provider's corrective action:
- Enrolment forms were checked and some forms where send home for completion. (a) The children’s start date has been added to the forms. (e) authorisation collection information for five children have been checked and completed. (f) details of any illness, disability, allergy or special need of the child have been checked and forms have been sent home for completion. (g) for one child, the registered medical practitioner information was completed. (h) record of immunisations will be reviewed with parents, and vaccination books have been sent by email. (i) written parental consent for appropriate medical treatment of the child in the event of an emergency was completed by parents
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- Supporting relationships around children: 1. The care needs of a child from Room 2, were not being met. The inspectors observed the following. o A child displayed signs of being upset over the course of the morning. At 10.11am, when the room 2 children moved to room 1 for lunch break a child was observed crying. At 10,25 am when lunch was over the child was still upset when the staff member was cleaning up after lunch. It is acknowledged that during outdoor play, between 10.30and 10.50am the child was playing and not upset. However, on return to Room 2, the child continued to be upset and was not comforted until they were collected at 11.50am. 2. On collection of the upset child at 11.50am, no verbal update was provided to the authorised person of collection about the child’s morning and no mention was made of the child being upset during the morning session, this does not support relationships between the parent and the service. 3. During the lunch times of room 2 from 10.00am to 10.30pm and of Room 1 from 10.42am to 11.05am, interactions between the children and staff were limited and there were long silences while children ate. The atmosphere during mealtimes should be a pleasant social interaction among the children and adults. Physical Environment and Materials 4. Materials and equipment were not displayed and available to the children to enable them to explore and investigate their care room independently. For example, • In Room 1, o There was no supporting equipment for the play kitchen accessible to the children. o A suitable rest area was not available to enable a child to rest and take a break from activities throughout the day. • In Room 2, o There was no supporting equipment for the play kitchen, dolls house, two plastic playhouses, and fire station accessible to the children. o There were no construction toys accessible to children to play with. o The windowsill in the care room contained a mix of toys for example, two small houses, a fire station, two workbench construction toys, parts of a train track, a battery toy and three pumpkins not accessible to the children. o In the cosy area two cushions had no covers on them. It is acknowledged covers were put on the cushions after the morning session at 12.00pm. • In the Outdoor play area, o There was no supporting equipment for the outdoor mud kitchen and shop accessible to the children. o The basketball net was broken with no hoop attached
Provider's corrective action:
- 1. The Service will work on better communication with parents. Meetings with parents take place to discuss different approach regarding their children and their setting time. Children coming back after being sick will need different approach, shorter time and more hugs will be given. 2. Parents will be informed by the door if child is not having a good day or is upset. Parents are always welcome to call and have a chat with staff. 3. During Snack time children will be listening to relaxing music or a story, to make snack time more social, relaxing music or a story will be playing in the background. Teacher will interact with children, sitting next to them have a conversation with them about their snack, friends, family. The teacher will encourage children to share some stories. 4. In room 1, o supporting equipment for the play kitchen and a suitable rest area was added to the room. In room 2, o supporting equipment was added for the play kitchen, dolls house, two plastic playhouses, and fire station, o construction toys were made accessible to the children. o The window still was cleared of toys. o The cosy area cushions will have covers present and will be made ready for the children. o The supporting equipment was made available for the outdoor mud kitchen The registered provider will make sure to have the environment ready for the children
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. On the inspector’s arrival to the service at 9:30am it was observed that main entrance door and the secondary internal door of the service were not secured to prevent an unauthorised entry of an adult or the unsupervised exit of a child. It is acknowledged that the registered provider secured the doors when the issue was highlighted by the inspector. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider during the inspection and a response was received on the 22 October 2024 to outline the measures taken by the service to prevent a recurrence. 2. Garda vetting was available for one staff member. However, this vetting disclosure was not dated within the previous three years in adherence to with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice ‘EYI-RN12.3 Renewal of Garda Vetting’. 3. A stair gate on the stairs was open from 9.30 am to 11.05am, posing a risk of safety as this allowed access up the stairs and to the second floor of the premises which is not part of the service. 4. Grapes present in four childrens lunches which were not quartered or halved, posing a choking risk. Infection Control: 5. Perishable food items such as cold meats, cheese, yogurts and yogurt drinks consumed by the children were not refrigerated on arrival to the service. This increased the potential risk of food borne infection. This was a previous non-compliance on the last three inspections in 2017, 2020 and 2022. 6. In the sanitary facilities, effective hand handwashing was not promoted as follows: o No Running water was available out of the hot tap of the wash hand basin under the stairs, when the tap was turned on to check for hot water. The water available from the cold tap measured 15.8oC at 11.03am. This non-compliance was identified on inspection in 2022. o There was no warm water available out of the hot tap of the wash hand basin in the sanitary facility near the kitchen, the water temperature measured 14.5 oC at 10.52am. This non- compliance was identified on inspection in 2022. 7. The bin in the sanitary facility under the stairs was overflowing with used handtowels and handtowels were present on the windowsill behind the wash hand basin, leading to poor infection control. 8. A sofa used by the children in room 2 during the morning session was observed to be damaged with a cracked surface, leading to poor infection control as it could not be cleaned effectively. It is acknowledged a material cover was placed on the couch after the morning session. Administration of Medication: 9. A care plan was not available for one child who had an allergy as demonstrated in their record of a preschool child, leading to a risk of safety. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. The service responded to the immediate action notice on the 10 October stating the following actions taken: • Staff Meeting: A staff meeting was held to reinforce the importance of keeping both the main door and the second door closed at all times. It has been emphasised to all staff that one team member must always be present during drop-off and pick-up times to manage entry and exit. • Signage: "Keep Door Closed at All Times" signs have been placed on both doors to remind staff, parents, and visitors of the importance of keeping the doors securely shut. • Parent Notification: All parents have been instructed to ensure both doors are closed behind them when entering and leaving the service. This communication reinforces the shared responsibility for maintaining a secure environment. • Automated Door Closers: The service has ordered automated door closers that are approved. These will be installed within the next week to further enhance safety and ensure the doors close securely after each use. As of the 26 November the automatic door closers have been installed. 2. Renewed Garda Vetting was obtained for the staff member and the service will make annual checks to ensure Garda Vetting of staff is kept updated. 3. A stair gate on the stairs will be monitored to be closed. Monitor daily before children arrive That the baby gate remains closed. 4. Grapes in children’s lunches will need to be cut to prevent risk of choking. Parents given information about healthy eating as well about children choking hazards. Photographic evidence of how grapes should be cut was sent to parents. Children’s Lunches will be monitored going forward. Infection Control: 5. A small fridge was bought to store childrens lunches and childrens Lunches will be stored in the small fridge in the Montessori room. 6. Taps will need to be replaced; new tap and thermostatic mixing valve has been ordered. Once received, they will be installed, it will take 3 weeks minimum to get them fixed. 7. The bin in the sanitary facility under the staircase will be emptied by staff every evening. 8. The sofa requires a cover at all times, new covers were ordered, to ensure covers are available to have the sofa covered at all times. Administration of Medication: 9. The registered provider contacted the parents about the child’s allergy and requested a care plan from the parents of the child to demonstrate information on managing an allergic reaction
Regulation 25 — First aid
- (1) On the day of inspection, there was no person trained in First Aid Responder training available to the children. A sufficient number of adults must be trained with First Aid Responder training and available to children at all times to include cover of appointments, leave and breaks. It is acknowledged that the one staff member had valid Paediatric first aid training
Provider's corrective action:
- (1) First Aid responder Training completed 11 and 20 of November 2024. The registered provider will check the certificates regularly to ensure training remains in date
Regulation 26 — Fire safety measures
- (1)(b) A record of evidence of maintenance for the firefighting equipment with the number and type was not available
Provider's corrective action:
- (1)(b) The fire extinguishers were serviced on 20 November 2024; the registered provider will check the fire extinguishers regularly
Found compliant: Regulation 11.