Creche Inspection Reports

Ballinasloe Community Childcare Group

Sessional · 1 - 6 Years · Ballinasloe, Galway · Tusla ID TU2015GY017 · Registered since 1 January 2026

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

4published inspections
3non-compliances at latest report read
0immediate action notices
0registration conditions

Inspection of 4 March 2026 — Inspection Report

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

Regulation 21 — Equipment and materials

  • The Junior playroom and the Senior playroom were not supplied with adequate materials to support children’s play and learning. There were not enough toys and equipment available to the children to provide rich and varied environment for the children to play. For example: 1. The play kitchen areas were poorly stocked with accessories; one the kitchen unit door was broken and void of toys. 2. The dress up clothes were in poor condition and all in a bundle on the floor of the hanging unit making it difficult for the children to pick and choose what they wanted to play with. 3. The books in the library area were in poor condition, many were ripped and torn. 4. The dolls houses were void of any furniture or toy accessories. 5. The dolls and dolls accessories were in poor condition and they were poorly displayed. This did not make it attractive for the young children to want play with them. 6. Puzzles and games were stored out of the children’s reach, a young child in the Junior preschool room was observed asking a staff member for a jigsaw puzzle that was stored on a very high shelf. The staff member retrieved a small plastic bag that contained jigsaw pieces. There was no picture of the completed jigsaw or the number of jigsaw pieces the jigsaw should contain. When the inspector asked the staff member if this information was available to the child, they replied “that the childcare course that they attended suggested that children should use their imagination and memory when completing a jigsaw”. 7. There were 5 “cause and effect” toys in the baby room that were not working
Provider's corrective action:
  • The registered provider stated the following in their reply: Corrective and Preventive Action 1 to 7 A large section of toys were purchased which included kitchen units , dress up costumes, books, dolls house with furniture and other accessories. Staff have chosen age-appropriate puzzles for the children, and they now are accessible to the children on low level shelving. The staff have checked all battery-operated toys; batteries were replaced when required and toys were replaced when they were no longer operational. Staff will monitor all play areas and toys will be reviewed and may be replaced as part of a monthly audit will now be part of a monthly audit

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

  • General Safety: 1. The opening in the 5 windows in the senior playroom, ranged from 16.5 cm to 22.9 cm. The openings in the 4 windows in the junior playroom ranged from 16.5 cm to 19 cm. The playrooms were located on the first floor of the premises. There wasn’t a safety restrictor installed on these windows which would prevent a child from falling from the window. The safety restrictors should limit the initial movement of an opening section to not more than 10 cm. 2. There was a trailing lead that was accessible from a cot in the toddler room which may pose a risk of strangulation to a child using this cot. The inspector asked for this trailing lead to be removed. Infection Control: 3. There were two mattresses in the toddler sleep room that were ripped on the corners with exposed foam, which prevented the mattresses from being effectively cleaned between uses, thus posing a risk of cross infection. 4. The soft seating in the upstairs Junior Preschool room was ripped with exposed foam which made it difficult to effectively clean the seats, posing a risk of cross infection. 5. The children’s hands in the baby room were not consistently cleaned before eating. This posed a risk of cross infection. 6. The drop downside rail on a cot in the toddler sleep room was broken. The rail would not stay in a fixed upright position. This posed a safety risk to a child. The person in charge advised that the cot was not going to be used until the side rail was repaired. Action submitted by the Registered Provider The registered provider stated the following in their reply:
Provider's corrective action:
  • General Safety: 1. The opening of the window was restricted to less than 10 centimeters. The windows will be checked regularly by staff 2. Cable casing was installed to fix the cable to the wall; staff will conduct visual checks to ensure the wire is secured at all times. Infection Control: 3. The mattresses were replaced with easy clean covers, and these will be checked regularly by staff 4. the soft seating was repaired and is now included in the monthly audit checks for repairs 5. A step up was added to the sink to help the children gain access to the hand-washing sink, the staff will ensure children's hands are consistently washed. 6. The cot has been replaced, and staff will routinely check equipment to ensure they are in good condition. Click or tap here to enter text

Regulation 29 — Premises

  • 1. The ventilation system in the internal sanitary area attached to the Toddler area, did not appear to be working. There was no sound from the system when it was turned on and did not create a suction, the poor ventilation system may result in poor quality air circulation and the prevent the extraction of contaminated/foul air from the premises. There were black spots on the ceiling, the inspectorate team were informed that it was a result of a broken sink in the sanitary area above this toilet which leaked down and stained the ceiling tiles. 2. The sleep room attached to the Baby room did not have any form of ventilation. The staff did not have access to the openable windows that were positioned high up over the cots. The window ledges were used to store boxes of toys and other items which prevented the windows from being opened. 3. The hand-washing sink in the upstairs children’s sanitary area was blocked off and not in use by the children, which resulted in 16 children using 1 hand washing basin. It was acknowledged that the service manager informed the inspection team that plumber was appointed to fix the issue and was awaiting parts to fix the taps
Provider's corrective action:
  • The registered provider stated the following in their reply: Corrective and Preventive Action 1. The fan in the ventilation system was replaced to help with air flow. The ceiling tiles have also been replaced in the sanitary area. 2. The window ledges in the baby room were cleared of storage boxes, and the staff now have access to the two windows which allow ventilation to the sleep room. 3. The sink was repaired in the children’s sanitary area, and the children have access to running water to effectively wash hands

Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 16, 19.

Inspection of 19 December 2024 — Inspection Report

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment

  • (7) (a) (b) (c) The registered provider did not ensure that all employees are appropriately supervised and provided with the appropriate information and training. • There was no record of the team meetings as set out on page 7 of the staff handbook, on interview staff members could not confirm when they last attended a team meeting. • There was no evidence of ‘one to one supervision’ as set out in section 5.3 of the staff handbook, on interview staff members confirmed that no structured supervision takes place, however they can discuss issues with management at any time. • A number of staff members had signed that they had read and understood the service policies, however there was no documentary evidence of newly employed staff members signing same which is in contradiction to information provided in the staff handbook
Provider's corrective action:
  • In a written response the registered provider stated: 7(a)(b) (c) • Staff meetings have been scheduled to happen more regularly with writing documentation of the meeting being kept in the filing cabinet. • One to One supervision meetings do take place, however, from now on the meetings will be documented to meet the regulations, and all parties will also sign off on the documentation to ensure that all parties are in agreement. • The policies and procedures have since been discussed with the new staff member, and she has signed off on the policies and procedures. In the future, the manager or duty manager will check the policies and procedures and staff handbook regularly to ensure that all staff have signed off on them, ensuring all staff are aware of and understand them

Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service

  • (i) The registered provider had a rolling roster in place where the staff members were aware of their weekly hours, however the service did not provide a record of this roster where the details of all staff in the service were recorded to include start and finish times and break cover
Provider's corrective action:
  • In a written response the registered provider stated: (j) A formal roster has been done up, a copy has been put on the staff group chat for clarity and a hard copy has been place in the canteen. The staff roster will be kept up to date with any new additions to staff and put back on display

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

  • General Safety: 1. On the day of incident, a child had access to a toy that was not suitable for the child’s age, and this was also set out in the manufacturer’s instruction. It is acknowledged that on the day of inspection that toys only suitable for the children’s age group were provided. Infection Control: 2. On the day of inspection had hygiene was not observed to be routinely completed on the following occasions: • In the baby and toddler room after nappy changes, the babies’ hands were not routinely washed. • In the baby room and toddler room children’s hands were not observed to be washed prior to snack and mealtimes. • In the toddler room the staff member did not wash their hands between changing eight children’s nappies. • In the toddler room the staff member did not change their apron between eight nappy changes. • In the toddler room the changing mat was not cleaned between eight children’s nappy changes. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
  • General Safety: 1. The toy which caused the incident has been removed from the premises and all toys are now age appropriate from the youngest child in the room. Staff audit the toys for age appropriateness’ and conditions, removing anything deemed inappropriate or too damaged. Documentation of audits are displayed in each room. All toys will be age appropriate for the youngest child in the room at any given time. In the case of a temporarily mixed-aged room, staff will ensure that any toys that are not age appropriate for the younger children are not within their reach and the older children do not take them out to play. Infection Control: 2. All staff been informed of this non-compliance and have been required to refresh their knowledge of the nappy changing and infection control policies. Management will regularly spot check the nappy changing routines of all the rooms, taking all consideration for the child’s dignity. This will help to ensure staffs are adhering to the nappy changing and infection control policies and procedures. If consistent non- compliance is observed by management, disciplinary actions will be taken

Regulation 27 — Supervision

  • On the day of the incident while it is acknowledged there was adequate staff to supervise the number of children in their direct care. There was a lack of supervision in monitoring access to play items that were not for their age or stage of development and caused a medical issue for one child
Provider's corrective action:
  • Staff been made aware of the non-compliance and have advised all staff to ensure that children are supervised all times, and all toys are age appropriate for the youngest children in the room

Regulation 31 — Notification of incidents

  • (d) The registered provider did not notify the agency within the required timeframe of an incident where there was serious injury to a preschool child while attending the service that required medical treatment in a hospital
Provider's corrective action:
  • In a written response the registered provider stated: (d) Management are now aware that any hospitalisation resulting for an incident in the service requires that TUSLA be notified, this will be our procedure going forward. As the child was with us the day after the incident, before any medical treatment was received by the child, we did not think notifying TUSLA was required. Management are now aware that any hospitalisation resulting for an incident in the service requires that TUSLA be notified, this will be our procedure going forward

Regulation 32 — Complaints

  • (2) (a) (b) The service did not specify in their complaints procedure the definition of a complaint, therefore a concern raised by a parent of a child on the 27th of the November 2024 did not follow the complaints procedure set out in the service policy
Provider's corrective action:
  • In a written response the registered provider stated: (2) (a) (b) The Complaints policy has been updated to define a complaint as a statement that something is unsatisfactory or unacceptable. Ballinasloe Community Childcare Group understands this definition to be applicable to any instance where a parent, staff or child makes their dissatisfaction with a situation known to a member of staff or the manager. The policies and procedures have been reissued to staff, and they have been advised to forward anything that meet the definition of a complaint to management to handle

Found compliant: Regulation 10, 11, 19, 25.

Inspection of 18 November 2024 — Change in Circumstance

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

No non-compliance recorded in this report.

Earlier inspections

Other services in Galway

Alert me when a new report is published · Dated report on this service — €19