Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. There were two emergency fire doors to the side of the building which led out to an open gate. Neither of the fire doors were alarmed or the gate secured to prevent a pre-school child leaving the building into the estate or accessing the main road. This may pose as a safety risk to the children attending the service. Infection Control: 2. Children’s perishable food in the three pre-school rooms were not stored in the service fridge, posing a risk that the food may spoil. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
The following statements were received from the registered provider: General Safety: 1. Staff members attended fire training and the two fire doors have been secured. Staff have been reminded of the importance of ensuring that the gate is secured while the children are attending the service. Infection Control: 2. A staff meeting was held and a reminder sent to staff in regard to children’s snacks being removed from their bags, placed into zip locked bags, labelled with each child’s name and stored in the fridge
Immediate action notice. 24/06/2025 An Immediate Action Notice (IAN) was issued under
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
(a) (b) Although a reference was available for one adult this was not translated or validated. A second reference and validation were also missing in respect of the same adult. (d) Two of four required overseas police vetting disclosures were missing in respect of two adults who had lived outside the jurisdiction for a period of six months or more as an adult. (4) One adult employed to work directly with the children, did not have a certificate available on file to evidence a child care qualification between levels 5 and 8, in Early Childhood Care and Education or a qualification deemed by the Minister to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
(a) (b) Two references and validations from current employers are now on file for the adult for whom they were required. No translation was required as the original reference requiring translation was removed and a new reference was submitted by the adult and a validation was carried out on this reference by management. (d) Overseas police vetting disclosures are now of file for both adults for whom they were required. In future, all vetting will be in place prior to staff commencing employment. (4) A record of award at level 5 in childcare is now on file for one adult for whom it was missing. In future, all staff will have the necessary documentation in place prior to commencing employment
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
• Three staff members were unable to sit comfortably while assisting children with food at lunch time. The inspector observed 2 staff members in the Toddler care room on Day 1 and 1 staff member in the dining room on Day 2 attempting to help feed and assist children while in a standing position, as there were no adult chairs provided in either room
Provider's corrective action:
• New adult chairs have been purchased and are now available in the Toddler care room and dining room. Staff have been advised on the benefits of using the adult chairs including to feed and comfort children and for health and safety reasons
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. Garda vetting disclosures were available for 23 adults, however, 6 of these vetting disclosures were not dated within the previous 3 years in adherence to the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice “EYI- RN12.3 Renewal of Garda Vetting” posing a potential safety risk to the children. 2. On Day 1 of inspection the temperatures of the hot water in two of the three wash hand basin of the children’s sanitary area downstairs were recorded as 44.8°C and 44.9°C respectively. On Day 2 the temperature of the same two wash hand basins were recorded as 45°C and 45.5°C which is above the recommended temperature of 43°C, posing a safety risk to the children. Safe Sleep: 3. An Immediate Action Notice (IAN) was issued under Regulation 23 - Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of a child in regard to staff not maintaining 10-minute physical sleep checks of children in a timely manner, as required and at variance to the service’s safe sleep practice policy. This had the potential of compromising the safety of sleeping children on both days of inspection. Day 1 – A total of 7 physical sleep checks were reviewed by the inspector between the morning and afternoon in the designated Sleep room, Wobbler sleep room and the Baby sleep room. Documented sleep times recorded on an electronic application evidenced that 3 physical sleep checks for 3 separate children had not been carried out every 10 minutes. The sleep record of Child 1 in the Wobbler sleep room, which was recorded on an electronic application, was reviewed at 11:31, indicating gap of 29 minutes between the hours of 10:28 – 10:57 for this child. The physical sleep record of Child 2 recorded in the designated cot room was reviewed at 11:55 and indicated a gap of 29 minutes between the hours of 10:28 and 10:57. The sleep record of Child 3 recorded in the Baby sleep room was reviewed at 13:00, indicating a gap of 42 minutes between the hours of 10:15 and 10:57. In conversation, a staff member stated they were on break and sleep checks had not been carried out in their absence. In addition, the inspector observed a full day care child asleep at 11:20 on a bean bag in the Senior Pre-school care room, posing a safety risk. In conversation, a staff member stated that the child had been reading a book and fell asleep. There was no equipment available for sleep in the care room. It was acknowledged that on Day 2 the bean bag had been removed and replaced with a stackable bed, in use in the home corner, in the event a child required to rest in the care room. Day 2 – Following receipt of the response to the Immediate Action Notice the registered provider stated that staff retraining had taken place on the service’s safe sleep practice and that all staff had been advised to read Tusla’s Guidance for the Early Learning and Care Sector on Sleep Provision for Children Under 24 Months. Therefore, further sleep checks were carried out on day 2 to ensure that all staff were now conducting physical sleep checks every 10 minutes; the inspector reviewed 6 individual children’s physical sleep checks, 2 of which had been recorded in the Baby sleep room at 11:40 and 4 of which had been recorded in the Cot sleep room at 12:50. The inspector found that the 2 physical sleep checks documented on the electronic application in the Baby sleep room were not recorded every 10 minutes. The sleep record of Child 1 recorded on an electronic application indicated a gap of 12 minutes between the hours of 10:36 and 10:48 and the sleep record of Child 2 indicated a gap of 15 minutes between the hours of 11:07 and 11:22. Based on the observations of the 10-minute physical sleep checks and documented evidence observed by the inspector on day 2, 25/06/2025, the actions submitted by the registered provider on the 25/06/2025 to the early years inspectorate in regard to the Immediate Action Notice sent to the registered provider on 24/06/2025 were deemed to be inadequate. They were deemed not effective in meeting the requirement of Regulation 23 Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of a child, specifically staff maintaining 10-minute physical sleep checks of sleeping children in a timely manner. Therefore, a further response to address the issue was requested. 4. On Day 1 the inspector observed that 3 cots and 5 of 8 stackable beds in the Wobbler sleep room were not positioned 50 centimetres apart, posing a safety risk to the children. Examples included beds placed 15 and 31 centimetres apart and cots placed 26 centimetres apart. It was acknowledged on Day 2 that staff had reduced the number of stackable beds to ensure that the cots and stackable beds in use were placed at least 50 centimetres apart. Infection Control: 5. On Day 1 of inspection the inspector observed that the sink draining area of the Baby care room was greasy and sticky and a step up located in the Junior Pre-school toilet, off the care room, was noted to be unclean posing a risk to the children. On Day 2 it was acknowledged that both the kitchen sink draining area and the step up were cleaned removing the risk of children coming into contact with any germs. 6. There were no cleaning records available on the 2 days of inspection in the service. The inspector was informed by staff, in both the Junior Pre-school care room and in the Baby care room, that cleaning took place on a daily basis. However, the last record completed for cleaning in the Baby care room was documented as the 29 May 2025 and no cleaning records were available for the Junior Pre-school room. In conversation, staff from both care rooms informed the inspector that the cleaner had gone on holidays and staff in the care rooms were carrying out the cleaning. 7. Stitching had come loose on 1 of 3 vinyl sofas in use in the rest/quiet area of the Junior Pre-school care room and the foam was exposed, making it difficult to clean effectively. 8. It was observed on Day 1 that the bean bag cover in the Senior Pre-school care room was heavily stained. It was acknowledged that this was removed on Day 2 of the inspection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider The following statements were received from the registered provider;
Provider's corrective action:
General safety: 1. Applications for the renewal of Garda Vetting disclosures were submitted and received for the 6 adults. These are now available on the relevant recruitment files. All staff files will be checked yearly to ensure compliance with Garda vetting within a 3-year cycle. 2. The plumber removed the old thermostatic valves and these were replaced with new ones. Staff have been reminded to monitor the temperature of the thermostatically controlled hot water and report any issues to management. Safe sleep: 3. Management have introduced a sleep roster in which a designated adult is identified as being responsible for the sleep checks. The sleep checks will be monitored by management on a daily basis to ensure the safety of the sleeping children and compliance with the regulations. 4. The stackable beds and cots were placed 50 centimetres apart on Day 2 to ensure the safety of the children. Staff will monitor the required spacing on a daily basis to ensure cots and stackable beds are placed 50 cm apart. Infection Control: 5. Both the sink draining area of the Baby care room and the step up located in the Junior Pre-school toilet were cleaned by staff who will ensure that all areas are cleaned daily. 6. Cleaning checklists are now accessible to staff and are in daily use. 7.The sofa in the Junior Pre-school room has been removed for repair. 8. The bean bag was removed on Day 1 of inspection
Regulation 29 — Premises
(d) 1. The inspector observed that the window sill in the Junior Pre-school care was in a poor state of repair. There were loose paint particles on the window sill where patches of paint were missing. 2. The air vent in the nappy changing room, on the ground floor, was noted to be covered in dust. Staff stated this had been cleaned recently however this was not observed on both days of inspection
Provider's corrective action:
The following statements were received from the registered provider; 1. A carpenter and painter have been contracted to carry out the required work commencing 21 July 2025. Staff have been asked to keep management informed of any work they notice is required on an ongoing basis. 2. The vent was cleaned. Air vents have now been added to the cleaning checklist of the nappy changing area
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 25, 26, 28.
Inspection of 1 August 2024 — Change in Circumstance