Inspection of 5 February 2025 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (d) The required police vetting was unavailable for one staff member, who had lived outside the State for longer than six consecutive months, as an adult. (4) Evidence was unavailable to demonstrate that one of the adults, who was employed to work directly with the children, had attained a minimum level 5 award in Early Childhood Care and Education, or a qualification deemed to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
- The written reply stated that the police vetting was applied for on 5 February 2025. The service has received confirmation that the vetting has been processed and posted. Going forward, during the interview process, all candidates will be asked to provide police vetting if they have lived outside Ireland for more than 6 months while over the age of 18. Employment will not commence until all documentation is on file for staff members
- The employee has applied to QQI to obtain the final cert, as only components were available. Going forward, no new staff member will be permitted to commence employment until final certs have been provided
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- Infection control: 1. The children who attended the lunch club in the Darling Ducks room did not wash their hands, after returning from outdoor play time, which occurred immediately before lunch was served. This increased the risk of cross infection. It was noted that the adults handed children wipes to clean their hands and a staff member stated that this was the usual practice. However, some of the children had already begun eating before they received a wipe. The use of warm running water and liquid soap is most effective to ensure hygienic handwashing. 2. Two of the wash hand basins were not equipped with warm running water as follows: • In the staff toilet facility adjoining the Tiny Tigers room, the water temperature at the wash hand basin was recorded at 10.20C. • The water temperature at the wash hand basin in the new child toilet facility, adjoining the same care room, was recorded at 9.90C. Cold water temperatures may impede effective handwashing. The issue of cold water temperatures at two different wash hand basins was found at the previous inspection on 9 February 2023. The CAPA response at the time stated that a plumber had undertaken work on the hot water system and that daily water temperature checks would be carried out, to ensure that the required temperature was maintained. However, cold water temperatures remained an issue. Administration of medication: 3. The expiry date had passed on one of the medications that were held in respect of a child. This posed a risk that expired medication, which may be unsafe to use, could be administered to a child. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- Infection control: 1. The written reply stated that from the day of the inspection, an extra preschool staff member has been assisting with the daily hand washing process, prior to the children having their lunch. As a preventive measure, extra help is available to assist with the infection control process, to ensure best practice at all times. 2. A plumber attended the service and has replaced the mixer taps. Water temperatures will be checked daily by all room leaders, to ensure the maintenance of the required temperatures. Administration of medication: 3. Following the inspection, the person in charge confirmed in writing that the medication was replaced and is now stored in a locked cupboard in the care room. As a preventive measure, staff will ensure that all expiry dates on medication are checked
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 19, 25, 26.