Inspection of 9 January 2025 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. Non-Compliance Information The service did not notify Tusla of a change in their operating hours and were found to be operating outside of their registered hours. The service is registered to open from 8am-5:30pm daily however a discussion with management and a review of paperwork showed that the service is open from 7:30am-5:30pm daily. Corrective & Preventive Action submitted by the Registered Provider Corrective Action Change in Circumstance form was submitted to Tusla on 10th January 2025. Application was approved and we were notified via email on 16 January 2025.
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- 1. There was a lack of emphasis on the importance of promoting a sense of belonging and connectedness in the Baby/Toddler room and the Toddler room. Materials to reflect the children’s important relationships were absent such as pictures or references to family and home life. 2. There was evidence the staff did not follow their own ‘Healthy Food’ policy. Evidenced by the following. o Five children in the preschool room were observed to drink cordial fruit juice in bottles brought into the service from home. o Three children aged over 2 years were observed to cordial drink juice from a baby bottle. HSE guidelines recommend replacing all bottles with a cup or beaker for children over one years of age. o One child’s snack box did not include any nutritious food items and there were two non-nutritious food items which contained a chocolate biscuit, and a waffle observed in the lunch box. This is at variance with the service’s ‘Healthy Food’ policy which states ‘that there will be no juice in the service’. In addition, the Nutrition Standards for Early Learning and Care Services recommend that sweets, chocolate, biscuits and cakes should not be part of a child's daily diet
Provider's corrective action:
- Corrective Actions 1. Family walls have been implemented into all rooms, at the child’s level. 2. A notice was emailed to parents on January 10, as a reminder to send children with water only and not juice. A reminder of the Healthy Eating Policy with policy issued in paper copy to parents on Tuesday 14 January 2025. Included in the email sent on January 10, Parents were requested to assist staff in encouraging the children to transition from bottles to beakers/cups. Preventive Actions 1. The theme of identity and belonging was discussed in staff meeting and identity and belonging posters hung up in care rooms for reference. Identify and belonging training arranged for staff. 2. Staff meeting held on January 16 to discuss and clarify all staff’s understanding of policy and procedure regarding healthy eating and bottles. Parents issued with emails and paperback policies for future reference. Staff issued with copy of healthy eating policy
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. A cleaning agent was observed to be accessible to children in the sanitary accommodation in the Baby/Toddler room. It is acknowledged that the children in this room were supervised at all times and the person in charge took immediate action to address the non-compliance by removing the cleaning agent when the inspector brought the identified risk to their attention. Infection Control: 2. During the morning, one of the inspectors observed a child in the Baby/Toddler room to become unwell, this child vomited at approximately 11:40am. Although the staff member alerted the parents of the child that their child had become unwell, the child remained in the service until the afternoon when the child was picked up at approximately 3:00pm. This is at variance to the service policy which states that in the case of vomiting, a child must be removed from the service immediately and cannot return until 48 hours after their last vomiting incident. 3. One large foam cube and three foldable foam mats and were observed to be torn with exposed foam in the Baby/Toddler room leaving an ineffective surface for cleaning. This posed a risk of cross infection. Administration of Medication: The service did not ensure correct storage and administration of medication as evidenced by the following: 4. A clearly written medical care plan to enable staff to identify and accurately administer treatment when required was not available for two children present with prescribed emergency medication. The absence of an individual medical care plan for the two children posed a risk of staff not being aware of symptoms to look out for and the correct procedures to follow in the event where one of these children required the medication to be administered. 5. Two prescribed medications were observed not labelled or in their original packaging and were stored in an area that was accessible to children. Medicine needs to be stored safely out of reach of the children in its original packaging, clearly labelled providing details of child’s name and details of the dosage to be administered. 6. A sample of ten administration of medication records were reviewed as part of the inspection. The following information was not included: o On three out of ten records reviewed there was no signature of the staff member who had witnessed the administration of medication. o On two out of the ten records reviewed there was no parent signature recorded to show that the parent had been informed on the day of the administration of medication. Failure to provide parents with this information on collection could result in a child receiving an overdose. Fire Safety: 7. Children’s attendance records were not completed in a timely manner. Two children arrived at the Baby/Toddler room between 10:00am and 10:15am. These children were not signed in on the attendance records upon their arrival. This reduced the effective evacuation of the children in the event of an emergency. It is acknowledged that staff took immediate action and updated the attendance records when the inspector brought this to their attention
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: Corrective Action and Preventative Action 1. Importance of careful storage of cleaning agents addressed at staff meeting. Health and safety procedures highlighted and added into the daily risk assessment sheet. Now included in Risk Assessment form is ‘no dangerous substance within reach of children’. Infection Control: Corrective and Preventative Action 2. Staff meeting included addressing the Infection Control Policy, copies given to all staff. A copy of the infection control policy issued to parents on 5 February 2025 and reminders they may need to facilitate collecting children in the event of illness occurring. 3. Mats and soft are furniture checked and removed from area. New equipment purchased and placed in area. Daily risk assessment updated to include ‘cosy corner materials in good order, no tears or rips’ checklist daily and discussed at staff meeting. Administration of Medication: Corrective Action and Preventative Action 4. Medical Care plans created for children. Medical care plans and procedures for these highlighted at staff meeting. 5. Medications removed from the area. New shelf inserted at a high level. Clear labelling providing child’s details and dosage details implemented. All staff issued with a copy of medicine administration policy at staff meeting. Risk assessment updated to state ‘medication stored correctly’, for daily checks. 6. Medicine administration forms were all checked and updated, and new forms filled in as needed, signed by all staff, management and parents. Procedure put into place, management will be responsible for signing off on all medication administration records daily. Fire Safety: Corrective Action and Preventative Action 7. Children were signed in immediately and the importance of fire safety and record keeping discussed at staff meeting
Regulation not named in the report text
- The service did not notify Tusla of a change in their operating hours and were found to be operating outside of their registered hours. The service is registered to open from 8am-5:30pm daily however a discussion with management and a review of paperwork showed that the service is open from 7:30am-5:30pm daily
Provider's corrective action:
- Corrective Action Change in Circumstance form was submitted to Tusla on 10th January 2025. Application was approved and we were notified via email on 16 January 2025. Preventive Action At the manager’s meeting on Friday 24 January, area managers and managers discussed, clarified and confirmed the procedure for future instances, in which, going forward, no changes will be made or implemented until all members of management team of the setting affected, are officially notified of the official approval from Tusla, via Senior Management
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 15, 25, 26, 28, 29.