(4) Documentary evidence was not available to confirm that the 1 staff member whose files was reviewed and who works directly with the children in the service did not hold an appropriate childcare qualification at Level 5 or higher on the National Framework of Qualifications or a qualification deemed by the minister to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
(4) The staff member has been moved into an ancillary role for the Summer, covering the kitchen staff. They will not be working directly with the children and will move to the school aged service in September until qualification/cert is issued in October. The staff member was an additional third person in the room and a floating staff member has been hired to replace them. Preventive Action (4) Ensure all staff members working directly with children will hold a minimum level 5 qualification. Summary Comment The evidence submitted by the registered provider in relation to regulation 9 – Management and recruitment has been reviewed and accepted
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 19, 23, 25, 26.
Inspection of 25 September 2024 — Inspection Report
(2) (a)&(b) A second validated written reference was not available for one staff member. (4) Documentary evidence was not available to confirm that 3 staff members whose files were reviewed and who work directly with the children in the service held an appropriate childcare qualification at Level 5 or higher on the National Framework of Qualifications or a qualification deemed by the Minister to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action (2) (a) & (b) Second validated reference received. (4) One staff member has recently completed Level 5 with Progressive College. Final results are pending for her last assignments therefore manager doesn’t have her cert/letter of completion but will forward as soon as possible. Two other staff members have completed the wrong childcare course and have been temporarily relocated to afterschool services while they complete a full level 5 award. Preventive Action (2) (a) & (b) This was an oversight in the hiring process. HR/Management has been reminded all staff files must be complete prior to start date. Area Managers will carry out regular audits on staff files. (4) All staff members working in the Early Years will have a completed Level 5 prior to start date, or they will only work in our school age services
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
Basic needs: 1. In the Toddler room, the children’s sleep needs were not managed at all times in a timely manner during the inspection. The inspector was informed that children in this care room were only facilitated to sleep at the designated sleep time after dinner and not before then. This inappropriate practice was observed during the inspection when a 2 year old child in the Toddler room was observed showing signs of tiredness for 30 minutes from 12.00midday (as evidenced in the child refusing dinner apart from a few spoonfuls of rice, rubbing their eyes and snuggling in to a staff member) before being placed to sleep on a stackable bed set up in the care room at 12.30pm, when the room was tidied up after dinner. 2. In the Toddler room the children’s water bottles were not freely available to the children as they were stored in the fridge out of sight and reach of the children, apart from at snack times and mealtimes. 3. This prevented the children from taking a drink spontaneously if they were thirsty during the day, without the assistance of a staff member. Physical and material environment: 4. In the Wobbler room and the Toddler room there was a heavy reliance on plastic toys, many of which were stored in enclosed canvas boxes fitted into wooden cubby-style shelving units. The enclosed boxes were snugly fitted into the shelving units which resulted in the contents not being easily visible or accessible and did not readily capture the children’s interest. Furthermore, three of these canvas storage boxes in the Toddler room were also blocked by an adjoining shelving unit which prevented the boxes from being retrieved from their cubby unit. Furthermore, pictorial labelling was not available to guide the children as to what toys and play materials were contained within the boxes. 5. There was a lack of sensorial toys in the Wobbler room, the Toddler room and Preschool 3 room. Apart from a tray-top table containing leaves, twigs and cones in the Toddler room, there were mostly plastic toys available in these rooms with limited sensory equipment provided or a variety of textures available to meet the development needs of the children. For example, sensorial materials such as sand, water, playdough, compost, dried rice or dried pasta were not provided in these rooms. 6. The Toddler room was subdivided by a gated fence-style partition into two distinct sections with almost all available play materials provided in the enclosed section encompassing approximately one third of the 39.36 square metre room. The children’s tables and chairs were stored in the larger space, away from the play materials. The room layout and the limited space provided for self-directed play curtailed opportunities for the 12 children who were present in the care room to engage in free movement in the entire space or have appropriate levels of choice within the environment. 7. The dress up resources in both the Senior Toddler room and the Preschool room 3 were stored in boxes which snugly fitted into shelving units and were therefore difficult for the children to retrieve. 8. There was no supportive equipment available at the play kitchen in the outdoor play area to enable the children to extend their play
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action Basic needs: 1. This was addressed at a staff meeting. Children who require an earlier sleep time will be facilitated, a bed will be brought into the room. Dinner time has also been brought back to 11:30am to facilitate the sleep needs of the children. 2. Bottles are now at children’s level in the classroom and available to them throughout the day. Physical and material environment: 3. New resources have been purchased. New clear boxes have been purchased please see photos. Pictorial labelling is now on the boxes. 4. New resources have been purchased. Further resources were purchased and are awaiting delivery. 5. Fence has been removed. 6. Clear boxes which are easily retrieved have been purchased. 7. Additional equipment has been purchased for the garden including a mud kitchen. Preventive Action Basic needs: 1. Staff have been remined to follow all children sleep cue’s and facilitate a variety of sleep times. Further training has been provided on October 19th. 2. Staff have been reminded of the importance of children being able to access drinks freely. Physical and material environment: 3. Area managers and managers will ensure only clear boxes are used. Managers will monitor this closely. 4. The area manager and manager will do additional audits throughout the year. The rooms are generally replenished with new equipment each summer in advance of new term. Area managers will ensure managers do this in a timely manner. Staff were retrained on defined areas. 5. Permanent partitions will no longer be used. 6. Only clear boxes will be used. Managers have been reminded and Area Managers will ensure this. 7. The gardens have recently been renovated and extended and registered provider was in the process of purchasing additional equipment. Area manager will ensure this is done in advance going forward
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. Two children in the Toddler room were observed lying down on floor beds feeding themselves with bottles of milk as they settled to sleep after dinner. This posed a risk of choking, in addition to increasing the risk for development of ear infections and tooth decay. 2. A large beanbag formed part of the cosy area in the Wobbler room. Beanbags are not appropriate for use for children aged less than 2 years due to the risk of suffocation. Infection Control: 3. The children in the Toddler room were taken as a group to the sanitary accommodation to wash their hands. While the staff member helped some of the children to wash their hands at the two low-level wash hand basins, the remaining children were observed sitting on and touching the floor. This increased the risk of cross contamination on surfaces and on the children’s hands. 4. An unlabelled feeding bottle was observed in the Toddler room on the day of inspection. Staff members stated that they were familiar with and recognised each child’s bottle by sight but this was inadequate for reducing the risk of cross-infection for the children in attendance. 5. One of the three nappy changing mats in the sanitary accommodation used by the children attending the Wobbler room and the Toddler room was torn at the seams leaving foam exposed which was an infection control hazard as the mat could not be thoroughly cleaned. 6. The paper towel that was used to clean the nappy changing mat in the sanitary area used by the children attending the Wobbler room and Toddler room was not hygienically dispensed. The roll of paper towel was stored on a shelf and subject to repeat handling. 7. The stackable beds used by the children attending the Senior Wobbler room were stored in the staff toilet, this is an infection control risk. Sanitary accommodation is not appropriate for storage of toys and equipment. 8. One of the toilet cubicles in the sanitary area adjacent to the Senior Wobbler room was used for storage including 2 upright fans, an air-cooling unit, recyclable art materials, 2 climbing wedges and a box of spare clothes for children. This is an unsuitable area for storage due to the infection control risks. Safe Sleep: 9. On the day of the inspection four children aged 1 year 7 months to 1 year 10 months were observed sleeping on stackable floor beds without a mattress. When a floor bed is used for a child aged less than 2 years it must be fitted with a firm and perfectly fitting mattress of at least 6cm in depth that is designed for the specific floor bed. Furthermore, sleep plans incorporating robust risk assessments were not available for these children to demonstrate the children’s developmental readiness to move from a cot to bed before they reached 2 years of age
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action General Safety: 1. This practice was stopped immediately and addressed at a staff meeting. 2. Beanbag has been removed and new cushions purchased. Infection Control: 3. Children are no longer brought in groups for handwashing. A maximum of two children at a time. 4. All bottles are now labelled. 5. Changing mats have been replaced. 6. Paper towel dispensers are located in the bathroom, and additional dispenser has been purchased for blue roll. 7. These have been removed and storage area created for the beds. 8. All areas have been cleared. Additional shed has been purchased and installed for storage. Safe Sleep: 9. Additional cocoon beds have been purchased. Sleep plans have been completed. Preventive Action General Safety: 1. Further training on safe sleep was provided on October 19th. Safe sleep forms part of the induction process for all new staff members. 2. Originally in the FFP for this room the children were aged 2 years and above, and the beanbag was in the room. The age range reduced, and it was an oversight not removing the beanbag. Beanbags will not be used in any wobbler/toddler room going forward. Infection Control: 3. Staff have been reminded of best practice in terms of handwashing and infection control. 4. Staff have been reminded of importance of correct labelling to ensure no risk of cross contamination. 5. Staff and managers have been reminded of the importance of regularly changing mats when needed. 6. Staff have been reminded of hygiene and infection control. The manager will monitor this closely to ensure compliance. 7. Area managers will ensure all bathrooms are cleared of storage items and beds are stored in a suitable area. These classrooms are new, and this was an oversight on managements behalf in planning for storage. 8. Managers will monitor this going forward and ensure all areas are kept clear, and items stored in appropriate areas. Safe Sleep: 9. Staff and managers have been reminded of sleep policy and which beds to use for correct age group. The area manager will monitor this
Regulation 24 — Checking in and out and record of attendance
(1) One child who was present in the Toddler room on the day of inspection was not documented as being present on their arrival to the service at 10.25am, as required. At 12.00midday the child’s attendance was still not recorded. During the afternoon the inspector observed that the child had been retrospectively entered in the electronic attendance record as having arrived to the service at 11.26am which was incorrect. This posed a risk of the children not being counted under the daily supervision routines or in the event of an evacuation emergency. (3)(a)(b) A system was not in place to record a visitor’s attendance on the premises and the purpose of their visit. The inspectors were facilitated to enter and be present in the service without being requested to record their attendance. Corrective Action (1) All staff have been reminded of the importance of entering children’s attendance in real time. This was addressed at a staff meeting and furthermore at a training day. (3) (a) (b) A visitors’ book is in operation in the centre and was on the day. Unfortunately, the manager forgot to ask the inspectors to sign in. Preventive Action (1) Managers will monitor this daily to ensure children are entered into the system at the correct time. (3) (a) (b) The area manager addressed this with the location manager and the visitor book is displayed in a more obvious area to ensure usage. Supporting documentation submitted Copy of attendance record for Wobbler room Summary Comment The inspectors reviewed the corrective actions and evidence submitted by the registered provider after the inspection. The registered provider demonstrated that the non-compliance identified under regulation 24 - Checking in and out and record of attendance has been adequately addressed
Regulation 30 — Minimum space requirements
(2) The Wobbler room was observed to be overcrowded on the day of inspection. The available floor space in the Wobbler room is 20.4 square metres. The space provided allowed for 7 children aged 1 to 2 years attending the service on a part-time or full day care basis. However, on the day of inspection there were 8 children aged 1 year 1 month to 1 years 6 months who were attending the service on a full day care or part-time basis being cared for in this care room. The records reviewed on inspection confirmed that 8 children attend the Wobbler room on a daily basis
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action When this classroom had its Fir for Purpose inspection, it was allocated 8 children, but over the age of 2. The age range reduced here in recent months which meant the floor space reduced which should have reduced the number of children to 7. This was an error on Senior managements behalf and was rectified immediately. The eldest child who was due to move to the next room did so the following week as there was space in the toddler room. The centre is not at capacity. Records are showing wobbler room for 7 children. Preventive Action The chief operations officer and area managers will ensure all rooms have the correct number of children per floor space. No other room is affected and the enrolments for the wobbler room going forward is capped at 7 children
Regulation not named in the report text
(1) The registered provider did not notify the Early Years Inspectorate of a change in circumstances in relation to the following as per the schedule 4 Form for Notification of Change in Circumstances: • The operating hours of the service are at variance with the hours the service is registered to operate. The service is registered to operate from 07:30am to 6:00pm but is currently operating from 7:00am to 6:30pm
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action & Preventive Action Change of circumstances was completed on October 3rd. This was an oversight on registered provider’s behalf. Hours of operation were reduced to 7:30-6:00pm during Covid and CIC was completed for that. Service returned to standard hours of operation 7:00am-6:30pm in recent months, but the CIC was not completed as it was overlooked due to the fact their original hours of registration were previously 7:00-6:30pm. Going forward CIC’s will be completed prior to any changes