Inspection of 23 June 2025 — Inspection Report
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- 1. Although bibs were used during dinner time, two children were observed to be put to sleep with soiled and wet clothes. Staff did not remove or change these prior to sleep. 2. Throughout the morning of the inspection in the baby room 4 children were observed to have a soother in their mouth from 10.54am until after sleep. They did not appear distressed and when asked staff stated there was no reason for them to have them at all times. Prolonged use of soothers may inhibit language and oral motor development and prevent children from interacting with their peers. 3. There was no adult chair present in the room for adults to provide one to one care to children when bottle feeding. The children in the room were aged 1 year with some requiring bottle feeding at times throughout the day
Provider's corrective action:
- 1. We met with the staff in the baby room and went through the Tusla non-compliances. We updated the Food health, safety and nutrition policy. We had a staff meeting on Friday the 15th of August and went through all of the non-compliances and policy updates with the full staff team. We had a team meeting on the 15th of August 2025 and went through the Tusla report and the food health, safety & nutrition policy and all staff signed off on the policy. 2. We met with the staff in the baby room and went through the Tusla non-compliances. We also spoke with parents of the baby room about the use of soothers. We shared some information with them about soother use and weaning children away from soothers. 3. The baby room environment was redesigned for the new school year on the 15th of August 2025. There is now designated feeding areas along with adult chairs and a separate cosy area
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. An external gate used as a fire escape route was observed to be locked with a combination padlock. Although the manager stated that all staff are aware of the code, the safe evacuation of staff and children could be compromised in the event of an emergency. 2. A child in the baby room was observed to be propped up on cushions whilst drinking a bottle. This poses a risk of choking. Infection Control: Inspectors observed a number of practices which posed a risk of transmission of infection within the service: 2. All children’s hands were not washed in the Baby room prior to dinner. 3. A child was observed with a soother on a chain attached to their clothes. The soother was observed to drag on the floor at times when the child was crawling. The child and a staff member were observed to put the soother in the child’s mouth on multiple occasions without it being cleaned. This poses a risk of cross contamination. 4. There was no shelving storage available in the baby room. Staff were observed to put a bowl of tuna onto the floor before serving the children at lunchtime and clean face cloths onto a piece of climbing equipment. This poses a risk of cross contamination. 5. Whilst giving tuna to children at dinner time a staff member was observed to use spoons the children were eating with to dish the tuna. A different spoon was used each time which posed a risk of cross contamination. 6. The lacquered surface and surround of two tables, one in the Wobbler room and another in the courtyard were water damaged and lifting away from the wood and could not be cleaned effectively. Administration of Medication: 7. Emergency medication required for children in the Toddler 1 and 2 rooms and Preschool 1 room were not stored in their original packaging or with the medical instructions which could affect the safe and timely administration of the medication in the event of an emergency. Safe Sleep: 8. Staff were observed to check sleeping children aged 1 by looking through a viewing panel. Visual checks are required as per Tusla Safe Sleep guidance. The service policy is required to be updated in line with safe sleep guidance. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. A new keypad and fire safety system has been put onto the gate. The gate will now auto release in the case of a fire alarm. This information and the keypad code was shared with the staff team at the staff meeting on the 15th of August 2025. Infection Control: 2. We met with the staff in the baby room and went through the infection control and handwashing policy. We had a team meeting on the 15th of August 2025 and went through the Tusla report and discussed the importance of infection control and handwashing and went through the infection control and handwashing and all staff signed off on the policy. We also updated our handwashing signs and posters across the centre. 3. We have banned the use of soother chains in the service. This was communicated with all parents on the 18th of August 2025. Our Infection Control Policy was updated to support this. Staff will be ensuring that soother chains are no longer in use in the service. 4. The baby room environment was redesigned for the new school year on the 15th of August 2025. There is now designated feeding areas, with a table, highchairs along with adult chairs. There is now a space for feeding in the Baby Room which includes a low table. 5. Discussion regarding noncompliance was held during our staff team meeting. 6. Two new tables were purchased for the Wobbler room. We discussed the importance of the daily risk assessments and flagging anything with the management team immediately Administration of Medication: 7. We reviewed our medicine administration policy and paperwork with the full staff team. All inhalers were checked and parents were asked for original packaging and prescription for medication on site. We reviewed our medicine administration policy and paperwork with the full staff team at our team meeting. Safe Sleep: 8. We updated our safe sleep policy to ensure it was clear that staff have to go into the sleep rooms to perform the physical checks in the baby room. We reviewed our safe sleep policy and paperwork with the full staff team at our team meeting
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 16, 25, 26.