Inspection of 15 January 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (d) One International police vetting certificate was not available in respect of one staff for whom it was required
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider stated that police vetting was filed in the sister service as this employee had commenced work there and it is now placed in the service files too. They stated that they will ensure that if a staff member moves between the two services, they will retain a copy of all their details in each service. Staff files will be checked on a monthly basis and documented & signed off on by Management. They will use the Tusla check list to check all information is available for our Staff
Regulation 15 — Record of pre-school child
- (1) (h) Of the 12 records reviewed the immunisations details for children were not available on three forms
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider stated that immunisation details have been received for all children and going forward no child will commence in the service without a copy of their vaccination records or a signed letter from the parent confirming that they do not wish to vaccinate their child. The registration forms have been edited to reflect this change going forward. They stated that at a staff meeting held on 19th January 2026 and staff were made aware to double check all children’s files and to ensure that no file is accepted without it being completed in total. Children’s files on receipt will also be double checked by the Co-Ordinator and Compliance Officer
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. Current Garda vetting was not available for one staff member. Thus, the service was not compliant with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice requiring services to renew Garda vetting every 3 years. 2. Staff personal belongings, including open handbags, were stored on a low windowsill and were accessible to the children. Staff handbags may contain hazardous items which could pose a risk to children and as such should be kept out of reach. 3. Cleaning products were stored on a low windowsill which was accessible to the children posing a risk of injury. 4. Children could access an unused area of the outdoor garden as the gate was broken and not closed on both days of inspection. This area housed the utility piping for the heating system which posed a risk of injury to children. Infection Control: 5. Children’s soothers in the Wobbler room were stored loosely in shared baskets and not in the individual containers as required by the service’s sleep policy. This created a risk of cross infection. 6. The children’s low couches in the Dolphin room and Starfish rooms were torn with the foam visible so could not be cleaned effectively thus posing a risk of cross infection. Administration of Medication: 7. On a review of the medication policy, and template forms in the children’s registration folders there was no evidence in three instances of parents written consent for the administration of medication as per the service policy. Sleep: 8. Two children, aged 2 years and 11 months and 2 years and 3 months were observed sleeping on low beds unsupervised in the Toddler sleep room at 13:45. Staff stated that they complete 10-minute checks on sleeping children. Sleeping children who are accommodated on floor beds must be fully supervised in in- room supervision in place. 9. Adequate sleep checks and records were not maintained during the day. The service policy stated that each child’s colour, positions and breathing would be checked every 10 minutes. However, sleep records on the day of the inspection only recorded the date, child’s name and the time they were going for a sleep and times checked thereafter. The sleep room was too dark for staff to be able to monitor children’s breathing and colour while sleeping. This created a risk of a child being unwell while sleeping, as the staff member's practice did not include physically checking the children. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: The registered provider stated that: 1. Garda vetting has been received for this staff member and is on file. New staff will not commence in the service without up-to-date garda vetting. 2. Staff have been informed to store their personal belongings in the staff cloak room & lockers. All rooms have been given storage boxes with lids where they can store their coats if they wish. Daily checks will be carried out to ensure that personal belongings are not being stored in the care rooms. 3. Staff were given written notice reminding them again to store all cleaning products on the upper shelves provided in the classrooms and out of reach of children. 4.The gate has been replaced, and all gates have been fitted with combination locks. New fencing & gates have been ordered for the garden area. There will be a daily walk through of both internal & external reas and this will be recorded and signed. Infection Control: The registered provider stated that: 5. All children have individual baskets, clearly labelled and all soothers have their own containers again clearly labelled. 6. The Dolphin couch had a pencil hole which as taped. A cover has since been sourced and is now in place on this couch. A new couch has been purchased for the Starfish room. Also, a temporary cover has been placed over the Star Fish couch. Staff will be monitoring all of their room contents and if there is a defect they will inform management immediately, who will in turn have these items repaired or replaced. Administration of Medication: The registered provider stated that: 7. Medication parental consent was recorded in a daily logbook in our office when over the phone permissions was granted. Management always rings for parental consent to double check that the child has not already received medication prior to their child attending our service that morning. Parental consent is also recorded on the child’s registration form when commencing in our facility. Going forward, the service will be using the Tusla sample mediation form and completing it in detail for each individual child. The compliance officer will be checking and filing all these forms on a weekly basis and recording & signed record of these checks. Safe Sleep: The registered provider stated that: 8. The sleep room records have been edited to reflect 10-minute sleep checks & physical checks. 9. The floor beds have been replaced with cots and floor beds will no longer be in use in sleep rooms. The lighting will be improved to allow for ambient lighting facilitating observations in greater detail along with glass panel doors to also allow extra light
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26.