Inspection of 26 May 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (2)(a)(b) (3) Appropriate consideration had not been given to references for one adult. There was only one past employer reference sought and verified for one staff file
Provider's corrective action:
- The Branch Manager contacted the previous employer directly and completed a full reference verification in line with the service's recruitment procedures. To prevent a recurrence, the Branch Manager will ensure that the correct reference verification form is used for all future recruitment at branch level
Regulation 11 — Staffing levels
- (1) The inspector observed that an adequate number of adults were not available to meet the needs of the children in the Wobbler room between 11:54 and 12:17. The children were displaying signs of overtiredness and therefore required more attention to meet their emotional and sleep needs than the available adults could provide as outlined. From 11:54 to 11:58 The inspector observed one adult in the Wobbler room attempting to comfort three children simultaneously while the other adults were placing children to sleep in the cot room. The three children were crying loudly. Another child (Child 4) had been transferred into the Wobbler room from the Toddler room and was sitting on a matted area crying intermittently. At 12:08 a second adult arrived and the first adult took Child 2 to the cot room. At 12:12 another adult was observed sitting with Child 4 in her arms. The adult was unable to provide Child 1 with the comfort required. The child was placed to sleep by another adult at 12:17. The absence of available staff to comfort children when upset may negatively impact children’s emotional wellbeing, sense of security and ability to self-regulate
Provider's corrective action:
- The Branch Manager held a meeting with the Wobbler Room team to reinforce the service's needs-led sleep policy and practice. Staff were reminded that children must be offered opportunities to sleep or rest when they display signs of tiredness, in accordance with their individual needs. This remains the service's usual practice, and the meeting served to reinforce expectations and promote consistent implementation across the team. The Branch Manager will continue to monitor and support practice within the Wobbler Room to ensure that children’s individual sleep needs are consistently met, in line with a needs-led approach. Ongoing monitoring, guidance, and supervision will be provided to ensure that daily routines reflect each child's established sleep requirements. Continued monitoring will help to ensure this does not reoccur and that children's individual care needs remain the priority at all times
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- 19(1)(b) 1. The inspector observed that appropriate practices were not in place to meet the sleep needs of the children in the Wobbler room. There were ten children in attendance aged 13-20 months. The inspector observed that some of the children were displaying signs of overtiredness throughout the morning. It is acknowledged that one child was provided with the opportunity to sleep in a timely manner. However, the other children were only provided with an opportunity to sleep after the main meal. Two of the children were observed to be negatively impacted by this as outlined. Child 1: The inspector observed the child displaying signs of overtiredness including crying loudly and clinging to staff from 10:34 The child was placed to sleep at 12:17. Child 2: The inspector observed the child displaying signs of tiredness including disengaging and repeatedly rubbing eyes and crying from 11:06. This child was not placed to sleep until 12:09. Failure to facilitate children to sleep according to their needs can impact negatively on their emotional and physical development. 2. Mealtime practices in the Wobbler and Baby rooms did not support the individual needs of children as outlined. (a) At 11:41 the inspector observed that staff were engaged in tasks including cleaning and preparing children for sleep when one child was still eating the main meal. The inspector observed another child taking a spoonful of her meal. An adult who was engaged in a task beside her gave the meal back to the child but did not change the spoon. The child subsequently poured the meal on herself. When an adult checked the child’s dish they stated “Are you finished? You were starving”. They removed the child’s dish without offering any more. At 11:47 in the Baby room, the inspector observed two children both one year of age eating their dinner and the staff member who had been feeding one of them, started to clean the room and turned away from the two children and emptied the bin by the sink. One child spooned the remainder of their dinner out onto the table. The adult returned and removed the food and bowl and cleared it away. This practice was at variance with the services mealtimes policy which stated ‘Mealtimes will be used as a learning experience and an opportunity to develop social skills. Staff must ensure to always sit with the children at mealtimes’. Further information is documented under regulation 27 – Supervision. (b) One child who staff reported had some food allergies was not provided with a nutritiously balanced alternative at mealtime. While the other children were provided with vegetable curry couscous, the child was just provided with plain couscous. Failure to provide nutritionally balanced meals may impact a child’s growth, health and overall wellbeing. 3. The inspector observed an adult remove a wet nappy from a child who attended the Wobbler room and replace it with a dry nappy. The adult did not clean the child before putting on the dry nappy. This practice can result in skin irritation, soreness and discomfort and does not support infection control
Provider's corrective action:
- - 1.The Branch Manager met with the staff team to reinforce the importance of implementing a needs-led approach to sleep and ensuring that individual sleep requirements are consistently responded to throughout the day. The Branch Manager will continue to monitor and support practice within the Wobbler Room to ensure that children's individual sleep needs are consistently met in line with a needs-led approach. Ongoing monitoring, guidance, and supervision will be provided to ensure that daily routines reflect each child's established sleep requirements. Continued monitoring will help ensure this does not reoccur and that children's individual care needs remain the priority at all times. 2.Following the inspection, the Branch Manager reviewed the Supervision Policy with the Baby and Wobbler Room team and reinforced the expectation that educators remain seated with the children throughout mealtimes, in line with the service's usual practice and supervision procedures. Children are encouraged to self- feed, with educators providing support using an additional spoon where required, promoting both independence and responsive care. The Branch Manager reinforced the importance of slow relational pedagogy, remaining present, actively supervising, and engaging with children during mealtimes. 2b. The Branch Manager also met with the Centre Cook to review the dietary requirements of all children with allergies and the alternative meals provided within the service. Each child's individual dietary needs and approved meal substitutions were discussed to ensure that appropriate alternatives are consistently provided. The Centre Cook demonstrated a clear understanding of the required meal replacements and the importance of ensuring that all alternative meals are balanced, nutritious, and meet each child's individual dietary requirements. The Branch Manager has implemented ongoing observations and support during mealtimes in the Baby and Wobbler Room to ensure that children are appropriately supervised and that educators remain fully engaged with the children throughout the meal experience. These observations will continue as part of the service's ongoing quality assurance and supervision processes to support consistent practice. In addition, the Branch Manager has introduced a routine check of all meals before they leave the kitchen to verify that they are of the appropriate quality, standard, and suitable for each child's individual dietary requirements. This monitoring process will continue to ensure consistency and compliance with the service's nutritional and food safety standards. 3.Staff were reminded that all children must be cleaned during every nappy change, including when changing a wet nappy, using either water wipes or cotton wool and water, in line with the service's hygiene procedures. The Nappy Changing Policy was reviewed in detail at a staff meeting following the inspection. The Operations Manager provided a practical demonstration of the correct nappy changing procedure, reinforcing the required standards of hygiene and infection prevention. Each educator subsequently demonstrated the nappy changing procedure and was observed by management to ensure that practice was fully aligned with the service's policy and procedures. - The Branch Manager has implemented ongoing observations of nappy changing practices within the junior rooms to monitor compliance with the service's Nappy Changing Policy and to ensure that procedures are being consistently implemented. These observations have confirmed that nappy changing is being carried out in accordance with the service's policy and hygiene procedures. Ongoing monitoring, support, and supervision will continue as part of the service's quality assurance processes to reinforce good practice and maintain consistent standards of care
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- Infection Control: 1. Inadequate systems in place for sterilising mouthed toys: There was a sterilisation box in the Baby room and Wobbler room. There was an inadequate system in place to sanitise mouthed toys in these rooms. • The inspectors witnessed toys being mouthed by children and not being taken out of circulation after children mouthed them. This practice of allowing the children to mouth toys that have been in other children’s mouths, without cleaning or sterilising them, increases the risk of spread of infection, which can negatively impact on children’s health. 2. Inadequate Nappy Changing practices: Inspectors observed that children’s nappies were changed in a manner that posed a risk of cross infection as outlined below. All these observations were at variance with the service’s documented nappy changing procedure. • Adults and children’s hands were not consistently washed after nappy changes. When handwashing did occur, this was inadequate as soap was sometimes not used. Children and adults were also observed pushing paper towels used for drying their hands into the bin containing used nappies. • Adults did not consistently remove gloves after removing nappies and were observed re dressing children and handling items within the changing room with the same gloves on. This poses a risk of cross contamination. • The staff did not use the nappy bags provided to dispose of the nappies or wipes used, and these were placed beside the changing mat on the counter before being pushed into the nappy changing bin, using their hands rather than the foot operated pedal. Of the nappy changes observed, when staff wiped the changing mat after nappy changes, they did not wipe the area of the counter where the soiled nappies and wipes had been left each time. 3. Inadequate Handwashing practices: • The children’s hands were not washed before eating their snack or dinner in the Baby room on day 1 of the inspection. This poses a risk of cross contamination and a risk to the children’s health. This was in contravention to the services infection control policy. The handwashing policy of the service includes before eating as a time when hands must be washed. • The adults did not wash their hands before feeding the children in the Baby room on day 1 of the inspection. One of whom had not washed their hands after changing the child’s nappy prior to feeding them their dinner. This is also in contravention to the services infection control policy and puts the children at risk of cross contamination and spread of infection. This regulation was non-compliant on two previous inspections dated 23 May 2022 and 5 July 2023. The corrective and preventive actions submitted by the registered provider following those inspections had not been effective in preventing the non-compliance. 4. Inadequate cleaning of sheets and mattresses between uses by different children: It is acknowledged that the sheets were changed on the cots in the cot room adjacent to the Baby room between use by some children. However, the services infant sleep policy states staff should “Ensure that the child’s own mattress and bed linen are on the cot”. • The inspector observed that the cot sheets were not changed for two children. Each being placed into a cot to sleep after another child had been observed to sleep there. The inspector did not observe the mattresses being cleaned between use.. Cleaning of the mattresses and changing the linen is recommended by the HSE and HPSC guidelines for prevention of infection in childcare settings. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- Infection Control: 1. Staff have been reminded that any toy that has been mouthed by a child must be placed in the sterilising solution for the required contact time of 30 minutes before being removed and left to air dry. Following the inspection, the Branch Manager reviewed the Sterilisation Policy with the Baby and Wobbler Room team. The staff meeting included a refresher on the procedures for cleaning and sterilising toys, when toys must be sterilised, and the importance of adhering to these practices to minimise the risk of cross-infection and maintain a safe, hygienic environment for children. The Branch Manager is undertaking ongoing monitoring of toy sterilisation practices in each room to ensure that the service's Sterilisation Policy is consistently implemented. Regular observations and supervision are being carried out to verify that mouthed toys are sterilised in accordance with the required procedures and contact times. This monitoring will continue as part of the service's quality assurance processes to support consistent infection prevention and control practices across the service. 2.The Nappy Changing Policy was reviewed in detail at a staff meeting following the inspection. The Operations Manager provided a practical demonstration of the correct nappy changing procedure, reinforcing the required standards of hygiene and infection prevention. Each educator subsequently demonstrated the nappy changing procedure and was observed by management to ensure that practice was fully aligned with the service's policy and procedures. The Branch Manager has implemented ongoing observations of nappy changing practices within the junior rooms to monitor compliance with the service's Nappy Changing Policy and to ensure that procedures are being consistently implemented. These observations have confirmed that nappy changing is being carried out in accordance with the service's policy and hygiene procedures. Ongoing monitoring, support, and supervision will continue as part of the service's quality assurance processes to reinforce good practice and maintain consistent standards of care. 3.The Branch Manager reviewed the Handwashing Policy with the staff team, reinforcing the importance of effective handwashing in reducing the risk of cross-infection. Staff were reminded that all children must wash their hands after nappy changes and immediately before eating. It was further reinforced that if a child washes their hands and then spends time playing on the floor or engaging in activities before their meal, their hands must be washed again immediately prior to eating to ensure appropriate hygiene standards are maintained. Staff were reminded that hand hygiene must be carried out consistently after each nappy change and before assisting with mealtimes. It was further reinforced that the use of gloves does not replace the requirement for effective handwashing, and that appropriate hand hygiene must be completed before and after glove use in line with infection prevention and control procedures. All staff were reminded of these requirements and have demonstrated understanding of the importance of maintaining high standards of hand hygiene at all times to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. The Branch Manager is carrying out ongoing spot checks on hand hygiene practices across all rooms to ensure consistent adherence to the service’s Handwashing Policy. These checks are used to monitor compliance with correct handwashing procedures for both staff and children, particularly in relation to key times such as nappy changes and mealtimes. This ongoing monitoring will continue as part of the service’s quality assurance procedures to ensure that hand hygiene standards are consistently maintained at all times. - 3.The Branch Manager reviewed sleep room procedures with the staff team to reinforce correct practice and ensure consistent adherence to infection prevention and cross-contamination controls. The Branch Manager has purchased additional individual bags for each child and ensured that sufficient spare bed linen is available at all times. These measures have been put in place to support consistency of practice and to minimise the risk of recurrence
Regulation 27 — Supervision
- Children were not appropriately supervised when eating as follows : At 10:34 the inspector observed a child aged 1 year in the Wobbler room sitting at a table on her own eating a rice cake. The two adults in the room had their backs to the child doing ‘Circle Time’ with the other children. The child then walked around the room eating the rice cake. At 11:41 the inspector observed one child aged 1 year in the Wobbler room sitting at a table on her own eating the main meal when the other children had finished. At 11:47 in the Baby room, the inspector observed two children both one year of age eating their dinner and the staff member who had been feeding one of them, turned away from them and did not adequately supervise them. In the incidents described above the adults were engaged in tasks including cleaning and preparing the other children for sleep. Further information regarding this is outlined under regulation 19(1)(b), 2. (a). Failure to adequately supervise young children when eating can place them at an increased risk of choking and hamper their ability to develop positive eating habits
Provider's corrective action:
- - The Branch Manager reviewed the Supervision Policy with the Baby and Wobbler Room team and reinforced the expectation that educators remain seated with the children throughout mealtimes, in line with the service's practice and supervision procedures. Children are encouraged to self-feed, with educators providing support using an additional spoon where required, promoting both independence and responsive care. The Branch Manager reinforced the importance of slow relational pedagogy, remaining present, actively supervising, and engaging with children during mealtimes. The Branch Manager has implemented ongoing observations and support during mealtimes in the Baby and Wobbler Room to ensure that children are appropriately supervised and that educators remain fully engaged with the children throughout the meal experience. These observations will continue as part of the service's ongoing quality assurance and supervision processes to support consistent practice
Found compliant: Regulation 25, 26.