Inspection of 8 April 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. In respect of two staff members, the service did not demonstrate compliance with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice requiring services to renew Garda vetting every three years. A period more than 3 years had lapsed since their Garda vetting disclosures were issued. 2. A wooden table in the outdoor area was frayed and damaged with some sharp edges exposed on the structure which posed a risk of injury to a child. Infection Control: 3. In the little lions and terrific tigers’ rooms two, foot operated bins were broken posing a risk of infection. 4. Water temperatures were recorded between 13.6°C to 14.4°C which was below the recommended temperature for effective hand hygiene in all three upstairs rooms, posing a risk of infection. 5. Staff was observed in the downstairs rooms failing to implement appropriate hand hygiene during nappy changes. Staff remained in the same gloves and aprons used for the removal of soiled nappies while transitioning to other care activities. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: (1) Garda vetting had been applied for but had not yet been returned. The service attached copies of both disclosures. The service created a new Garda Vetting Calendar to display to remind themselves to apply in advance of the 3-year renewal period. This will help track all 38 staff members in a timely manner. (2) Wooden table has been disposed of it was immediately removed from the playground the day following the inspection and has since been removed from the premises. Although children were not using the area that the wooden table was in, the service will ensure in future any broken items are disposed of outside of the premises to ensure no risk to any children. Infection Control: (3) Bins were ordered for replacement, and the service are awaiting delivery of bins. Bins have since been placed into each of the rooms. The service have added a check of our bins to current weekly cleaning schedule to remind all staff to inspect bins and ensure the foot pedals and bins are working appropriately. (4) Changed the settings on the timing clock to ensure the hot water setting is on for more hours throughout the day. The service has added water temperature to daily checks. Staff to record the water temperature daily, morning and evening to prevent the temperature dropping to an inappropriate level in the future or to help rectify the problem quickly. (5) Individual staff member spoken to regarding the incident, reminded of the nappy changing policy and given a copy to re-read and refresh memory. Nappy Changing policy handed out to all rooms to refresh everyone’s knowledge. Staff memo sent out to all staff along with nappy changing policy to remind all staff of the appropriate procedure when changing nappies and the importance of infection control
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 19, 25, 26, 27.