(4) There was no evidence available to show that one staff member who worked directly with the children held at least a major award in Early childhood Care and Education at Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework, or a qualification deemed by the Minister to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
The area manager had a meeting with the employee and contacted the course provider. Once confirmed the course is no longer accepted the employee ceased work with immediate effect. The area manager and recruitment manager reviewed all checklists including the assessment of qualifications. Retraining by the area manager was undertaken with the recruitment manager on the onboarding processes. New checklists and documents were created to ensure that this does not reoccur again
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(j) The registered provider did not ensure a full record in writing was maintained for medication administration. This posed a potential risk of miscommunication impacting the appropriate care of children after the administration of medication. A sample of 10 records were reviewed. Seven records were observed incomplete. The following was obserevd: • Two forms did not include the details of the child who had the medication administered or the expiry date of the medication. • Two forms did not include the details of the medication administered or the expiry date of the medication. • Three forms did not include the expiry date of the medication. This is not in line with service policy
Provider's corrective action:
The registered provider met with the management team to discuss the seriousness of record keeping paying particular attention to medical forms and the administration of medication policy. Retraining with management was undertaken. The management sent a memo and retrained staff on administration medication and importance of maintaining correct records. A new audit form was created to audit Regulation 16 and monthly audits are now being carried out
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
Administration of Medication: 1. Emergency medication for one child was not appropriately stored in its original container and clearly labelled. This posed a potential risk of inaccurate or delayed administration in the event the medication was required. Safe Sleep: 2. Three cots were observed with toys present as children were sleeping. This is not in line with service policy and posed a potential risk to children’s safety. This was a non-compliance on the previous inspection in November 2023. The preventive action has not been maintained in line with the information provided to the inspectorate following the last inspection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
Administration of Medication: 1. Management called the parents immediately and asked for a medication that was labelled and, in the box, and explained that we could not accept the medication out of the box going forward. Service policy was update and a memo sent to all staff. Managers inspect all medication for children on the premises during the monthly first aid check. Safe Sleep: 2. A manager is present daily between 11.30am - 12.30pm in this room monitoring when most children are asleep and is ensuring the safe sleep checklist is followed and ticked off. New daily support and monitoring is being carried out to ensure compliance. New visual reminders are in place by cots, and a new section was added to sleep checks to ensure an empty cot while the child is sleeping
(4) Evidence was not available to show that two staff members working directly with the children held at least a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework or a qualification deemed to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action Qualifications provided for two staff members. The company now has included in its recruitment policy and practice that: • any staff member that only has transcripts available must furnish the company with a full certificate once received from their college. • Failure to provide the correct Certification or proof of finishing the qualification will mean a cessation to employment. Preventive Action Regulation 9 audits by the recruitment officer
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(1)(j) Two types of forms were observed to be in use for recording medication administration. A review of form type one demonstrated no available record for parental signature for administration of medication beyond the first entry and was formatted to allow multiple entries. Form type two was for the use of antifebrile medication only and did not have a space for a parental signature. Its is acknowledged registration forms contain generic signature for antifebrile medication however a signed record is required per administration. These forms were observed in use by both the Toddler and Wobbler rooms
Provider's corrective action:
The administering of medicine form was immediately removed from all rooms and a new form was created. An email was sent to all managers about the change. The administration of medication form was updated, and all staff have read and signed it
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
1. Children in the wobbler room had limited access to resources at their level. For example: • The main shelving unit at the child’s level for holding resources was observed to have two empty boxes and one empty shelving space. • There were no resources available in the toy kitchen area. This limited the children’s opportunity for choice and active participation. 2. In the outdoor area the mud kitchen had one bowl available. This impacted the children’s ability engage with the resources as intended and reduced play opportunities
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective Action • The resources in the wobbler room were immediately audited. The investigation demonstrated that there were sufficient resources however the practice of putting all toys in to be sterilised resulted in a lack of toys available at the child’s level. A memo was sent to all staff regarding this practice and providing an alternative. • Staff were shown the list of play resources required for this age group and the Aistear/ Siolta practice guide on indoor environments to enhance play experiences. New resources were purchased for the kitchen area. • It is agreed that the garden space requires a lot more resources to support different types of play. Resources have been bought for the Mud kitchen outside as well as more socio-dramatic creative play resources. Preventive Actions • The service is currently formally engaging with a quality improvement programme. We had recognised ourselves we buy lots of resources and really stock rooms to ensure quality learning experiences but in our audits, we noted that staff were not maintaining the level of resources required for quality play and learning outcomes. • The service is using the Aistear/Siolta practice guide to improve the self-reflection required and self- assessing of rooms. • The service has completed the introduction to Aistear/ Siolta practice guide training. • The service provide staff with non-contact time to audit and assess their rooms using the Aistear Pillar learning environments reflective tool
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. A wire string of lights held to the wall by tape in the Wobbler room was hanging down in reach of children. This posed a risk of injury. Infection Control: 2. Staff did not wear aprons during nappy changing. This procedure was not in line with best practice or the services policy which posed a risk of cross contamination. Administration of Medication: 3. A care plan available for one child did not detail the required dosage but stated to refer to dosage information on the medication box. The box was not available for the medication and the label did not include dosage information. This posed a risk of inaccurate administration of medication. Safe Sleep: 4. Four cots were observed with toys while children were sleeping. The service safe sleep policy states toys will be removed. This posed a choking hazard. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. The wire was immediately reported on the maintenance list and has been secured. Preventive actions: • Room audits – a memo was sent to all staff and H&S officers reminding them of the importance of reporting all health and safety non-compliance to the manager. Staff were retrained on the daily health and safety risk assessments. • Refresher training is scheduled for the health and safety officers early January paying particular attention to risk assessment. Infection Control: 2. Nappy changing - staff are now wearing aprons for all changes as per our policies and procedures. Preventive actions: • A reminder email was sent to all staff regarding wearing an apron for all changes. • Audits are carried out by the manager to ensure best practice. Administration of Medication: 3. Care plans: This was immediately investigated because the practice is that all children with care plans are notified to the registered provider who works on a care plan with the manager. A plan has now been written up. Preventive action: Individual care plan - Our procedure on individual care plans was sent out as a reminder to all managers that all children with an individual care plan must be shared with the registered provider who will oversee the drafting of the care plan. Safe Sleep: Safe sleep policy was immediately altered to reflect safe practice. Preventive actions: • An email was sent to all managers regarding the practice of an empty cot for sleep time. • Safe sleep audits are carried out to ensure safe practices and that the child has an empty cot during sleep time
Regulation 25 — First aid
(1) A review of the staff roster and first aid response (FAR) certificates demonstrated that between 5:30pm- 6:30pm a person trained in first aid was not available to children
Provider's corrective action:
Staff member with FAR will be rostered to the centre on the latest shift to ensure that there is a FAR trained staff member on site at all times. Preventive actions: • An email was sent to all managers to notify the registered provider when a FAR trained employee resigns. • Additional staff from the service will be trained in FAR