Inspection of 19 March 2026 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. An immediate action notice in respect of
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- One staff member employed to work with the children did not have a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications or an equivalent. The staff member advised the inspectors that she was employed to work with the children as was recorded on the roster as working in the ECCE 1 room. It is acknowledged that this staff member was working in the kitchen on the day of inspection and was not involved in the direct care of children
Provider's corrective action:
- The staff member is on Kitchen duties until she has completed her Level 5 qualification. The service will ensure that all staff employed hold a full Qualification and will ensure all certificates are presented before commencing employment
Regulation 11 — Staffing levels
- The minimum ratio of adults to children was not maintained throughout the day of inspection demonstrated by the following observation: • From 11.26am to 12.00pm there were 10 children being supervised by 1 adult in the Wobbler room as a staff member changed children’s nappies. During this time there was no support staff available to maintain the required adult to child ratio in the room
Provider's corrective action:
- The service has implemented a ‘floater staff’ who will cover and support staff when cover is required. The registered provider has communicated with staff regarding the importance of ensuring all staff feel supported throughout their day and know that the staff member is available to cover when required. Summary Comment The inspector has reviewed the response and actions submitted. The non-compliance identified under Regulation 11 has been addressed
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
- (i) The staff roster was available on the day of inspection however it did not accurately reflect the adults working in the service: • A staff member from the ECCE 1 room was noted on the roster from 09:00 – 18:00 however, did not arrive at the service until 10:40. • The person in charge was recorded on the roster 08:00 – 17:00 however, they arrived at the service at 10.30. • A staff member in the ECCE 1 room was rostered to work from 09:00 – 12:00 on the day of inspection, however, was still working in the service past 13:00pm
Provider's corrective action:
- (i) • The manager will ensure staff cover for all appointments going forward. Employees will make appointments outside of working hours, if possible, if this cannot be accommodated cover for that staff to attend appointment will be got. • The person in charge was called to another service before inspection commenced to deal with a staff issue and left the duty manager in charge. She returned as soon as she could. Summary Comment The inspector has reviewed the corrective actions submitted. The non-compliance identified under Regulation 16 (i) has been addressed
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- 1. The individual sleep needs for children under 2 years of age were not facilitated. Children who were notably tired and in need of a sleep were observed having to wait until a cot became free before being placed for a nap. There were 11 children in the Wobbler room aged 1-2 years occupying the five available cots in the sleep room located in the Wobbler room. It is acknowledged there were other cots available in the service however, staff did not use these. 2. The basic care needs of the children in the Wobbler room were not met as follows; • Two children were observed to return to the care room from outdoor play with wet clothing. Their bottoms and top were wet. Despite staff interacting with them throughout the inspection including changing their nappy, the clothes were never changed. • There were a number of children attending the Wobbler room with large amounts of mucus running from their noses. Despite interactions from staff which included a nappy change their noses were not wiped in a timely manner. On one occasion the inspector requested that the staff member clean a child’s nose. Mucus was first observed by the inspector at 10.46am, their noses or faces were not cleaned until after dinner at 12.10pm. • Children were put asleep with all their outer clothing on, they were not provided with a blanket when they were put into bed at 12.25pm. Children were heard laughing and shouting from the cot room. Staff went in and out intermittently and told the children to ‘lie down’. This resulted in only two children being asleep at 1.00pm. • The children in the Wobbler room were given unsuitable cups to drink from at dinnertime. The children who were all aged one year were given cups with no lids. This resulted in water being spilled over the tables and floors and their clothes becoming wet. There was no staff supervision observed when the children were drinking from the cups. 3. The environment did not support the pre-school children in initiating play activities. The Wobbler and Toddler room layout did not adequately meet the needs of the children present due to a lack of clearly defined interest areas and a lack of available play materials. Equipment such as toy dinosaurs, blocks and other play materials in were all stored together in the one container. It was observed that, due to room layout, the activities were mainly adult led, with minimal opportunity for child-initiated activity. A child in the Toddler room was observed to take a puzzle to play with, with no puzzle pieces. A second puzzle board also had no pieces. Staff acknowledged that the child could not play with the puzzle and searched in a toy box to locate the remaining pieces. In ECCE 1, the dress-up costumes available were not hung on the dress up rail and were thrown randomly in a pile which reduced the opportunity for children to see what was available and select a costume of their choosing. 4. The physical environment in the Wobbler room was not purposefully structured to develop young children’s curiosity and desire for exploration. Play opportunities were not easily accessible as play equipment was stored in baskets out of the reach of children. 5. Children in the Toddler room were observed to drink diluted black currant drink with their hot meal. No milk or water was available or offered to the children. Sugary drinks are not recommended for children aged between 2-3 years
Provider's corrective action:
- 1. Children who present tired will be offered a sleep during the day. If cots are occupied in the Wobbler room, cots in the baby room will be used. Staff have been spoken to regarding the importance of being more vigilant and aware of children who maybe showing signs of tiredness. Also spoke about the importance of communicating with parents when a child is being dropped off that they ask how the child slept throughout the night and what time the woke that morning. 2. All children’s clothes checked and changed after returning from outdoor play. The registered provider has spoken to staff regarding the importance of checking and acting, if necessary, when children return from outdoor play. Checklist has been given to all staff. • Children’s noses and faces will be checked and cleaned on a more regular basis by staff. • Cellular Blankets are now provided for all children who sleep. A staff member will stay with children in the sleep room until all children are sleeping. • Children will only drink from closed cups/beakers and all children will be supervised when drinking. 3. The lay out of the Wobbler and Toddler room has been restructured. New materials have been provided to ensure they adequately meet the children’s needs. ECCE 1 room has been provided with hangers for their dress up area. Staff have been retrained in environment layouts and spoken to regarding the importance of how a layout of a child’s room impacts their overall development. Also spoken about the importance of all materials being accessible for children to encourage meaningful play. 4. The Wobbler room physical environment has been restructured with easy access to materials for all children. Staff will ensure the children have space to purposefully play in a well-structured environment and all materials are accessible to them at all times. 5. Only water and milk will be offered to children during mealtimes going forward. Staff provided with and spoken to about the importance of healthy eating
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. The following water temperatures presented a potential risk of a scald injury to children • the downstairs children’s sanitary accommodation ranged from 55.4°Celsius - 55.8°- Celsius • the ECCE 1 children’s sanitary accommodation was 55.4°C. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider on site in respect of Regulation 23 Safeguarding Health, Safety and Welfare of Child, General Safety. This was a noncompliance during inspection on 17/02/2025. The following hazards were noted in the outdoor play area: • Four loose toilet bowls were stored in the outdoor play area where children from the Toddler room were playing. Lids from the cisterns were lying on the ground. Children were observed to run up to the toilets. These presented a risk of injury if a child were to pick up a cistern lid and drop one. The toilets had been removed from the upstairs sanitary accommodation and presented a risk of cross contamination or posed a risk of infection. • A sand/water table was noted to have stagnant brown water presenting a risk of infection if a child were to put their hands or toys into the stagnant water. • A plastic table stored upside down and a green container had stagnant rainwater presenting a risk of infection. • A child approached the inspector and handed her a discarded animal bone which they had been observed putting to their mouth whilst in the outdoor area. The inspector alerted staff to the risk and asked them to dispose of the bone immediately. This posed a risk of choking or injury to the child. 2. Daily outdoor risk assessments were not being completed to identify and manage the risks of any hazards in the service. An ‘Outdoor Risk Assessment’ was noted on the wall leading to the outdoor play area titled ‘garden’. The checklist had been ticked and signed by staff indicating that outdoor risk assessments had been completed on the day of inspection and the days prior. The risk assessments did not identify the above hazards. 3. Christmas lights were placed around the window in the Toddler room for decoration in reach of the children. The trailing cord was hanging down to the ground and plugged in behind a storage box. This presented a potential risk of injury to a child such as choking or tripping. Infection Control: 4. Handwashing practices in the Wobbler room were inadequate to control the spread of infection. Staff from the Wobbler room did not wash their hands after wiping children’s noses. Children were not brought to wash their hands before eating their meals and did not wash children’s hands prior or following nappy changing. 5. The following was noted in the sanitary accommodation of ECCE 1, • Two cloth towels were in the sanitary accommodation in the ECCE 1 room. One towel was on the floor and another hanging on the door handle. Staff advised that the towels were left in the area following the toilets being replaced on 17 March. A child was observed to dry their hands with one of the towels. This presented a risk of cross contamination or infection from using unclean towels. • A ‘Daily Children Toilet’ checklist was observed in the sanitary accommodation of ECCE 1. It was last recorded and updated on 13 March. • A swing lid bin in the ECCE 1 sanitary accommodation was in use for used paper towels. Foot operated pedal bins are required for the disposal of waste in sanitary accommodations. 6. Plastic drinking cups were stored stacked on top of each other on the sink in the Toddler room. The sink was used for hand washing. The sink was noted to be unclean with a used cleaning cloth and a sponge. Children were observed to put their bowls in the sink after their hot meal. This presented a risk of cross contamination from the cleaning cloth, hand washing and the drinking cups. 7. A child was observed to pick up a discarded piece of a cereal bar from the garden and eat it. This poses a risk of cross contamination. 8. In the Wobbler room, a child’s bowl of hot food was observed to fall upside down onto the floor. A staff member saw this and turned the bowl back up and was observed scooping some of the food back into the bowl and return it to the child. They did not replace it with a new bowl; this posed a risk of cross contamination. 9. The children’s soothers were not stored in individual containers, which posed a risk of cross contamination. Administration of Medication: 10. Two auto adrenaline injectors available for one child in ECCE 1 were out of date and had expired in July 2025. 11. Two children in the ECCE 1 room who required specific medication did not have a specific care plan for inhaled medication. Staff were unable to advise the inspectors of the steps to take if the medication was required. This poses a risk to the child in the event of a medical emergency. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. The water temperatures were regulated by a plumber in the children’s sanitary accommodation sinks downstairs and ECCE 1. The service will ensure all sanitary areas water temperatures are checked and correct. • The toilet bowels were removed from the outdoor play area. Any materials left on the premises by maintenance workers will be discarded appropriately and out of reach by children. A new risk assessment for maintenance workers put in place. Staff spoken to about the importance of checking all rooms once maintenance workers have completed their job. New risk assessment in place. • Sand and water tables have been cleaned and covered. Sand and water tables outdoors will be covered to prevent any risk of infection. • The Laois County Council warden has been contacted regarding issues with neighbours discarding food in the garden resulting in birds picking the food waste or bones and dropping it in the services outdoor area. Until this issue is resolved staff will check for any food or bones in the garden regularly. 2. All outdoor toys have been cleaned and will be checked daily to prevent any harm of infection to children. All outdoor equipment and toys will be checked each morning and afternoon before signing the risk assessment. The staff have been spoken to regarding the potential hazards or harm to children if risk assessments are signed off without the assessment being carried out beforehand. 3. The Christmas lights have been removed from the Toddler room. The service will ensure staff are aware of the potential hazard that these cables may cause to a child and ensure any cables are out of reach to any child. Infection Control: 4. Hand washing procedures have been placed at all hand-washing stations. The hand-washing policy has been given to all staff and spoken to about the importance of hand washing for themselves and children to prevent spread of potential infections. 5. Daily check lists for the children’s sanitary accommodation have been updated and will be checked regularly. • The swing lid bin in use in ECCE1 sanitary accommodation has been replaced with a pedal bin. • Checklist being monitored, checked and completed daily by staff. 6. Plastic drinking cups and bowls are no longer stacked on or in the sink in the toddler room. The sink is cleaned regularly, and cloths and sponges are now stored in a separate basket out of reach from children. A basket has been provided for children to place used cups and bowls in. A cleaning checklist in in place to ensure sinks are being cleaned regularly. A basket provided for cloths and sponges away from children’s reach. Staff spoken to about the importance of cleanliness. 7. Children are fully supervised when having snacks in the outdoor area. Staff spoken to about the importance of supervision when children eat in the outdoor area and the importance of cleaning up and discarding all foods that may fall on the ground. 8. All staff have been spoken to about the importance of health and hygiene and how if a dinner spills a new dinner should be offered. 9. All soothers are now placed in individual labelled boxes to prevent cross contamination and staff have been spoken to regarding the potential risk of infection if soothers are shared. Administration of Medication: Parents of children requiring specific medication and care plans were contacted immediately on the day of inspection and out of date epi pens have been replaced. Staff will check dates on all auto injectors regularly and care plans in place. Care plans are in place for children requiring one. Staff training has been completed in administration medication
Regulation 26 — Fire safety measures
- (1) (a) Monthly fire drills were not being conducted in the service. The last recorded fire drill was recorded on 08 January 2026
Provider's corrective action:
- (1) (a) Fire drills were completed on 24 March, 27 April and 15 May 2026 following the inspection. Monthly fire drills will be completed in line with regulations and completed monthly
Regulation 29 — Premises
- (c) The room temperature in ECCE 1 at 2.57pm was recorded as 24.7°C which is above the required temperature range of 18°CC to 22°C. (d) The tiled wall underneath the sink unit in the ECCE 1 sanitary accommodation was stained and required deep cleaning or replacing of the tiles. The sink unit in the ECCE 1 sanitary accommodation was broken and had exposed edging of the vinyl wood, making it difficult to effectively clean
Provider's corrective action:
- (c) Radiator temperature thermostats were fitted by a plumber onto radiators. Staff will check room temperatures regularly. (d) A new sink unit has been fitted in the ECCE 1 sanitary accommodation. Tiles have been cleaned. Staff have been spoken to regarding the importance of cleaning all sanitary units daily. New cleaning checklist has been put in place
Found compliant: Regulation 10, 25.