Inspection of 23 October 2025 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- The following vetting information was not available: (a) One written validated reference from past employer or reputable source was not available for one adult
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider stated, Staff references are now validated. Going forward any future new staff have their references validated
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
- A sample of 10 accident and incident forms were reviewed on the day of inspection. There was inadequate information recorded on the forms as follows, • It was not always evident to the inspector if the parent had been informed of the incident as their signature was not present, or the parents copy of the form was still present. • The manager’s signature was not always present. • Date of births of the child was not always present. • It was not always clear that preventable actions had been considered or identified by the service
Provider's corrective action:
- A new incident report book has been purchased. A duplicate copy is now available so that every parent gets a copy. The new book will be inspected on a weekly basis to ensure that all incident reports are properly logged and dated with the child’s correct details. The reports will be signed off by the manager, and the parents will have a copy
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. Garda vetting was available for two staff members. However, these vetting disclosures were not dated within the previous three years in adherence to with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice ‘EYI- RN12.3 Renewal of Garda Vetting’. 2. On the day of inspection, a wooden framed ‘Pirate Ship’ was unsecured and exposed nails were present posing as a risk of harm to a child. 3. The service policy stated that ‘a formal outdoor risk assessment will be carried out regularly and risk assessments will be kept up to date’. On the day of inspection risk assessments for the outdoor area were not available to the inspector. 4. Low hanging wires were accessible to children from a speaker. This posed as a risk of strangulation to a child. When brought to the attention of staff, the wires were secured. Fire Safety: 5. Fire doors were observed to be held open with a door stop. Fire doors are designed to impede the spread of smoke and flames for up to 30 minutes, if left open fire and smoke can travel freely, accelerating the spread. It is acknowledged the doorstops were removed when brought to the attention of the registered provider. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. All staff vetting are now up to date. Monthly checks on staff files will be carried out on in relation to vetting to ensure they are up to date. 2. The pirate ship was removed and fixed to adhere with regulations before it was put back on the playground. 3. Outdoor risk assessments are to be filled out every time the children go outside. The assessments are very easily accessible as they are now kept in the trolley that goes outside with staff and children. 3. All risk assessments are checked over and signed by the manager at the end of the day. 4. Staff will ensure that the speaker will no longer be plugged into the socket that could cause potential harm. It has been moved to a safer location. Fire Safety: 5. Doorstops were removed on the day of inspection when brought to the attention of staff. They are no longer in use on our premises
Regulation 25 — First aid
- (2) (a)(b) While first aid kits were present on site, there was no evidence that regular inventory checks of their contents had been completed, as a result expired wound cleansing wipes were observed, and eyewash provisions were absent. The absence of these checks could lead to the expired or missing items being relied on in the event of an emergency, therefore delaying or compromising the required first aid response to the child
Provider's corrective action:
- A new first aid box was purchased as well as a weekly checklist introduced that has to be signed and date weekly. Staff will check the dates on the first aid kit on a weekly basis to ensure adequate stock levels as well as the used by dates. This has been added to the risk assessment template
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 26, 27.