Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. The water temperature in the sanitary accommodation in the service exceeded the recommended maximum water temperature of 43oC. The temperature was recorded as 44.4 oC at 10.32am. This increased the potential risk of scalding a child in attendance Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. In response to the non-compliance the registered provider has stated that on identifying that the water temperature had exceeded the recommended maximum of 43°C (recorded at 44.4°C), the affected sanitary area was immediately blocked off to prevent children's access and eliminate any potential risk of scalding. This ensured no child was exposed to unsafe water temperatures while the issue was being addressed. The issue was reported to community centre management without delay. The community centre management took prompt action and completed the necessary repairs to restore the water temperature to a safe and compliant level. After the issue was rectified, photographic and video evidence showing accurate temperature readings was emailed to the inspector to confirm that the issue had been resolved and the service was operating safely. The service will continue to carry out daily water temperature checks and report any issues to the community centre immediately. If any issue is detected, the affected area will be blocked immediately to prevent children’s access and eliminate any potential risk of scalding
Regulation 26 — Fire safety measures
A record was not available of the number, type and maintenance of the firefighting equipment in the service
Provider's corrective action:
(1)(b) In response the registered provider has stated that the equipment was serviced a week before the inspection. The certificate was emailed to the inspector as soon as received. Service will continue to ensure that all firefighting equipment is serviced as and when due, with up-to-date certificates provided and kept on file
Found compliant: Regulation 8, 11, 16, 19, 25, 27.
Inspection of 19 September 2024 — Change in Circumstance
Immediate action notice. An Immediate Action notice was issued to the service on the 19 September 2024 in relation to the following: Regulation 23- Safeguarding, Health, Safety and Welfare of Child • The outdoor area was not adequately secured to prevent an unsupervised child from exiting and an unauthorised adult from entering. • No staff member with up to date First Aid Responder training or paediatric first aid was available to the children in the service.
Immediate action notice. On the 20 September 2024 the registered provider responded to the immediate action notice with the measures implemented within the service. Please see details in the body of the inspection report.
Immediate action notice. Non-Compliance Information (1) The service is currently registered to provide care and education to children from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, however, on review of the children’s attendance records it was observed that during the week of the 2 to 6 September 2024 a child attended the service from 9am to 2pm on the 2 September and from 9am to 1:30pm on the 4 September. This is at variance with the services registration status.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
(3) On review of documentation relating to a new staff member, it was observed that the required procedures as outlined in (2)(c) were completed eight months before the commencement of employment
Provider's corrective action:
(3) To address the non-compliance the service has stated that the staff member was requested to carry out additional police vetting check. This was done immediately. The service will continue to ensure that staff members from other countries have their police checks done as that has been the practice
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(k) A sample of 29 accident and incidents records were reviewed on the service electronic application. Fourteen records did not have confirmation that the parent was made aware of the accident /incident and 4 records did not have confirmation that the manager of the service and the parent were aware of the accident/ incident
Provider's corrective action:
(K) In response the registered provider has stated that a reminder message was sent to parents to have their children’s pending reports approved. Our online notification system is designed to notify parents automatically as soon as a report is made on their child. The manager is programmed on the system to receive automatic notifications once a report is made for approval. The manager will continue to ensure that parent s receive reminders about any pending report to be approved. The manager will ensure that this is ongoing to prevent any report being left unapproved by parents. The Manager must ensure that they attend to all notifications immediately they receive same without any delay
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding, Health, Safety and Welfare of Child
The service is currently registered to provide care and education to children from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, however, on review of the children’s attendance records it was observed that during the week of the 2 to 6 September 2024 a child attended the service from 9am to 2pm on the 2 September and from 9am to 1:30pm on the 4 September. This is at variance with the services registration status. Acknowledgments The inspectors wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the person in charge from another service, the deputy person in charge staff and children who were present on the day of the inspection
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. An Immediate Action notice was issued to the service on the 19 September 2024 in relation to the following: The outdoor area was not adequately secured to prevent an unsupervised child from exiting and an unauthorised adult from entering. 2. A garda vetting disclosure for one staff member was not dated within the previous three years in adherence to with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice “EYI-RN12.3 Renewal of Garda Vetting”. 3. The door from the Poppies room leading to the main reception was not secured, this increased the potential risk of children exiting the room unsupervised into other areas within the community centre. Infection Control: 4. Soft matting present in the Daisies room was observed to be torn with exposed foam accessible to the children. This reduced the effective cleaning of the mats and increased the potential risk of cross infection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. On the 20 September 2024 the registered provider responded to the immediate action notice with the measures implemented within the service. • The outdoor area has been securely locked. An immediate action was taken to address this the 20 of September 2024 and photographic evidence of the three gates in the outdoor area secured with locks were provided. • The manager will ensure that a safety check is done and that all gates are securely locked prior to the children being brought to the playground. Playground check is part of our daily routine and staff members have been reminded to ensure that this is done unfailingly for the safety of the children. 2. In response the registered provider has stated that a re-vetting application was immediately submitted. The manager will ensure that staff members receive notification of re-vetting at least 8 weeks prior to the expiration of their current vetting disclosure. 3. To address the non-compliance an automatic door alarm has been fixed on the door leading to the main reception from Poppies room. The teachers must do a daily check to ensure that the door alarm is functionally well, and report to the manager immediately should they notice that the door alarm is malfunctioning. Manager will follow up continuously to ensure that all door alarm is functioning well. Infection Control: 4. In response the mat was removed immediately, and a replacement mat has been provided. The adult in the room must report any material that is torn to the manager immediately so that a replacement will be provided without any delay. This manager will do a quick check in all the rooms to ensure that all materials in the room meet the required standard
Regulation 25 — First aid
A staff member with up to date First Aid Responder training or paediatric first aid was not available to the children during the operation of the service. On the 19 September 2024 an immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider
Provider's corrective action:
On the 20 September 2024 the registered provider responded to the immediate action notice with the measures implemented within the service. • Two staff members have undertaken Paediatric First Aid, certificates attached. The service shall email the certificate for a third staff member once it is completed. • Currently 2 teachers are doing their FAR training which ends on the 26 October. As soon as we receive the FAR training certificates, we shall forward them to the inspector. • The manager will ensure that regular checks are done on staff paperwork to ensure that staff are reminded to renew any document that needs to be renewed
Regulation 27 — Supervision
The service did not ensure that children were supervised while using the sanitary facilities in the main reception of the community centre. For example. • At 11.30 am it was observed that one child was washing their hands in the sanitary facility and required assistance to turn on the tap, a staff member employed by the community centre entered the sanitary cubicle and assisted the child. This is at variance with the service Health and safety policy which states that appropriate procedures are to be taken to ensure children are always supervised indoors and outdoors
Provider's corrective action:
In response to the non-compliance the registered provider has stated that management has reemphasised to all staff members the importance of preventing any contact between the community centre staff and the children from Hope Childcare. This has always been in place, and we have once again reaffirmed to staff members to ensure that this is adhered to always. We will continue to ensure that non -Hope Childcare staff members do not have any direct contact with the children in the service at all times