Links Childcare

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

• General Safety: 1. Children in preschool Ash room were facilitated to engage in a tray-top play activity using standard shaving foam during the inspection. The product label on the can included the statements “keep out of the reach of children” and “use only as directed”. This product posed a risk of causing skin irritation plus toxicity if swallowed. Safe Sleep: 2. On the day of the inspection two children aged 1 year 10 months were observed sleeping on standard sleep mats approximately 3cm in height, set up on the floor of the Wobbler Room after dinner. This practice was at variance with the national best practice safe sleep guidelines which states that when a floor bed is used for a child aged less than 2 years it must be fitted with a firm and perfectly fitting mattress of at least 6cm in depth that is designed for the specific floor bed. 3. Sleep plans incorporating robust risk assessments were not available for the 2 children who slept on standard sleep mats or for 2 other children who were observed sleeping in cocoon beds, all 4 of whom were aged less than 2 years, to demonstrate the children’s developmental readiness to move from a cot to floor bed