Creche Inspection Reports

Links Childcare

Sessional · 0 - 6 Years · Blackrock, Dublin · Tusla ID TU2015DR150 · Registered since 1 January 2026

An inspection records what inspectors saw on one day; services respond with corrective actions — how to read this.

3published inspections
0non-compliances at latest report read
0immediate action notices
0registration conditions

Inspection of 28 May 2026 — Inspection Report

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

No non-compliance recorded in this report.

Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 19, 23, 27.

Inspection of 9 May 2025 — Inspection Report

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

  • General Safety: In the outdoor area to the front of the premises the following hazards were observed. 1. Two shores on the rubber tile playground surface to the front of the service had gaps around the edges and part of the rubber tile surface was uneven posing a potential tripping hazard. 2. Part of the wooden fence was damaged and the wood was cracked, sharp pieces of wood was exposed posing a potential injury risk. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
  • General Safety: 1. The surrounds of the 2 shores have been filled. The uneven surface is being decoratively fenced off. This work will be completed by the end of July or sooner. 2. The fence has been repaired

Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 16, 19.

Inspection of 23 July 2024 — Inspection Report

Full report (PDF, Tusla)

Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child

  • 1. The transition from mealtime to sleep was not managed appropriately in the Wobbler 3 room on the 1 st day of inspection. A designated sleep period was in place which did not meet the individual needs of the children present as evidenced by the following: - From 11:44 am – 12:42 pm, children were encouraged to lay on low level beds and the care room was darkened. During this time, a number of children displayed no signs of tiredness and were observed running around the care room. Some of these children were observed disturbing children who were trying to sleep, speaking loudly and falling onto their beds whilst running around the care room. 2. Some of t he behaviour management practices observed in the Toddler 1 room were ineffective for conflict resolution and did not promote positive behaviour strategies when dealing with minor disputes between children. For example, some children were observed repeatedly hurting their peers during the transition from play to tea time. Staff members who intervened did not address the negative behaviours or encourage the children to resolve the conflict which is at variance with the behaviour management policy in place in the service. • Two children attending the Toddler 1 room were observed for prolonged periods of time on the 1st day of inspection using a soother from 10:30am to 12pm. The children were not upset and were moving freely around the care room during this time, playing and interacting with peers. This may negatively impact on speech development and dental health
Provider's corrective action:
  • 1. The policy at Links Childcare is always to encourage sleep only at times the children have indicated that they are tired and to work around the routine that they have established at home. On this day in Wobbler 3, what was observed would not have been standard practice and can perhaps be explained by the fact that there were very new staff at this time in July. A lack of experience certainly contributed to the disorganisation around sleep time. Immediately after the inspection and for the days following, training was given by both the manager and the regional manager to the staff in that room to ensure that best practice was understood and observed. 2. This and the next non-compliance (3 below) occurred in Toddler 1 where again at this time of the year the staff were ‘finding their feet’ having just begun in the setting. This is not in any way to excuse the fact that children were observed as not being exposed to strategies that would help them around conflict resolution. Full training on this occurred the day after the inspection and forms part of regular full-crèche CPD. 3. It is policy to allow a child to have a soother only at sleep time or if very upset. It is acknowledged that in the case of two children in Toddler 1, children were allowed to have a soother for a lengthy period of time. The policy has been reviewed and revisited with the staff in the room and there is a full understanding now of exactly what should be done. Again, training on this issue was done by the regional manager in the immediate aftermath of the inspection. The service is confident that the relevant training discussed above will avoid this non-compliance into the future. It is not something that occurs regularly in any of our crèches and the service hopes that with focused training, as happened, there will be no re-occurrence. During the training session the regional manager noted a willingness to learn and to practise strategies to modify behaviour and yet remain within the parameters of the service’s Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy. Staff showed enthusiasm for the subject of conflict resolution and willingness to implement it, which the service feels augurs well for the future, in terms of avoiding non- compliance’s in this area. The staff are fully aware of the policy on soothers. The Manager as agreed to monitor the room regularly to ensure no repeat of bad practice

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

  • Infection Control: The handwashing practices observed in some care rooms were inconsistent and at variance with the policy in place in the service as follows: - Children attending the Wobbler 3 and the Toddler 1 rooms hands were not all washed prior to teatime posing a risk of cross contamination. Corrective &Preventive Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
  • Infection Control: This non-compliance was noted in the same rooms as above (Wobbler 3 and Toddler 1) and formed part of the training by the Regional Manager. It was noted at the feedback session that many children’s hands were washed (as would be fully expected) but a lack of a system meant that some children were missed. The focus of the training was the communication around the implementation of that system for the new staff. As above, washing of hands is central to all on-going training and will continue to be. The staff in the two rooms were monitored and supported in the days after the inspection. This aspect will feature as always, in on-going practical CPD sessions

Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 15, 25, 26, 28.

Other services in Dublin

Alert me when a new report is published · Dated report on this service — €19