Inspection of 4 February 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- 1. The inspector observed the front of a child’s trousers were wet in the Pre-school 3 room at 13:33 on day one of the inspection. The child appeared to be uncomfortable, pulling at the trousers and approached one of the adults. The adult pulled the child’s trousers up slightly and pulled their sweater down over the wet part. The child approached the adult a second time pulling at the trousers saying, “I’m wet”. The adult told the child “It’s just water”. The child ate dinner in the wet trousers and walked around the room pulling at the trousers after dinner. None of the adults present in the room offered to change the child until requested by the inspector at 14:02. 2. On day two of the inspection in Pre-school room 1, the inspectors observed two children pulling up their clothing in the classroom area after toileting independently. The children were visible to others in the classroom and from the corridor. The adults did not guide the children to return to the toilet area to maintain their privacy
Provider's corrective action:
- 1. All staff were reminded of the importance of maintaining children’s privacy, adhering to good toileting, and ensuring that children’s clothing is promptly changed in the event of spills or accidents. Staff were specifically briefed on the need to respond quickly to ensure children’s comfort and wellbeing. 2. To reinforce these practices, a training card was developed, and comprehensive training covering toileting, privacy, handwashing, and changing clothes after spills was delivered to all staff members. Relevant policies were also reissued to provide clear guidance. Local and Regional Management will carry out spot checks regularly to ensure compliance with all aspects of regulation 19
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. The inspectors were unable to unlock an emergency exit door on the ground floor. A member of management informed the inspectors that this lock was intentionally adjusted to include a “knack” to prevent the children from opening it. It took the service manager approximately two minutes to open it, posing a risk to the timely evacuation of children in the event of a fire. It is acknowledged that a maintenance person was present at the close of inspection installing a mechanism to allow the door to be easily opened by adults whilst preventing children leaving unsupervised. Infection Control: 2. Children were not adequately supported to wash and dry their hands in the Pre-school 1 and 3 rooms. Children in Pre-school 1 were observed leaving the toilet without handwashing. In Pre-school 3 many children left the sanitary area with wet hands after handwashing before dinner. They had used the electric hand dryer for less than four seconds which had been ineffective. One child used toilet paper for hand drying. Failure to adequately support children with handwashing can pose an increased risk of spreading infection within the service. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. Maintenance staff were contacted immediately following the observation, and the emergency exit door was assessed and appropriately adjusted before the inspection concluded. A magnetic locking system with a release button, positioned out of reach of children, was installed to ensure the door can be easily operated by adults in an emergency while preventing children from opening it unsupervised, thereby supporting the timely evacuation of all occupants. Local and Regional Management will ensure ongoing weekly safety checks of all exits have been implemented to ensure continued compliance. Infection Control: 2. As previously outlined, all staff were retrained on our toileting policies, which include handwashing procedures, and the importance of supervising children while using the toilet to ensure that our handwashing policy was being followed in full. In addition, blue roll dispensers have been installed within the rooms at children’s reach to support effective hand drying in cases where children are not yet able to use the electric hand dryer independently or effectively. Management will carry out regular spot checks to ensure consistent adherence to hygiene and supervision practices
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 27, 32.