Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. A child was observed eating whole grapes in the ECCE 3 room which were taken in from home, posing a risk of choking to the child. It is acknowledged that the grapes were cut up when the inspector brought this to a staff members attention. Infection Control: 2. Perishable items contained in children’s lunches which had been taken in from home were not refrigerated prior to consumption, posing a risk of gastrointestinal illness. Action submitted by the Registered Provider The registered provider submitted the following response:
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. An email was sent to all parents advising grapes are not allowed in children’s lunchboxes. All staff were made aware of the dangers around grapes and other types of food that cause risk to choking to a small child. All lunch boxes are to be checked before children eat. Infection Control: 2. A new fridge was purchased, and all Lunch boxes are placed into the fridge as soon as the children come in. All staff and parents are aware that the fridge in the staff room is only for children’s Lunch boxes
Regulation 29 — Premises
(d) Some areas of the service were found not to be cleaned, maintained and repaired as required as follows: - The Two fabric chairs in the ECCE 3 room and one chair in the Baby 1 room were heavily worn and stained. - Areas of the skirting boards and windowsills in the Toddler 2 room had chipped and worn away, exposing the porous wood beneath which could not be effectively cleaned. - The paint on the walls in the Toddler 2 room was heavily chipped and flaking away in parts
Provider's corrective action:
The registered provider submitted the following response: Corrective and Preventive Action (d) - The two children’s chairs and the armchair in the Baby room were cleaned and are now washed down each Friday. New blankets were purchased for the armchair. Staff will add the chairs to their weekly cleaning sheet so they will now be cleaned each Friday. - The children’s playhouse and the windowsill were painted. Staff will make management aware when painting needs to be completed in all rooms. The painter is due to return to complete painting over the bank holiday when no children are present
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 19, 25, 26, 28.
(2)(a) & (b) It was not evident that the registered provider had taken references into consideration prior to employing two staff members. There were no references available for one staff member. A reference had not been sourced from the most recent employer of a second staff member. (4) It was not evident that one staff member employed to work directly with children held at least a major award in Early childhood Care and Education at Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework or a qualification deemed by the Minister to be equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
(2)(a) & (b) Two references had been placed in the wrong file. These have been rechecked and returned to the correct file. The reference for the second staff member was received and checked on 5 October 2023. Management have numbered all staff file documents to ensure files are managed and no documents are missing. The recruitment policy has been updated to include that only the most recent references will be accepted. (4) Record of the Level 5 award is now on file. All new staff members will need to provide a full award prior to starting. This has been updated in the recruitment policy
Regulation 11 — Staffing levels
(1) There was not an adequate number of adults available to meet the needs of the children in ECCE Room 2 at all times. Staff and management had identified that one of the children had additional needs and required close supervision to assure their safety and wellbeing. One staff member was allocated to work directly with this child and seven other children from 12:38 to 13:06. During this period the inspector observed the child leave the room, a second child climb on a chair and a third child looking for help as their top had gotten wet. The staff member was unable to provide adequate supervision and care to all the children on her own. Staff told the inspector that there is only one adult allocated to the room at this time daily when staff members take their break
Provider's corrective action:
The registered provider has changed a staff members lunch hour so there is extra help in ECCE Room 2. A staff meeting was carried out on 26 September to express the importance of staff asking for help. All rooms have phones, so staff are expected to make the call when help is needed. If the staff roster is not working this can be brought to the attention of management
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
Adequate care was not taken to ensure all children attending the Wobbler room had enough food to eat for dinner. The inspector observed one child accidentally knock their dinner onto the floor. Although a staff member acknowledged this, the child was subsequently taken to have their hands and face cleaned. A second child displayed signs that they were still hungry after finishing their meal. The inspector observed the child reaching into another child’s bowl and eating food from the table, which other children had spilled. Although staff acknowledged both incidents the children were not offered more food. It is acknowledged that more food was brought from the kitchen, which the children ate when the inspector discussed this with staff after the mealtime had finished
Provider's corrective action:
Bowls of extra food are provided in each room. This is to be offered to all children or if any bowl/plate falls to the floor. A staff meeting was held on 26 September to discuss the incident. Management highlighted to all staff to offer extra food at mealtimes and replace any bowl or plate if dropped
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. Room attendance records were not reflective of the children present as outlined below. This could pose a risk to the appropriate supervision and timely evacuation of children in the event of an emergency. • There were 13 children present in the ECCE 2 room at 1:52pm. Only 11 children were recorded as present. • There were 10 children allocated to the ECCE 1 room at 1:50pm. Only 5 children were recorded as present. The inspector observed that 5 of the children were in the sanitary facilities washing their hands. The staff member told the inspector that she did not know how many children were allocated to the room at that time. Administration of Medication: 2. It was not evident that parents/guardians were informed when medication had been given to a child as per the service’s medication policy. The policy stated that a record is made of medications given to children and a copy is given to parents. Staff told the inspector that copies are not given to parents. There was no parent/guardian signature on the records to indicate the information had been shared. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. New diaries are in place for recording all children’s names in the afternoons. A staff meeting was held on 26 September to explain the importance of recording all children’s names during the day. This will be checked by management. Administration of Medication: 2. A new form has been developed with a column for parents to sign after each dose given. The record will be signed by parents on pick up going forward