Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(k) 1. On review of nine accident and incident forms, information was missing as follows: • The date of the parent’s signature was missing from seven forms. • The date of the manager’s signature was missing from one form 2. On review of nine incident reports it was observed that a record was not maintained for a child that was involved in six of the incidents. As a result, written confirmation that the parents had been informed of these incidents was not available. This is at variance with the service policy on accidents and incidents
Provider's corrective action:
(k) 1. Staff meeting held and further training given to ensure forms are fully completed in future. 2. Staff meeting held and staff informed to complete an incident form for the additional child involved in an accident
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. Garda vetting was available for 3 staff members. However, for one staff member, their vetting disclosure 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. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. Staff member requested to get all relevant information together to apply for garda vetting clearance. Garda vetting applied for and received. The Registered provider will check all garda vetting’s to ensure they are updated every three years
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 10, 11, 15, 19, 25, 26.
Regulation 10 — Policies, procedures etc. of pre-school service
On review of the policies made available on the day of inspection, it was observed that they did not include the following information. For example: Healthy Eating Policy – The policy did not state that: • An alternative healthy option would be provided in the event a child requests it or that additional food would be available at mealtimes or between meals if required. • Staff would be informed and given information regarding any specific dietary requirements of a child. • The service would engage and work in collaboration with parents to ensure that each child’s nutritional needs were met. • Staff would sit with children at mealtimes to create a calm and sociable atmosphere. Infection control policy: • Did not include the prevention of cross infection and managing outbreaks of infectious diseases to include reporting notifiable infections to Tusla. • Did not include the cleaning procedures that take place within the service for example, mouthed toys
Provider's corrective action:
Menu and Healthy Eating Policy has been updated stating alternative healthy option available in the event of child requests. As the registration forms are filled the staff will be informed regarding special dietary requirements of a child. The service will engage with the parents on the child nutritional needs and make sure they are met. Infection control policy updated and meeting held with staff to go through policies and each staff member was given a copy
Regulation 15 — Record of pre-school child
(1)(f) Details of communication with parents about the development and progression for one child while attending the service, was not available, relevant to the provision of their special care needs and requirements. For example, no written or electronic records were available to demonstrate that staff reported regular progress updates or had engagement with parents regarding the child’s learning and developmental plans, milestones reached or information on progression within the service, leading to a risk of information not being readily available for new staff or students who require access to this information when in the care rooms where this child attends. (3) (a), (b), (c) No written record as per (1) above was available for inspection by an authorised person
Provider's corrective action:
(1)(f) The service has made a separate form to be signed by parents regarding any illness, disabilities, allergy or special need of the child. Staff meeting held with 10 April 2025 with staff to go over these forms and make sure they are filled in as appropriate. (3) Spoke to staff in relation about record keeping regarding their special care needs, their plans and their review
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(k) On review of ten accident and incident forms information was missing as follows: • The surname of the child was missing from one form. • The date of birth of the child was missing from two forms. • The parent’s signature and date of signature was missing on two forms • The date of the parent’s signature was missing from four forms. • The date of the manager’s signature was missing from one form
Provider's corrective action:
(k) Meeting held with staff regarding the incidents form and specifying that forms need to be fully completed and signed by parents
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. On arrival to the service at 9.26am, the inspectors observed that the gate of the outdoor area was open, leading to a risk of entry of unauthorised persons into the outdoor area. It is acknowledged that the doors to the service were locked and the registered provider confirmed that the gate is open for drop off of children up to 9.30am and is closed at 9.30am. 2. In the Toddler room, the children attendance book was not completed accurately to ensure the number of children present in the care rooms was recorded, as follows, there were five children observed to be present from 9.25am to 1pm and on review of the attendance book, only four children were marked present. This reduced the effective evacuation in the event of an emergency. 3. Foam padding on two poles in the outdoor area was not fitting correctly and not covering the poles in full. This increased the potential risk of injury. Infection Control: 4. At morning snack time no plate was made available to the children for their toast. It was placed directly onto the table; this leads to poor infection control. 5. Paper towels were not hygienically dispensed and were observed to be sitting out on a table in the sanitary facility of the service, leading to a risk of cross-contamination. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. Staff will ensure the gate is closed from 9.10am and any late children will come to the front door of the service and staff will ensure the gate is locked throughout the day. 2. Staff have been informed that the attendance books need to be completed accurately as the child walks in the door, time of entering and time of leaving. 3. New Pole covers have been bought for the poles and put in place. Infection Control: 4. Kitchen Staff has been informed to bring plates in when children are receiving toast or any food and meeting held with staff to discuss infection control. 5. Any paper towels sitting out on the table in the sanitary facility have been removed and placed into a dispenser and meeting held with staff to discuss infection control
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 19, 22, 26, 32.
(2) (a) • One written reference was not available for one adult. • One written reference available for two staff members from past employers were not validated. (d) Police vetting was not available for one adult who had lived outside the state for longer than six months as an adult. (3) The registered provider did not carry out the procedures specified in paragraph (2) prior to three staff members being appointed, assigned, or allowed access to or contact with a child attending the service , for example, one written and validated reference not present for one adult, two written references not validated for two adults, police vetting not attained for one adult and curriculum vitae not present to ascertain if police vetting was required for one adult. (4) Two adults employed within the service and working with the early years children did not have evidence to confirm they held a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 or above on the National Framework of Qualifications. (7)(a) There was no available documentation to review, to demonstrate that new staff had received induction training relating to topics such as the services policies and procedures prior to starting in the service or that all staff received ongoing training relating to the services Behavioural management policy, the Smoking/ Vaping policy, areas to be used during outdoor play and training on how complaints are dealt with
Provider's corrective action:
The written reference was received on the 12 June 2024. The two written references have been validated on 31 May 2024 and the 6 June 2024. All staff references have been updated and will be updated accordingly in the future. (d) The staff member applied to the correct authorities and is awaiting certification. As this staff member was referred to us through a third party, the service has asked that they fully check their validity to start work and the service will do this also before any potential staff members commence work in the service. (3) References obtained and validated, Police vetting obtained and curriculum vitae validated. The service will keep note of times in order to review all staff documents to make sure they are up to date. (4) The service received one staff members QQI Level 5 qualification and as the awarding body are no longer in operation, the service is trying to obtain the 2nd staff member’s final cert. The service has submitted the staff members transcript of individual awards as proof of their level 5 qualifications to date. No potential staff member will be allowed to commence work in the service without a copy of their final cert of achievement. (7)(a) Policies and procedures regarding non compliances were given to all new staff prior to inspection and have been re issued since the inspection. Ongoing training will be undertaken going forward
Regulation 15 — Record of pre-school child
(1)(f) Details of illness, disability or special needs of one child, together with all the information relevant to the provision of their special care needs and requirements, behaviour management, communication with parents, progression while attending the service, was not available for one child attending the service. For example, no written or electronic records were available to demonstrate that staff reported daily communication and had engagement with parents regarding the child’s developmental plans, individual actions taken by staff or suitable behaviour management techniques. (3) (a), (b), (c) No written record as per (1) above was available for inspection by an authorised person
Provider's corrective action:
(1)(f) Any communication or correspondence between parents/guardians and staff member will be recorded in writing going forward Communication folder has been placed in the rooms for any correspondence to be recorded between staff and parents/guardians to record. (3)(a)(b)(c) Communication folder placed in rooms for any correspondence regarding issues. Staff will fill these accordingly
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(1)(g) On review of the policies made available on the day of inspection, it was observed that the following policies were not updated as per the corrective and preventive actions submitted by the registered provider following the inspection of the service on the 27 October 2022. For example, the following policies were still demonstrating incorrect information: • Healthy Eating Policy – stated Our Health Eating menu rotates every three weeks, ensuring a variety of different nutrients and tastes which will help to educate your child’s palate. The Service has a 2-week menu plan was in place, this is at variance to the policy. • Handwashing Policy – did not include mention of handwashing after nappy changing for children or adults. • Nappy Changing Policy – did not include mention use of aprons, clear direction for when gloves should be removed and for when hands of children and adults should be washed. (h) In the Preschool room, the children attendance book was not monitored to ensure staff knew how many children were present in the care rooms, as follows: o there were nine children observed to be present at 10.33am, on review of the attendance book there was eight children marked present. o there were eight children observed to be present at 11.10am. On review of the attendance book a child who had gone home at 10.40am had not been marked out. This reduced the effective evacuation in the event of an emergency. (i) While it is acknowledged that a staff roster was available which detailed the working hours of five staff. It did not accurately demonstrate which staff were present or absent on the day on inspection. For example, of the staff present in the service, two staff members were not recorded on the roster, two staff members who were absent were recorded on the roster as present and assigned to care rooms, two staff members present had no working hours recorded. (k) On review of ten accident and incident forms information was missing as follows: • The surname of the child was missing from four forms. • The date of birth of the child was missing from two forms. • The date of the parent’s signature was missing from six forms
Provider's corrective action:
(1)(g) The Healthy eating, Handwashing and Nappy changing policies have all been updated since inspection on the 30 May 2024. The policies were updated since last inspection on the 27 October 2022 which were submitted at that time. Unfortunately, on the day of inspection 20 May 2024 the updated policies were not given to the inspectors. The older policies have been removed and put in a separate file. (h) Staff have been informed that they must be vigilant in recording these attendance books in future as this is very important to avoid any emergencies. (i) New daily sign in roster placed in rooms for staff. (k) The staff have been told of the importance of making sure that they fill these forms out completely as to avoid any confusion as to who the child was and their personal details and also as to the communication between staff and parents/guardians. Spoke to staff regarding the importance of this and reiterated that this will not be tolerated going forward as they have been informed of this on a previous occasion
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
Basic Needs: 1. Three children in the Baby room were given popup /straw bottles to drink from after their dinner, Children over one should be offered drinks from cups as this is developmentally appropriate for this age group. This was a non-compliance on inspection 27 October 2022. Physical Environment and Materials: 2. In the Baby room and in the outdoor area , battery toys were not working for example two battery operated pianos, reducing the learning development of the toys for the children. 3. In the Baby room, materials and equipment were not displayed and available to the children to enable them to explore and investigate their care room. For example. o Nine boxes of equipment with no labelling, were too heavy and stored at a high level, for children to access independently. o Supporting equipment for t he play kitchen was stored out of reach on the top of a shelf unit, not accessible to the children. o Supporting Equipment for activity cars and playhouses was missing. o Equipment stored in baskets had no identifiable labelling. o Family wall was not visible to the children in the care room as it was up high on the wall. o After mealtimes, the low -level chairs were stacked and therefore were inaccessible to the children during free play, limiting the tabletop play opportunities
1. The registered provider did not ensure that practices that are disrespectful, degrading, exploitive, intimidating, emotionally or physically harmful or neglectful were not carried out in respect of a preschool child whilst attending the service. Staff were asked how they would manage unwanted or challenging behaviour , on discussion with staff they identified to the inspector th e following behaviour management practices that would include pulling a child’s chair away from a table, to isolate them for 30 seconds, asking the child to consider their actions. If the behaviour escalated, they discussed that a child would be removed and brought to the cosy area , the ball pool or outside to the outdoor play area for a walk. At 11.57am, following an incident between two children, the inspector observed a staff member tell a child to sit on a chair to consider their actions and to apologise to the other child. The child was observed to cry and become upset. Once they had apologised to the other child they were allowed to rejoin the other children. The practise of using ‘time out’ is an un suitable Behaviour management technique , considered a prohibited practice under the Quality Regulatory Framework, as a child can feel isolated
Provider's corrective action:
Basic Needs: 1. Cups have been given to the children attending the baby room. This is an ongoing process as some of the children refuse to use them. The service will continue to offer the cups and encourage the babies to use them. Physical Environment and Materials: 2. All toys that require batteries have been replaced and are in working condition. All toys requiring batteries will be checked regularly and staff will inform management when new ones are required
• All boxes have been labelled showing what toys are inside. Staff will monitor to make sure no labels are removed or fall off. • All kitchen equipment has been moved to level that is more accessible to the children. • Family wall with pictures has been moved to eye level. • Chairs on the day were stacked for cleaning after mealtime as the children were returning to the outdoor area as when indoors they are freely accessible to the children
The child in question that was upset from an altercation with another child and the staff member was asking them to apologise to the child as the unwanted behaviour observed is not something the service like to see happen. On asking the child to apologise, they became very upset and the staff member tried to ask the child to sit with the other child and apologise. They refused to join the others and stood beside them until they were ready to join back in. The service has collectively revisited the behavioural management training. The service has spoken to staff about the day in question and realise that they could have used another technique but they do not use time out as a rule. A staff meeting was held with staff 12 June 2024 and the behavioural management policy and further training was completed, covering issues raised during inspection
Regulation 22 — Food and drink
1. Some of the children attending the service were not given access or provided with drinks at mealtimes and while in the outdoor area. For example: o In the Toddler room, the children were not offered a drink at snack time at 10am o In Baby room, the children were not offered a drink with their dinner at 12pm o During outdoor play, no drinks were available or offered to the children from 10.15am to 11.55am. Under the Nutrition Standards for Early Learning and Care services 2023, it states clean and safe drinking water should be available and accessible to children at all times. 2. The drink when made available to children was cordial - under the Nutrition Standards for Early Learning and Care services 2023, it states ‘some cordials can damage children’s teeth and should not be available to children, water or milk should be the only drinks to be offered to children aged 1 to 5 years.’ 3. Children attending a part time care service were not offered an appropriate nutritious food at snack time, morning snack consisted of chocolate and hazelnut flavour filled Waffles offered at 10am. It is acknowledged that the cook who prepares the food for the children was not present on the day of inspection
Provider's corrective action:
1. Drinks are always readily available at all mealtimes and usually given when food is taken as the service like to see the children eat their food first and not fill up on liquids. The service will place the drinks beside the children during mealtimes going forward at all mealtimes. For outdoor play the service will have a drinks station that will be available to all. 2. Cordial has been removed from the menu and only milk and water will be available. 3. Chocolate filled waffles have been removed from the menu and menu has been updated removing the said contents. The dinner which consisted of fish fingers, beans and potato waffles has had the potato waffle replaced with mashed potato
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. While it acknowledged that the registered provider informed the inspectors that a daily inspection of the outdoor area was completed at 8am and 9am, no written record or documentation was available to demonstrate that this had been completed. On review of the outdoor area at 11.08am, the following was observed by the inspectors, posing a safety risk. o Litter and debris present around the shed and in the flowerbeds to include a soft drink can, food and sweet wrappers. o two drains did not have suitable covers. This was a non-compliance on inspection 27 October 2022. 2. In the outdoor area from 10.13am to 11.54am, a trampoline was present and in use and while it is acknowledged that the children were supervised, trampolines are prohibited from being used in early year services. 3. In the sanitary facility, the sanitary equipment used by the children was observed to be damaged and increased the potential risk of injury. For example, the hot water tap of the sink nearest the wall was loose, moving from left to right, at 11.43am, the inspector observed a child playing with the tap. This was a non-compliance on inspection 27 October 2022. The corrective action had not been sustained. 4. In the Toddler room, cleaning agents were accessible to children, leading to a risk of injury. 5. In the Toddler and Preschool room, two mirror tiles on the wall at low level were cracked, leading to a risk of injury. 6. In the Preschool room, trailing flexes from a stereo, a sensory light and a sensory bubble tube were observed to be accessible to children, leading to a risk of injury. Infection Control: 7. Nappy changing was not completed as per the service nappy changing policy and best practise guidelines, for example – the following practises were observed during one nappy change: o An apron and gloves were worn by a staff member for the duration of the nappy change and out into the hallway after the procedure was completed. o Child did not wash their hands after the procedure. This was a non-compliance on inspection 27 October 2022. 8. In the sanitary facility, an open bin for disposal of paper towels was accessible to children, leading to a risk of cross contamination. For example, at 11.44am, the inspector observed a child take dirty paper towels out of the open bin and hold them while waiting to have their nappy changed. 9. Surfaces were observed to be damaged and therefore not washable or wipeable for effective cleaning, leading to poor infection control, for example, • In the Preschool room, o Two wooden toasters on the play kitchen were damaged. o The top of the shelf unit was chipped with wood missing a screw exposed. o In the Baby room, o the skirting board near the rest area was damaged. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. Risk assessment folder has been drawn up and is signed every day on completion of inspection of the outdoor area. The shed has been blocked on each side by a retractable fencing to stop litter blowing in and also to allow access for cleaning. The two drain covers have been replaced with a more suitable covering. 2. Trampoline has been removed from service. 3. Hot water tap has been fixed by professional company. 4. All cleaning agents for rooms have been stored in baskets away from sight and out of reach of children. 5. Damaged mirrors have been removed and replaced. 6. Any trailing flexes have been secured behind trunking attached to the wall where they are in no danger of pulling or tripping. Infection Control: 7. Staff member has been informed of their mistake on the day and has been told to follow the nappy policy guidelines that they were given 8. Bin has been replaced with a pedal bin to allow sanitary procedure. 9. Wooden toasters in kitchen area have been disposed of and the chipped top shelf unit has been repaired. The damaged skirting has been replaced
Regulation 32 — Complaints
(2)(a) The service had no record in writing of complaints made in respect of the service. (b) The service had no documentary evidence to demonstrate that any complaints received were dealt with according to the service complaints policy. (3) (a)(b) A record in writing of the nature of the complaint and the manner in which it was dealt with was not available or open to inspection on the premises by an authorised person. (4) No record of complaints was made available
Provider's corrective action:
(2)(a)(b) Complaints record in incorrect folder on the day of Inspection. Complaints folder now in proper place. (3)(a)(b) Not available on the day of inspection as in the incorrect folder, folder updated