There was no evidence available to show that one staff member who was employed to work directly with the children in the service held a relevant major award in Early Childhood Care and Education on the National Framework of Qualifications or equivalent
Provider's corrective action:
The staff member’s qualifications were immediately reviewed and verified. The individual will be requested to provide certified copies of their relevant qualifications without delay. If the staff member does not hold a qualification that meets regulatory requirements, they will be removed from direct work with children until compliance is achieved. In the interim, suitably qualified staff will be rostered to ensure all regulatory ratios and qualification requirements are met. All staff files will be updated to ensure that qualification records are complete, verified, and readily accessible for inspection. Documents have been sent to the Department to verify that the named staff member is eligible to work with children under Regulation 9. The Department requested the Training Internship supporting documents to complete the process. A robust recruitment and onboarding procedure will be implemented to ensure that all future staff employed to work with children provide verified evidence of qualifications prior to commencement of employment. Management will also provide training to relevant personnel on regulatory requirements to ensure consistent adherence to qualification standards
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
Infection Control: 1. In the outdoor area, staff were observed handling the lid of the bin to dispose of waste posing a risk of the transmission of infection. Safe Sleep: 2. There was no sleep plan and associated risk assessment in place for one child aged one year asleep on a floor bed during the inspection. The registered provider stated during discussions with the inspectors that they were unaware of the requirement for sleep plans to be in place for children under two years in the service and that no child in the service that slept had a sleep plan in place. This is at variance with the policy in place in the service which detailed the requirement for sleep plans to be in place for all children who sleep in the service, in line with current TUSLA guidelines on safe sleep. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
Infection Control: 1. Two designated hooks have now been installed in the outdoor garden area. Staff are required to bring two nappy sack bags into the garden, which will be used for the safe disposal of tissues or any soiled items during outdoor play. Upon leaving the garden, staff will securely tie and transport these bags to their designated room, where they will dispose of the waste in a pedal-operated bin. This ensures that direct contact with bin lids is eliminated, thereby minimising the risk of infection transmission. All staff have been informed of this updated procedure through formal correspondence, and photographic evidence of the installed hooks has been shared to support a clear understanding and implementation. Bins will no longer be used in the outdoor area. Staff have been trained in the revised infection control procedure and are required to strictly adhere to the use of nappy sack bags while in the garden. Under no circumstances are staff permitted to handle bin lids directly. Safe Sleep: 2. All parents were notified via the service’s communication forum on 03/03/2026 that individual Sleep Plans were being implemented in line with Regulation 23 requirements. A Sleep Plan document was issued to all parents in PDF format. All parents have completed, signed, and returned these sleep plans, which are now retained in each child’s registration file to ensure they are accessible and available to staff at all times. A comprehensive risk assessment has now been completed and implemented for the child under 2 years old to ensure that their sleep environment is safe and appropriate, in line with Regulation 23 requirements. This document is stored in the child’s Registration file. The sleep plan has now been incorporated into the standard Registration Pack for all new admissions. Parents are required to complete and sign the sleep plan as part of the registration process, prior to their child commencing in the setting. This ensures that appropriate sleep arrangements are clearly documented and in place from the outset, supporting ongoing compliance with Regulation 23. A Risk Assessment procedure has been established whereby any child under the age of two transitioning from a cot to a floor bed will have a Sleep Risk Assessment completed prior to any such change. This risk assessment will be shared with parents, and a signed copy will be retained in the child’s registration file to ensure transparency and ongoing compliance
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 19, 24, 29.
Inspection of 14 October 2025 — Change in Circumstance
Immediate action notice. Following the submission of the first CAPA, a regulatory compliance meeting was held on 06 November 2025 with the registered provider and the person in charge to discuss unresolved and repeat non-compliance which posed a risk to children.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
Through a review of documentation and discussion with the registered provider it was evident that the registered provider had not sourced a past employer reference for one new staff member from their most recent employer
Provider's corrective action:
A reference from the most recent employer for this staff member was received and rectified immediately on the day of the inspection and this staff member’s file was updated accordingly on day 1 of the inspection. A review of the staff files took place to ensure all files were compliant
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
The registered provider did not ensure that each child’s learning, development and well-being was facilitated within the daily life of the pre-school service and that suitable care practices were in place having regard to the number of children attending the service and the nature of their needs as follows: 1. The registered provider did not ensure that all children’s personal care needs were met during the inspection. On the first day of inspection, a child in the Baby room was observed with a visibly wet top after dinnertime. Staff were observed engaging with this child but did not change their wet clothing. On the second day of inspection in the Toddler room, the seat of five children’s trousers were observed to be significantly wet and soiled following outdoor play. Four staff were observed engaging with these children in the care room but did not change their clothing. The children ate their dinner and were placed to bed without being changed. 2. Mealtime practices observed in the Baby room were at variance with the healthy eating policy in place and did not provide the children with opportunities to develop independence or for social interaction and meaningful engagement as follows. a. Opportunities for self-feeding at dinner were not provided to all the children in the Baby room who were aged 1 year and developmentally ready to attempt spoon-feeding. Staff were observed standing over the children, holding the bowls and spoon-feeding nine children in turn on the first day of inspection and six children in turn on the second day of inspection. Not allowing children who are developmentally ready to attempt self-feeding can delay the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, independence, and healthy eating habits. b. Children in the Baby room were placed in highchairs for prolonged periods. On the first day of inspection two children were placed in highchairs with no activity for 26 minutes before receiving their meal. On the second day of inspection a child was placed in a highchair away from the rest of the group for a period of 20 minutes before dinner was served. This practice restricts children’s movement unnecessarily. Children of this age require regular opportunities for full body movement to practise and improve their emerging skills, such as co-ordination and balance. 3. Children attending the Baby room did not access the outdoor area. Staff stated that children in this room do not currently use the outdoor area and that they had not used the outdoor area in the previous 2 weeks. This was at variance with the service’s policy on outdoor play which states that outdoor play is an important part of the daily curriculum. Children in the Baby room attend on a full day care basis. Children require fresh air and opportunities to play outdoors regularly to ensure their social, cognitive and physical developmental needs are met. 4. The environment in the outdoor area was not appropriately resourced to promote all areas of development. The environment did not support the children in initiating and sustaining enriching play experiences and the range of materials in the outdoor environment were inadequate for the effective provision of challenging, diverse, creative and enriching play experiences for the number of children in attendance. For example, the sensory trays in the outdoor area were empty on both days of inspection. On the first day of inspection between 10:36 and 11:32, children from the Toddler room were observed to be wandering aimlessly at times in the outdoor play area. Children were observed climbing up onto tables and benches, pushing the empty sensory tables over and pushing each other in the playhouse. A child was observed lying on the ground, disengaged from the group and another child was observed sitting beside the empty sensory table staring into space during this time. It is acknowledged that staff attempted to engage the children in songs and games, however the environment did not support the children’s engagement, learning and development. This non-compliance was present on the last inspection on 09 and 10 June 2025. The corrective and preventive actions submitted by the registered provider did not prevent recurrence of this non- compliance
Provider's corrective action:
1. Staff have been trained in after-garden observation and care of the children to ensure they are changed into fresh clothing should this be required, and the PIC will continue to monitor this after garden time of each group. A memo has been sent to all staff via email regarding changing children’s clothes when they dribble and they are wet. Staff have been trained and the PICs role has been updated to ensure her oversight of this area
a. We have removed 6 highchairs and have 5 remaining. We have ordered tables and chairs (with backs and sides, suitable from Nursery age – 80 cm). Staff have been reminded via memo that they must sit with the children during mealtimes, ensuring they are at eye level with the children and are continuously engaging throughout mealtime. A memo was sent to all staff on the 28th of October, and a second memo reminder was sent via email on the 10th of November. Highchairs have been reduced and the children are now self-feeding at an age and stage appropriate table. New tables have been ordered that are age appropriate for children aged 1 for mealtime use. b. Staff have been instructed that babies are not permitted in the highchairs for anything longer than 15 minutes other that at meals or snack times. During mealtimes, children stay in highchairs for the duration of their meal. They must be relaxed and engaged and only removed once their meal is finished and hands and face have been wiped. A memo has been sent to staff. Highchairs are only for use during mealtimes and transitions to and from meals should no longer take more time than necessary staff have been updated and we will continue to monitor at crucial transitional periods. Staff have been trained on the Mealtime Policy and Protocol. Staff have been observed and the Policy tested on 4 separate mealtimes to ensure that staff are adhering to the protocol. The Policy and Protocol as follows: 1. Children are not seated for dinner or snack time until the food trays are in the room. 2. Once the food trays are in the room, the handwashing of all children must begin immediately. 3. After the children's hands are washed, they must be seated straight away. The meal must be served immediately. 4. Once all the children are seated with their meal and their water beaker, staff must then sit with the children for the full duration of the meal, ensuring they are always at eye level with the child throughout the entire mealtime. They must engage through age-appropriate encouragement and talk. Staff have been trained on this policy, and the PIC and the RP will supervise this policy. Highchairs are only for use during mealtimes and transitions to and from meals should no longer take more time than necessary staff have been updated and we will continue to monitor at crucial transitional periods. 3. Babies will go to the garden at 2 allocated times throughout the day. This is in the Baby Room Routine, and the PIC will ensure and oversee that this is adhered to. The babies have been introduced to the outdoor area and will continue to visit this area twice per day. 4. We are budgeting to introduce learning corners in the garden. These works will commence in January 2026, and will introduce a home corner, a cosy corner and a permanent sensorial area. Short-term provisions have been made, with more planned for January (budget dependent). Equipment has been ordered. A staff meeting has been scheduled for Monday, the 17th of November, onsite from 18:30-19:00 to train and show staff the new areas in the garden. Staff will be trained on the clean-up and organisation of these areas, before, during and after their use. The garden has been zoned into different areas, which will be signposted, as noted below. The garden will have the following areas: Football Area with goal posts Construction Area Gross Motor Skill Area Cosy Area- with a couch. Staff meeting and internal training have been scheduled for Monday, 17th of November to discuss the use of the garden, new garden areas, a learning environment to be created in the garden, how staff must check and maintain these environments, how staff should utilise all available facilities and equipment, learning corners and how they must be kept and tidy and cleaning protocols for the garden
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
Infection Control: Inspectors observed a number of practices which were at variance with the infection control policy in the service and which posed a risk of transmission of infection within the service: 1. The handwashing practices observed were inconsistent and at variance with the policy in place in the service. On both days of inspection in the Toddler room, children’s hands were not washed following outdoor play. Staff in this room stated that they do not routinely wash children’s hands following outdoor play. On both days of inspection in the Baby room, children’s hands were not washed before dinner. This non-compliance was present on the last inspection on 09 and 10 June 2025. The corrective and preventive actions as stated by the registered provider did not prevent recurrence of this non- compliance. 2. Practices observed in the cot room posed a risk of the transmission of infection as follows: - Six of the nine cots in the cot room were not spaced more than 50cm apart. Four cots were spaced less than 14cm apart. - Cot linen was not changed between uses by two children who share a cot. 3. In the Toddler room, staff were observed lifting the lid of the bin to dispose of nappies posing a risk of cross contamination. Administration of Medication: 4. Practices in place for children attending the service requiring medication were at variance with the service policy, posing a potential risk to the health and safety of children. It is acknowledged that an individual care plan was available for one child attending the Montessori room who required emergency medication. However, this document did not state that a second autoinjector should be administered if the child’s condition did not improve within 5 minutes contrary to a second document available with the care plan and the information provided by the registered provider. Two staff members in the Montessori room were unaware that a second dose of autoinjector medication should be administered to a child having an allergic reaction. This posed a risk to the timely treatment of the child in the event of an emergency. Safe Sleep: 5. Procedures and practices in place in relation to safe sleep for children attending the Baby room were inadequate and contrary to the service’s policy on safe sleep posing a potential risk to the health and safety of children. On the first day of inspection no sleep checks were carried out or recorded for a child, aged 1 year, for a period of 35 minutes. On the second day of inspection no sleep checks were carried out or recorded for a child, aged 1 year, for a period of 24 minutes. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
Infection Control: 1. Full retaining of all staff took place during a staff meeting where the handwashing policy was discussed and all staff were given a thorough review of practices. Staff have been retrained and periodic checks of handwashing to commence via the PIC. 2. The cot room has now changed; there are a total of 6 cots in the room. We have 3 portable cots and 6 mat beds-all of which are new. These will be used in the Baby Room should we have more than 6 babies sleeping at any one time. The cot room has completely changed to avoid recurrence. Staff were retrained on the importance of changing bed linen during a staff meeting. 3. Staff were retrained on the Bin usage Policy, ensuring the pedal is used at all times. The staff have received retraining on this during a staff meeting. Administration of Medication: 4. The individual care plan has been amended, and all staff have been trained on the same. The care plan was amended, and all care plans will be approved through registered provider going forward. Safe Sleep: 5. All staff have been retrained on the safe sleep policy, and are aware that all children should be checked every 10 minutes the PIC has been informed to check the sleep records daily to ensure compliance with this and to undertake spot checks during sleep times to ensure compliance. PIC will supervise this daily ensuring staff are recording all sleep checks as they are carried out. PIC to check all sleep records, and do spot checks during sleep times
Regulation 24 — Checking in and out and record of attendance
Documentation reviewed during the inspection evidenced that all preschool children were not checked into the service as required. Attendance records in the Montessori room were reviewed by the inspector at 11:01 on the second day of inspection. One child who had arrived at 08:30 had not been marked as present in the room. This was at variance with the checking in and out policy in place in the service. Inaccurate records of attendance may hinder the safe evacuation of children in the event of an emergency
Provider's corrective action:
Staff have been reminded via a memo and via a staff meeting to ensure that all sign in and out are occurring as children enter and exit the service. Children’s attendance to be checked by PIC throughout the busy morning period and to help out in the rooms signing children in and out if needed during transitions
Regulation 29 — Premises
(e) The registered provider did not ensure that the privacy and dignity of each child was respected at all times in the sanitary area adjacent to the Montessori room. This area had 2 toilets with a low partition between them and no doors which did not afford the children privacy when using the toilet. Children using the toilet could be seen from the care room and by children using the sinks to wash their hands
Provider's corrective action:
(e) The toilet area for the Montessori has now been repositioned to 2 separate toilet areas upstairs, ensuring the dignity of the child. There are now two separate toilet areas to protect the dignity of the children
Regulation 30 — Minimum space requirements
The registered provider did not ensure that the minimum amount of clear floor space was available to the 17 children attending the Toddler room. A total of 40.64m² was available for the work, play and movement of the 17 children attending and 42.2m² was required
Provider's corrective action:
4 of the toddlers have now moved into the Montessori Room. This is now rectified, and all the children are in their allocated rooms. The ratio of this room will reflect the floor space going forward and I will ensure the numbers book will reflect this