Martina's Playschool

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

• General safety: 1. While it was acknowledged that the service’s access doors were adequately secured against the risk of unauthorised entry, there was a risk that a child may exit unsupervised. In the Senior room, the fire exit door that opened out onto the footpath and steps at the front of the building, had a push bar at child height, that could be easily opened. These steps led to a main road. It was observed that a retractable, mesh safety gate was fitted on the interior side, however, this was not engaged until the inspector alerted the staff to the easily openable door. It was also noted that it may be possible for a child to crawl underneath this safety gate and reach the fire exit door. Infection control: 2. During free play time in the Junior room, three of the children did not wash their hands before choosing snacks to eat from their lunchboxes. This increased the risk of cross infection and was at variance with the service’s infection control policy, which stated that children’s hands should be washed before eating. 3. In the staff sanitary facility, the bin provided for the disposal of nappies was not foot pedal operated. Direct contact with the lid of the bin was therefore required in order to dispose of nappies, which increased the risk of cross infection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider