Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. In the Blossoms room, it was observed that an open window did not have a mechanism in place to secure the window to prevent a child from exiting or falling. A child was observed climbing on a couch and lying on the windowsill near the opened window. This posed a safety risk to the children. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: The registered provider stated in their response: Corrective action The windows have been secured with a key. The key is hung in a secure place out of reach to children. The service has contacted a window company to get safety hinges for the windows. Preventive action Ensure that the windows are locked until the safety hinges are fitted
Regulation 29 — Premises
(d) The following areas of the service were observed to be unclean and required repair: • In the Blossom room, the wall near the sink was observed to be unclean. • In the Buds room, the area around the sink was unclean and had exposed timber visible. This posed a safety risk to the children as the areas had not been cleaned, maintained and repaired
Provider's corrective action:
The registered provider stated in their response: Corrective action The sink area has been painted in the Blossom room. Exposed gaps around the sink has been filled and the area has been painted in the Buds room Preventive action Ensure that all areas are cleaned and maintained
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 16, 19, 22, 24.
(2) (a) Two references on file were not validated by the registered provider. (d) Police vetting was not on file for one adult in the service that had resided outside of Ireland for greater than 6 months as an adult. Not having adequate vetting for all adults on the premises with access to children may allow adults that are not appropriate have access to children
Provider's corrective action:
(2) (a) Both references have been validated. (d) The outstanding police vetting has been obtained
Regulation 10 — Policies, procedures etc. of pre-school service
1. The healthy eating policy was reviewed and it did not set out clear guidance on the measures that sufficient, suitable and nutritious food and drink are available to the children attending the service on a sessional and part-time basis. The policy did not indicate how food is safely stored and served. Not having a policy that sets out clear guidance on healthy food provision for the service type and how food is stored and served may allow for insufficient/inappropriate food being served to the children. 2. The infection control and exclusion policy indicated incidents of when children would be excluded however it did not indicate how the service manages in the event of a case of a communicable disease where children attending the service are not vaccinated
Provider's corrective action:
1. The healthy eating policy has been updated. 2. The infection control policy has been updated
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
Infection Control: 1. The meat sandwiches in the children’s lunches were not stored in the fridge and were stored in the school bags in the warm corridor, this could potentially allow for the growth of bacteria on the sliced meats and cause an illness in a child. 2. The bags of the children were stored on the ground in the corridor, and this poses a risk of contamination and cross infection. 3. The bin used to store soiled nappies required handling to open and twist closed, the multiple times of contact with the bin poses a risk of contamination and cross infection. 4. The blue couches in both care rooms were torn at the corners which exposed foam, this did not allow for ease of cleaning and could be a source of contamination and poses a risk of cross infection to the children. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
Infection Control: 1. The children’s lunches and snacks are stored in the fridge. 2. The children school bags are stored on each child’s individual hook. 3. The twist top bin has been removed and replaced with a pedal operated lidded bin for the disposal of nappies. The registered provider has committed to emptying the bin at the end of each session. 4. The blue torn couches have been removed and new couches have been purchased
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 15, 19, 25, 26, 28.