Inspection of 27 March 2025 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (3) A review of documentation available indicated that one adult working within the service had commenced employment prior to the completion of garda vetting procedures. Potentially exposing children to an unvetted adult
Provider's corrective action:
- (3) The staff member was vetted at another service and due to urgent staff needs they were brought on board, while they waited for vetting to come through the staff member was never left unsupervised working alongside another vetted staff member. New staff members will have vetting completed prior to commencing work in the service
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. Trailing flexes were unsecured at a child’s level within Seomra Room 1. This posed a potential strangulation risk. Infection Control: 2. Throughout the service children’s lunch boxes which contained perishable food items were kept in children’s bags and not refrigerated, potentially exposing children to harmful bacterial growth. 3. Handwashing practices were inadequate throughout the service and not in line with the service policy on handwashing technique, for example: Children were observed to undertake hand washing from a shared basin, without soap with a shared cloth towel used for hand drying. This exposes children to harmful bacteria. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. The trailing flexes have been covered to eliminate potential hazards. Risk assessments have been conducted to assess the area for hazards. Infection Control: 2. A new fridge has been purchased and all children’s lunches are placed in the fridge upon their arrival to the service. 3. The handwashing policy has been reviewed. Children have access to basins with warm running water, paper towels are now in use for hand drying and dedicated bins have been placed for the hygienic disposal of used paper towels
Regulation 26 — Fire safety measures
- (1) (a) The registered provider did not ensure that regular fire drills were undertaken or recorded within the service. Through conversation and review of documentation the last recorded fire drill was undertaken on the 18 December 2024. It is acknowledged that those in Seomra 2 stated a fire drill was undertaken within the last month, however this was not documented
Provider's corrective action:
- (1)(a) A new procedure has been implemented to ensure fire drills are conducted and recorded on a monthly basis, a designated member of staff member has been assigned this task, going forward on a new school term a designated person will be nominated to oversee this task
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 19, 25.