Oakmount Creche Ltd

Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child

• General Safety: 1. During discussion with the inspector staff reported that a child attending the service had a serious allergy and may require the administration of an auto adrenaline injector in an emergency. The inspector requested to view the storage location of the medication. The staff member reported that the medication was stored in the staff room however, when the staff member went to retrieve the medication, it could not be located and was found to be in the staff room ten minutes later. A delay in the retrieval of a child’s medication may pose a serious safety risk to the child in the event of an emergency. 2. The safety restrictor was not in use on a ground floor window in the Busy Bee room that opened out on to the college campus posing a risk of unauthorised entry or a child leaving unsupervised. The inspector highlighted this with a staff member who attempted to close the window but struggled to get it to close. The inspector acknowledges the window was closed upon reinspection. This risk was also identified on the previous inspection on 7 November 2022. 3. A blackboard attached to a fence in the outdoor area was broken, leaving rough edges that posed a potential risk of injury to a child. Safe Sleep: 4. During discussions with the inspector a staff member in the Rainbow room described practices they use to help settle babies to sleep. The staff member explained they use a latex glove filled with rice and place it on a babies back to give the impression that a staff member was still beside them. The staff member also stated that they remain in the room and settle other children and remove the glove once the baby has fallen asleep. The inspector was informed that the method was not used with the children present on the day of inspection as they did not require it. This practice poses a series risk to babies safety and is at variance with the services safe sleep policy. 5. The temperature in a sleep room where children between the age of one and two years were sleeping was recorded at 23°C which is outside the recommended range for safe sleep. Although efforts were made by staff to reduce the temperature such as placing two fans into the room these measures were ineffective and the temperature increased to 23.5°. The inspector acknowledges that a staff member remained in the room with the children when the increase in temperature was brought to their attention. Outing: 6. On the day of inspection staff in the Rainbow room were observed taking two children for a walk on campus. Although the outings book had been completed prior to the walk, no risk assessment was carried out. This was at variance with the services safety statement and poses a potential safety risk. Action submitted by the Registered Provider