Inspection of 8 February 2024 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider on the 9 February 2024. There was one staff member working directly with the children who did not have evidence available on file that Garda vetting was in place. The registered provider submitted the Garda vetting on 16 February 2024 in respect of the one staff member to the office of the early years inspector.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (2) The registered provider failed to take all necessary steps to ensure that some of the staff recruited were suitable for their roles as demonstrated by the following findings: (a)(b) Two written and validated references were not on file for three staff members. One written and validated reference was not on file for one staff member. (c) Garda vetting was not available on file for one staff member working with the children. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider
Provider's corrective action:
- Vetting and references are available and on file for all members of staff. Regular monthly checks on the staff folder will ensure all vetting is in date. Some references had been misfiled and the new manager now has a new filing system to ensure the regulation is being followed
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- Infection Control:
- There was no warm water available for hand washing in the busy bees toilets and happy hippos nappy changing area
- There were inconsistencies observed in nappy changing practices. For example, not all children had their hands washed after nappy changing and the nappy changing mat was not cleaned after some nappy changes. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- The timer for the hot water tank servicing the two areas is now working correctly. Staff have been re-trained regarding nappy changing procedure and signs in the nappy change area remind them to wash hands and the changing mat after each nappy change. Spot checks on the availability of hot water are carried out and the timer can be accessed if the hot water runs out
Regulation 26 — Fire safety measures
- Monthly fire drills had not been carried out in the service. The last recorded fire drill was carried out in September 2023
Provider's corrective action:
- Fire drills are again carried out on a monthly basis. A new fire officer has been appointed. A date is marked on the calendar to ensure the fire drills are carried out each month
Regulation 29 — Premises
- There was evidence of a black substance that had the appearance of mould along the side entrance door, wall, floor and all along by the fridge in the entrance hall
- The entrance hall was cluttered and used for storage
Provider's corrective action:
- The black substance has been removed. This area has been added to the cleaning schedule to ensure no such buildup occurs again. The hallways have been cleared. A sign is in place to remind the team not to use the area for storage
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 19, 25, 28.