Inspection of 19 January 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (a) One reference in respect of one staff member had not been validated. Non-compliance in relation to unvalidated references was also noted at the previous inspection on 23 January 2024. The preventive action submitted at the time stated that the service would continue to improve on maintaining and updating staff files. However, this remained an issue. (4) A certificate of qualification confirming completion of a major award at level 5 or above, was not available for one staff member, who worked directly with the children
Provider's corrective action:
- (a) In her written reply, the registered provider stated that the validation was completed after the inspection and that the service has been working on maintaining staff files. The reference validation was an oversight and the registered provider will continue to improve on keeping files up to date. (4) The CAPA response outlined that the relevant paperwork was sent to the DCDE, to have the qualification recognised. Subsequent to this, the registered provider advised that a letter of qualification recognition could not be issued and stated that the adult will not work directly with the children, until the qualification is obtained. As a preventive measure, component certificates will be checked in future, to ensure they meet the requirement for a full award
Regulation 10 — Policies, procedures etc. of pre-school service
- The policy on safe sleep did not include the following: • It did not describe the sudden infant death syndrome prevention guidance and protective measures for children under 12 months. • It did not describe the sleep facilities for children of all ages. Only reference to children aged over 2 years was included. Therefore, the above policy may not adequately guide the staff in their care practices
Provider's corrective action:
- The safe sleep policy has been updated accordingly. It now describes the sleep facilities for children of all ages, as well as protective measures for children under 12 months. Policies will be reviewed more regularly, to ensure they are up to date and that staff are guided correctly
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- Basic needs: 1. While it was acknowledged that Rooms 1, 3 and 4 each had a clearly identifiable cosy area, the rest area in Room 2 required development, in order to adequately meet the children’s need for rest and relaxation. A sofa was provided in the corner of the room, with no additional furnishings or books available, to create an inviting rest area for the children. 2. Children in Room 1 did not have access to outdoor play on the day of inspection, despite weather conditions being appropriate to do so. Staff members advised that these children did not access the outdoor play area during the winter months and stated that the children last went outdoors before Christmas. Not taking the children outside daily does not allow access to fresh air and a change of environment
Provider's corrective action:
- 1. A book box has been added near the sofa, so that children can read a book while resting. A box of blankets has also been placed in this area, so that children can wrap up warmly, when sitting there. Staff have been working hard to develop the classrooms since the inspection. All rooms have been repainted and there are new shelves, equipment and toys in the rooms. The service will continue to ensure that the care rooms and cosy areas, cater for the needs of all the children. 2. The written reply outlined that there had been a lot of rainfall and low temperatures in the two weeks since reopening after Christmas. A lot of new children also began attending the Baby room in January and were settling. The children in question do go outside, but more so in the afternoon. These children have a change in environment at 12.00pm, when they are either going for a nap or moving over to Room 2. The service will put more emphasis on going outside during the morning
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General safety: 1. While it was acknowledged that the main entrance door was secured when not in use, unauthorised access onto the premises was not prevented. Both entrance gates could be opened from the exterior and a subsequent unsecured gate at the side of the building provided access to Room 1, as the door to this room was also unsecured. 2. There was an unanchored shelving unit in Room 1. This was accessible to the children and posed a safety risk, should it fall over or fall on top of a child if climbed upon. Infection control: The following observed practices increased the risk of cross infection: 3. In the sanitary facility adjoining Room 2, the nappy changing mat on the changing unit was torn, which impeded effective cleaning. A second changing mat was stored on the floor and was visibly dirty. Non- compliance in relation to a torn nappy changing mat was also found at the previous inspection on 23 January 2024. 4. Some of the bins in the service were not suitable for the hygienic disposal of waste as follows: - The foot pedal operated bin in the sanitary facility adjoining Room 2 was broken. - A foot pedal operated bin was unavailable in the staff sanitary facility adjoining the storage room; an open waste bin and a swing lidded bin were in use. - The lid on the pedal operated bin, in the nappy changing area adjoining Room 1, had become detached. Therefore, staff members had to make direct contact with the lid of the bin in order to open it, as was observed during a nappy changing procedure. 5. The handwashing facilities in the second staff toilet facility did not support effective handwashing. A communal hand towel was provided and warm running water was unavailable. A water temperature of 12.80C was recorded at both wash hand basins. 6. During an observed nappy changing procedure, the child’s hands were not washed after having their nappy changed. It was also noted that the service’s nappy changing policy did not include the need to wash children’s hands after nappy changing. 7. The sanitary facility adjoining Room 1 was observed to be used as a storage area for children’s outdoor clothing and contained a broken toy, which was not in use. The inappropriate use of sanitary facilities for storage was also observed during the previous inspection on 23 January 2024. Safe sleep: 8. One child under the age of 2 years was observed to sleep on a stackable bed in Room 1. Tusla’s guidance for the early learning and care sector on sleep position for children under 24 months, states that the use of floor mats or stackable beds are not conducive to sleep, for children in this age range. The service’s sleep policy stated that children over 2 would have access to stackable beds, however, there was no reference to sleep provision for children aged under 2 years. The issue of unsuitable sleep equipment was also noted during the previous inspection on 23 January 2024. The CAPA response at the time stated that children under the age of 2 would be placed to sleep in a cot. However, this was not found to be the case. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General safety: 1. The written response stated that a new lock has been placed on the back gate and that this will ensure that all entrances into the building are secure. 2. The unit in Room 1 has been secured. This removes the risk of the unit falling on top of a child. Infection control: 3. A new changing mat has been ordered for this changing unit. Two mats have been ordered, to prevent this issue from reoccurring and the registered provider will order more mats when the spare mat is used. 4. The bins have been replaced in Room 1, Room 2 and in the staff sanitary facility. The new bins will prevent this issue from reoccurring. Staff have also been encouraged to inform management when the bins are no longer serving their purpose. 5. The towel has been removed and replaced with paper towels. The water heating system has been functioning in that part of the building since the inspection, meaning that hot water is available. Staff will turn on the water heating that supplies that part of the building every morning, to ensure that warm water is available. 6. The nappy changing policy has been updated to include washing the child’s hands after nappy changing. This is mentioned on the nappy changing procedure, displayed on the wall in the nappy changing room. Staff usually do wash the children’s hands after nappy changing and have been reminded of the procedure that is displayed on the wall. 7. All items have been removed from the sanitary facility. As the other part of the building is now available to the service and can be used for storage, this will eliminate the issue. Safe sleep: 8. The child in question has since turned 2 years old, but was moved back into a cot until his second birthday. The safe sleep policy states that children under the age of 2 will remain in a cot until after their second birthday
Regulation 29 — Premises
- (c) The lighting in the nappy changing area in Room 1 was not functioning correctly. The light was flickering and required replacing. (d) In the sanitary facility adjoining Room 3, a door hinge on one of the swing doors was broken and was being held in place with black tape
Provider's corrective action:
- (c) The light in Room 1 has been replaced. (d) The toilet cubicle door in Room 3 has been fixed. The service will keep on top of maintenance. The registered provider had been waiting for assistance to have the light repaired and the hinge replaced
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 25, 26, 28.