Inspection of 12 February 2026 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. An Immediate Action Notice was issued on 12 February 2026 for non-compliances with
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (c) Garda vetting disclosures were not on file for two of the new staff employed to work directly with the children. The registered provider stated this was an oversight. This was identified on last inspection on 05 August 2025, where five staff members had been employed and were working directly with the children with no garda vetting disclosures on file. An Immediate Action Notice was given on inspection to the registered provider on 12 February 2026 detailing staff with no garda vetting present. The registered provider responded to the Immediate Action Notice on 13 February 2026 with evidence of a garda vetting disclosure in relation to one adult and that an application for garda vetting had been submitted for the other adult and this staff member will not be working until a disclosure is received. Not conducting garda vetting prior to adults working directly with children posed an immediate risk of harm to children in the service. (3) The registered provider did not conduct file checks as mentioned above prior to adults working in the service. This posed a possible risk to the safety of the children. This was also identified on previous inspection on 05 August 2025. In response to previous non-compliance identified on last inspection, a checklist system was to be in place for management to ensure all required information and documentation is obtained prior to a new staff member commencing in the service. The actions taken by the service did not prevent the reoccurrence of the non-compliance
Provider's corrective action:
- (2)(c) The registered provider applied for Garda vetting for the staff member promptly. The staff member was removed from the service until a garda vetting disclosure was received. A staff member has been appointed the role of overseeing all vetting processes within the service. This will be reviewed by the registered provider going forward. (3) The registered provider stated that a staff member has been appointed the role of completing file checks and the vetting process during onboarding and renewals. The registered provider will be the second staff member to oversee the vetting processes
Regulation 10 — Policies, procedures etc. of pre-school service
- A review of the infection control policy was completed. It was identified that details including hand hygiene practice for staff and children was not available within the policy. Details on the safe management of perishable food and the infection control measures for nappy changing and toileting procedures to be followed were not set out in the policy. Not ensuring that these details are included in the infection control policy does not support safe infection control procedures within the service
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider updated their infection control policy to included details regarding hand hygiene practices for staff and children. Meetings were held with the staff team to inform them of the hand hygiene practices and ensure they had a full understanding of the importance of following the correct policies
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General safety: 1. The radio cable in the Blue room was not securely fastened out of reach of children. The cable was observed hanging over the children’s seating area for their personal belongings. This posed a risk of injury to the children in the care room. 2. The children’s anti-febrile medication was stored in the children’s sanitary facility in the Green room. The medication was stored on a shelf in the area and was accessible by children in the room. Children could potentially access this medication while unsupervised. This posed a safety risk to the children. Infection control: 3. The water temperatures recorded in the children’s sanitary facilities on day of inspection exceeded 43°C. The temperatures recorded in two of the sinks in the Blue sanitary facilities measured 46.8°C and 48.5°C. The temperatures measured in two of the sinks in the Green sanitary facilities measured 46.1°C and 48.6°C. The temperature recorded in one sink in the Yellow sanitary facilities measured 46.3°C. Not ensuring water temperatures remained under 43°C posed a risk of injury to the child. 4. Handwashing practices observed throughout the nappy changing procedures in the service did not ensure effective infection control measures. Staff did not wash their hands or the children’s hands after each nappy change. This posed a risk of infection to the child and staff member. 5. One staff member was observed to not change their gloves between nappy changes on the day of inspection. This staff member was observed leaving the sanitary facility with the gloves on and go outdoors. Two staff members were observed changing nappies with no aprons on separate occasions. This was also observed on the last inspection on 04 August 2025. The registered provider stated that following the last inspection, all staff were to wear aprons during the nappy changing process. The actions taken by the service did not prevent the reoccurrence of the non-compliance. Not ensuring the safe process of wearing gloves and aprons during nappy changes posed a cross-contamination risk to the child. 6. A play kitchen unit was stored in the Green sanitary facility on the day of inspection. Children were observed playing with the kitchen unit in the sanitary room while waiting for a nappy change. At a later stage in the inspection, it was observed that staff were storing three children’s potties on top of the play kitchen when not in use. This posed a risk of infection to the child. 7. The pedal bin in the adult sanitary facility was broken. Staff had to hand touch the bin after handwashing. This posed a risk of infection to staff. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General safety: 1. The registered provider removed the radio from the Blue room. 2. The anti-febrile medication which was stored in the children’s sanitary facility in the Green room was moved to a higher shelf well out of the reach of the children. The registered provider ensured that staff were aware that medication should not be accessible to children. Infection control: 3. The registered provider had contacted the plumber on how to reduce the thermostat control for the water temperatures. The registered provider reduced the temperatures of the water in the children’s sinks. 4. Meetings were conducted with the staff to reiterate the importance of handwashing during the nappy changing process and discuss the updated infection control policy. A copy of the updated nappy changing procedure was given to the staff members to read. 5. All staff members were reminded the importance of the nappy changing procedure and following the policies. A full stock of aprons and gloves were replaced in each room. 6. The play kitchen was removed immediately from the sanitary facility. 7. The registered provider purchased a new bin for the adult sanitary facility
Regulation 25 — First aid
- (1) On discussion with the registered provider and from review of the staff rota, a staff member with First Aid Response (FAR) training was not available to the children and no staff member attached to the service had completed the FAR training. It was identified that two staff members with basic first aid training were available to the children at all times. Not ensuring a staff member with FAR training is available to the children at all times posed a risk to the safety and care of the children attending the service
Provider's corrective action:
- (1) The registered provider booked FAR training for staff to attend. The registered provider has also booked another session in October for further staff to attend to ensure that there is a staff member with FAR training present on the premises at all times
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 19, 22, 24, 29.