Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
Infection Control: 1. Nappy changing practices were not being carried out in a manner that would prevent the spread of infection and were not in accordance with the services nappy changing policy. • In the Badgers room a staff member was observed changing three children’s nappies in concession without changing gloves or apron. The staff member brought the children back to the care room each time wearing the aprons and gloves used for nappy change. • The changing mat was not cleaned after each nappy change
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective & Preventive Action Nappy changing practices was discussed at the recent staff meeting and the nappy changing policy has been reviewed. Manager will complete regular audits to ensure that the nappy changing policy is implemented in practice
Immediate action notice. The inspection was carried out following receipt of a concern received to the Early Years Inspectorate on the 24/10/2025. An Immediate Action notices were issued to the manager on the day of the inspection regarding Regulation 9(2)(c) and
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
The registered provider had not carried out appropriate vetting procedures to ensure that all staff were suitable and competent to work directly with children. The following was recorded on inspection: (2)(c) Garda vetting was not available for 1 staff member who was working in the service. This staff member was rostered off on the day of the inspection. An Immediate Action notice was issued to the manager. A response was received on the 27/11/25 which was accepted by the Inspectorate. (d) Police vetting’s was not available for 1 staff member who had resided outside the jurisdiction for a period of more than 6 consecutive months as an adult. (3) The procedures specified in paragraph (2) (c) &(d) were not carried out prior to any person being appointed, assigned or allowed access to or contact with a child attending the pre-school service. (4) Evidence was not available to demonstrate that all staff who worked directly with the pre-school children held an appropriate childcare qualification as outlined as follows; • One staff member had no documentation to state that they had an appropriate childcare qualification. • One staff members documentation did not confirm they had a full childcare qualification
Provider's corrective action:
9(2) (c) & 9(3)Application for garda vetting has been made for this staff member. This staff member will not work in the service until her garda vetting is processed. The registered provider will ensure that garda vetting is obtained for each staff member before they commence employment. (d)This police vetting was available on the day of inspection but was stored in the wrong file. The registered provider will ensure that all documents are stored in the correct file and are available for inspection. (4)The colleges have been contacted for further clarification regarding the qualifications. The registered provider will ensure that final certification of staff members qualification is available on file before the staff member commences employment
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
(1)(h) The attendance records of children were not updated contemporaneously to ensure all children were accurately accounted for in the event of an emergency. Two children from the Badgers room, who it was stated would leave at 11.30am were not signed out of the classroom role book. They were also not signed out of the main attendance register located in the hall when reviewed by the inspector at 1.26pm
Provider's corrective action:
All children are now signed in and out of both registers. The registered provider will ensure that this practice is completed on a daily basis
Regulation 20 — Facilities for rest and play
(1)(b) A child aged over three years who slept in the Bears room was not provided with appropriate sleep facilities. A child was observed sleeping from 12.54 to 1.45pm on a rug on the floor with a small pillow
Provider's corrective action:
A sleep mat is available for this room if required. The registered provider will ensure that any child that fall asleep are placed onto a sleep mat
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. The blind cords in the Badger room were not secured to prevent a possible injury to a child. 2. The hot water in the sanitary facilities accessed by the children from the Busy Beavers Room was not thermostatically controlled to a maximum of 43°C. The inspector recorded the temperature at each of the four sinks between 46°C and 48°C. It is acknowledged that these are mixer taps. Infection Control: 3.The bin in the Bumble Bee care room were not foot operated and therefore staff and children were repeatedly observed handling the bins to dispose of contaminated items. All bins for contaminated items must be foot operated and have a tight-fitting lid. 4.During nappy changing the following was observed: • No apron was worn to protect a staff members clothes and to prevent cross contamination. • The staff member did not remove her gloves after changing a soiled nappy. The staff member proceeded to dress the child with the gloves on thereby contaminating the child’s clothes. Safe Sleep: 5. An Immediate Action Notice (IAN) was issued on inspection as the temperature of the Bears care room while a child was sleeping was 23.7°C at 1.16pm this exceeds the maximum temperature of 22 6. There were no thermometers in the cot/sleep room, for the Butterfly, Bear or Badger Rooms to ensure that the air temperature was maintained between 18°C to 22°C. 7. There were no consistent documented sleep checks of sleeping children in the Bears or Badger Room. A child over two was observe sleeping in both rooms. Whilst it is acknowledged that staff were observe checking the children, it was not documented at 10-minute intervals to include position, colour and breathing. 8. In the Butterfly room 17 stackable beds were put down for sleep in an area of the room. This area was overcrowded as there were not 50cm between the beds. Additional space was not available in the event of an emergency
Provider's corrective action:
Corrective & Preventive Action General Safety: 1.The blind cords are now secure. 2.The water in the sanitary facilities accessed by the children from the Busy Beavers Room is now set at 43°C. Infection Control: 3.The bin in the Bumble Bee care room used for contaminated waste has now been replaced by a pedal bin. 4. Nappy changing procedure has been discussed with the staff members. Safe Sleep: 5. The heating has now been adjusted and put on a timer. 6. Thermometers are now available in the cot/sleep room, Butterfly, Bear and Badger Rooms. 7.A sleep record book has now been placed in the Bears or Badger Room. 8.The stackable beds have been re-arranged so that there is 50 cm between each bed and access to each child in the event of an emergency. The registered provider will conduct a daily risk assessment to ensure the following: All equipment and appliances are safe. Infection control equipment is available and procedures are implemented. Safe sleep equipment is available and procedures implemented
Regulation 29 — Premises
(e)There was not an adequate number of nappy changing stations in the service. On the day of the inspection 24 children required nappy changing with only 2 nappy changing stations available. One nappy changing station and a sink must be available for every 11 children
Provider's corrective action:
An additional nappy changing station has been installed. The registered provider will ensure that there are adequate nappy changing stations for the number of children attending the service
Regulation 32 — Complaints
(2)(a)&(b) There was no record or chronological log maintained by the registered provider of recent Feedback and Concerns reported to the Inspectorate regarding issues pertaining to the operations of the service as is required by the service policy
Provider's corrective action:
A Feedback and Concerns log book is now available. All staff members have been informed of this new practice. The registered provider will ensure that all Feedback and Concerns are recorded and that the Complaints Policy is implemented in practice