See Statutory Notice section in relation to Improvement Notice IN0944 served
Regulation 15 — Record of pre-school child
(c) Four records reviewed did not have somewhere to record the date that a child ceased attending the service. (i) One record reviewed did not have written parental consent for appropriate medical treatment of a child in the event of a medical emergency
Provider's corrective action:
(c) The four affected child record forms were updated using the current child record form and the required end dates were added. Staff have been reminded to use only the current child record form and regular checks will be carried out to ensure the correct version is issued. Any last versions have been removed. (i) The missing parental consent was obtained on the day of the inspection and added to the child’s record form. All child record forms were reviewed, and a check will be carried out to ensure parental consent is obtained and recorded for all new registration
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: See Statutory Notice section in relation to Improvement Notice IN0943 served
Immediate action notice. An Immediate Action Notice was issued on the day of inspection for non-compliance identified under Regulation 23 General safety. A number of toys found in the Baby and Toddler rooms were unsuitable and unsafe for children under 3 years of age as detailed under regulation 23. These toys were removed from the room on the day of the inspection by the inspector. The registered providers submitted a response on 12th March 2025 which should address the risk identified on inspection.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
Police vetting was not available for three adults who had lived outside the State for a period of longer than 6 consecutive months
The registered providers did not take appropriate measures to ensure that all employees were suitable to work in an early years service prior to commencing employment as outlined below; • The registered providers did not ensure that a Garda vetting disclosure was obtained for one adult prior to them commencing work in the service. The staff member commenced working in the service on the 16th September 2024 and Garda vetting was obtained on the 30th September 2024. • It is acknowledged that two validated references were available for a staff member who had previously been employed in the service and who had returned to work in the service in September 2024. However, the validated references available were dated from 2022 and had not been renewed before the staff member commenced employment on 16th September 2024
Provider's corrective action:
Police vetting was sought for the 2 staff members and is on their file. We have followed up with the NPCC regarding the status of the police vetting and are awaiting its return. As of today, we are on day 18 of the process, with an expected completion within the coming week. All CV’s will be double checked to ensure that if any staff member has worked outside of Ireland for 6 months police vetting will be sought
It will be communicated with all new staff members that their start date will be moved until garda vetting is received. Start dates of all staff will be delayed until the garda vetting has been received. We have now received and validated the reference from last employer. All returning staff will have a full New Hire Checklist completed and new file
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
General Safety: 1. An Immediate Action Notice was issued on the day of inspection as a potential choking risk was identified on inspection. The registered providers did not take reasonable measures to ensure play equipment was safe and appropriate to the age of children attending. Inspectors observed and removed two boxes of unsafe equipment from the Baby room and three boxes of unsafe play equipment from the Toddler room. The boxes contained toys that were unsuitable for children under three years of age and were accessible to the children in the Baby and Toddler rooms. The items contained small parts and posed a risk of choking. In the Baby room, 1 child present was aged 11 months and 4 were aged 1 year. In the Toddler room, 9 children present were aged 1 year and 1 was aged 2 years. 2. Two children in the Preschool 3 room were observed to have whole grapes in their lunch. Whole grapes are not suitable for young children as they pose a risk of choking. Staff in the room cut the grapes when it was brought to their attention by the inspector. Infection Control: 3. In the Preschool 3 room, children were observed lifting the lid of the pedal bin to dispose of waste posing a risk of the spread of infection. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
General Safety: 1. All toys where risked assessed after the inspection and any that were deemed a risk were removed and replaced with more age-appropriate toys. Room risk assessments carried out monthly. 2. All parents have been reminded that when providing snacks for their children that grapes should be cut in half. Staff have also been re-trained on the food handling policy. Food handling training and note for parents. Infection Control: 3. The children are reminded to use the pedal of the bin when placing rubbish in the bin and that staff ensure that the pedal is always accessible to the children. Room risk assessment to check that the bin can be operated by its pedal where it is situated
Regulation 31 — Notification of incidents
(c) The registered providers did not notify the Agency within 3 working days of an incident which resulted in the closure of the service on 26th February 2025
Provider's corrective action:
(c) It was complete oversite that we did not inform the Agency that we had to close the service due to a power cut on the 26th February. Please note we did submit the form after our inspection. We have added to our emergency produce file that should we have to close the service due to any reason other than been notified by the department that we have to inform Tusla
Regulation not named in the report text
(1)(3) The registered providers did not notify the Agency in advance of implementing changes to the service’s registered details as follows; • The number of children the service can accommodate at one time. The service is registered to provide care to a maximum of 60 children, however on the morning of inspection there were 62 children present. • The person in charge on the service’s registered details was not present on inspection and does not work directly in the service. On the inspector’s arrival, the manager identified themselves as the person in charge
Provider's corrective action:
We have submitted additional documentation to the Change of Circumstance team and are now awaiting their next course of action. This will either involve a Fit for Purpose inspection or the approval of the Change of Circumstance. We will constantly monitor future booking to ensure that our numbers are correct at all times
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 29, 30.