# The Diverseminds Academy, Dublin 7 — inspection reports and findings > The Diverseminds Academy (Dublin 7, Co. Dublin): what Tusla inspections found — 4 published inspection(s), non-compliances and the provider's corrective actions. ## The Diverseminds Academy Sessional · 2 - 6 Years · Dublin 7, Dublin · Tusla ID **TU2024DY006** · Registered since 11 September 2024 An inspection records what inspectors saw **on one day**; services respond with corrective actions — [how to read this](/methodology.md). #### Inspection of 20 March 2026 — Inspection Report Full report (PDF, Tusla) ##### Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment - (a)(b) One written and validated reference was not available for one student. (a) One written reference for one staff member was not validated. (3) Documentary evidence available to demonstrate that the procedures outlined in paragraph (2) (a)(b), had not been completed prior to staff and students starting in the service and allowed access to the children - (2)(a)(b) Immediate corrective actions were taken in relation to non-compliance of Reg 9(2)(a) and (b). A checklist has been created for student file to ensure all relevant documents including two written verified reference letters are organised in the student file. A full audit of all existing staff files will be conducted on a monthly basis to ensure that staff files have all documents. For new staff, the service will ensure that all documents will be organised before the commencement of the employment of the staff. A checklist has been introduced for staff files. (3). The person in charge will ensure that students and staff are not permitted access to children until the regulatory requirements relating to verification of two written references are met. The person in charge will ensure evidence is documented by completing the student and staff file checklist ##### Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service - (k) On review of ten accident and incident forms, information was missing as follows: o The parent’s signature was missing from two forms. o The date of the parent’s signature was missing from four forms. o The surname of the child was missing from one form - (k) An audit of completed accident and incident reporting forms was immediately conducted, and the missing details were completed. Staff were provided refresher training on accurately completing the accident and incident reporting form. To prevent the non-compliance in the future, a separate accident and incident reporting book has been provided to both care rooms. The lead educators of both rooms have been assigned the responsibility. A member of the management team will regularly conduct an audit of accident and incident reporting book. Also, new staff members will be specifically trained on the completion of accident and incident form as a part of the induction process ##### Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child - Basic Needs: 1. In the Bright moon room, the changeover of staff in the care room and lack of staff consistency led to lack of coordination of transitions and impacted the continuity of care for the children. This created an atmosphere of disorganisation and poor child engagement resulting in children becoming upset. It is acknowledged the room leader was absent during the 2 days of inspection. The following was observed: o At 12pm the children were instructed to sit at the table for dinner. Initially the children appeared happy and sang songs with a staff member. Dinner arrived at 12.22pm by which time the children were restless, had left the table and begun to argue and fight with each other. o The provision of food at lunch time was disorganised and unplanned. Initially the children were provided with potato, gravy and sliced cucumber and tomato at 12.22pm followed by fish fingers at 12.36pm. This created confusion for the children and did not create a relaxed and sociable atmosphere for dinner. Physical and Material Environment: 2. The layout and materials available in both care rooms did not promote a child led, inviting, engaging and explorative environment for the children. For example: • In the Bright Moon room: Areas of interest were not established; the home area was disorganised with dress up clothes in baskets , dolls with no clothes , no play kitchen; The art area was empty; The book area was poor with damaged and torn pages; farmhouses and trucks had missing pieces; battery toys were not working; family wall and artwork at a high level and not visible to children. • In the Shining Stars room: Boxes of equipment had an assortment of toys equipment and dolls. Labels on boxes or shelves did not match the contents of the boxes. Storage of jigsaws in a large box with loose jigsaw pieces. Two play kitchens were empty of play food and supporting equipment. Play food boxes contained other toys limiting the visibility of the contents of three boxes and where not directly accessible to the play kitchens. The art trolley contained a pile of soft toys and dolls with no clothes. Books were limited and damaged and four torn toy catalogues books blocked visibility of the books present. No family wall or family books were available to the children to provide comfort and a sense of identity for the children. 3. The fully enclosed outdoor area located to the side of the service was not adequately equipped with toys and materials to enable the children to enjoy the space throughout the year - Basic Needs: 1. The person in charge of the service coordinated with the kitchen staff to make meal time a pleasant and uninterrupted experience. The mealtime routine was reviewed to ensure food is prepared and ready prior to children being seated. The kitchen staff was also instructed to serve the meal all at once rather than in separate stages. Management have reviewed staffing arrangements and room support procedures to ensure greater consistency of educators within the room during future staff absences. This will also support to maintain consistent routine, facilitate smooth transition and meaningful engagement of children in absence of the key educator of the classroom. To ensure smooth mealtime routine, staff will be provided refresher training on creating a positive and calm mealtime experience for children. Management will encourage daily communication between kitchen staff and classroom staff regarding meal readiness. For the future, the relief kitchen staff will be provided training on mealtime routine. Physical and Material Environment: 2. The learning environment of the Bright Stars classroom was reviewed, and clearly defined areas of interest and play are created. Additional resources have been added to the environments. To prevent the reoccurrence the person in charge will conduct a monthly environment and resource audit for both Bright Moon and Shining Stars rooms. Management will conduct spot checks to ensure that the classroom environments and resources are well maintained by the classroom staff. At future staff meetings, the team will review physical learning environments based on Aistear Siolta Practice Guide. Staff will undertake free e-learning training on the learning environment. The service has also applied to a Quality Development Service (QDS) for support in creating child centred and quality indoor and outdoor learning environment. 3. The outdoor play equipment and materials were reviewed, and additional resources have been added to support children’s exploratory play opportunities. The person in charge will conduct a monthly environment and resource audit for outdoor area. Management will conduct spot checks to ensure that the outdoor environment is well maintained by the staff. The service will continue to enhance the outdoor environment with open- ended materials, sensory resources and other play equipment ##### Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child - Infection Control: 1. Poor infection control practices were observed in the service, leading to poor hygiene procedures and a risk of cross infection and were at variance with the service policy and best practice guidelines follows : o Thermostatically controlled water was not available in the wash hand basins in the Sanitary facility or in the sink in the corridor. o Handwashing was not completed after outdoor play or before mealtimes. o In the three toilets in the sanitary facility, the toilet paper was not hygienically dispensed from the holders available. No toilet paper was present in one toilet and in the remaining two toilets, the toilet paper was observed to be sitting on the back of two toilets, which was not accessible for the children to reach or use. Action submitted by the Registered Provider - Infection Control: 1. The person in charge undertook an immediate review of infection and control procedures. A mixing valve has been added to the water heating unit in children’s toilets to regulate the water temperature as per the regulations. Staff were reminded and re-instructed regarding hand washing routine before meals, after outdoor play and at other crucial times of the day. Toilet facilities were immediately restocked with toilet paper. New child friendly toilet paper dispensers have been added to replace the old ones. A member of the management team will conduct regular audits of sanitary facilities to ensure toilet papers are easily accessible to children and hygienically maintained Found compliant: Regulation 11, 32. #### Inspection of 2 September 2025 — Change in Circumstance Full report (PDF, Tusla) No non-compliance recorded in this report. #### Inspection of 12 December 2024 — Inspection Report Full report (PDF, Tusla) ##### Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child - Basic Needs: 1. Between 12.50pm and 1pm, three children from the Bright moon and Shining Stars rooms, having lunch in the Bright moon room, were not given assistance and support at lunch time due to staff becoming distracted on the arrival of parents into the care room to collect their children. Physical and Material Environment: 2. Due to the large size of the Shining Stars room the materials and equipment available did not encourage the children to play together and create opportunities of play. Spaces for children need to be in smaller defined areas to invite the children to choose materials, play together rather than run. Programme of Activities: 3. During the inspection, the inspector observed the children part take in adult led activities with equipment placed on tables for the children to part take in. Areas of interest and layout of play equipment were not organised to promote independent choices of play for the children and for child led play - Corrective 1. Basic Needs: To facilitate smooth transition between changes of sessions at 1.00pm, the drop off and collection policy has been reviewed and updated. The service has introduced a new drop off and collection arrangement. Parents and guardians are encouraged to drop off children to and collect children from the reception area outside the Bright Moon classroom. An updated policy has been emailed to parents and shared with the educators. One staff member manages the handover and the second staff attends and supports other children in the classroom. The manager and the relief educator attend and support remaining children in the classroom. 2. Physical and Material environment The physical learning environment of Shining Stars room was immediately reviewed. The room has been partitioned using shelves and tables to reduce the size of the room. The learning corners in the Shining Star rooms have been rearranged to create integrated learning environments. The manager and educators are working on the learning environment to promote high quality learning and play experiences to children. The service has submitted an application to a quality improvement organisation for support which has been approved. 3. Programme of activities: The issue was discussed with staff at one-to-one meeting. Relevant staff member has acknowledged the importance of child led play and providing choices to children. The manager has shared valuable resources on child led play. Aistear Siolta Practice Guide- Guidelines for Good Practice for learning through play highlighting the role of an educator as the adult in the play and a LINC blog on the importance of playful experiences in the early years. Preventive Action: 1. Basic Needs: The transition will be monitored on a regular basis by the management. A relief educator has been scheduled to work as an extra support to manage the transitions more smoothly. The key educator manages the handover and the manager along with the relief educator support children. The recruitment of an additional staff for extra support is under process 2. Physical and Material Environment: Management has booked training for educators on “Reorganise & Revitalise: Creating an inspiring classroom environment in your setting “and Siolta Awareness Workshops. The learning environment will be reviewed and evaluated at team meetings using the Aistear Siolta Practice Guide. Work in collaboration with the quality improvement support organisation to promote high quality play opportunities and create enrich learning environment. Extra shelving units will be ordered shortly for the purpose of partition of the room. 3. Programme of Activities Staff will undertake additional online training on “An introduction to the rights of the child in early learning and care”. The manager will mentor and support educators in facilitating child led play and organise training if any of the staff member needs extra training ##### Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child - General Safety: 1. Staff did not ensure that the door from the outdoor area into the Shining Stars care room was open and accessible to ensure ease of entry on their return to the care room, during or after outdoor play, leading to a risk of delay in the event of an emergency. 2. In the Shining stars room, between 11.20am and 11.30am, children were not supervised while playing in the art and craft area. As a result, the following was observed. o The children were not assisted when playing with the glitter and paint, which created a potential slip risk when spilled on the floor. o A child was observed running with a scissors which increased the potential risk of injury to the child or others. 3. In the Shining stars room, grapes which were present in a child’s lunch were not quartered or halved, posing a risk of choking. It is acknowledged that the registered provider cut the grapes in halves, following intervention by the inspector. 4. The record of attendance for the service did not accurately reflect number of the children in the care rooms, contemporaneous accurate record of attendance must be maintained to support the safe evacuation of children in an emergency. For example. o In the Shining stars room, four children, who left the service at the end of the ECCE session at 12.30pm were not marked as absent until 2.10pm and one child who left the service at 2.15pm was not marked as absent up to 3.17pm. o When the record of attendance was updated, the times were not noted accurately for one child who left at 12.53pm but was noted as leaving at 12.40pm in the attendance book. o At 12.30pm, when the children attending part time or full-time care from the Shining stars room, moved to the Bright moon room, it was observed that the attendance books for both rooms were not available to staff as they were in the outdoor area since outdoor play time. This reduced the effective evacuation in the event of an emergency as there was no access to the record of attendance while back inside in the care rooms. 5. The door of the kitchen of the service was open during the inspection, making the kitchen accessible to the children, leading to a risk of injury. Infection Control: 6. Thermostatically controlled warm water was not available in the sanitary facilities leading to a risk of injury, as follows: Sanitary facility for Shining Star room Temperature recorded Time Wash hand basin 1 49.1ºC 1.09pm Wash hand basin 2 49.7ºC which exceeds the recommended water temperature of 43 o C maximum 7. Children lunches which were brought from home were not refrigerated to prevent spoiling of perishable items. 8. Mechanical ventilation did not appear to be functioning in the nappy changing sanitary facility, leading to poor infection control. Action submitted by the Registered Provider - General Safety: Corrective Action: 1. Management has addressed the health and safety issue with the team. A new keypad has been installed in the outdoor area for quick and easy access to the indoor area. All members of the team have been informed of the access code. 2. The art corner was immediately reviewed by the management. Art materials not suitable for children’s development level were removed from the art corner and stored out of children’s reach. The manager has addressed the issue with the team and discussed the importance of effective adult supervision in the use of art and craft materials like glitter, glues and scissors. 3. Other uncut vegetables/fruits are served to children. Staffs have agreed to be extra vigilant while serving fruits and vegetables sent from home. The manager or any other member of the team chops whole grapes brought from home into halves or quarters depending upon the size of the grapes and the age of the child. The manager and other staff members check the children’s lunch boxes before putting them in the fridge. If any food item is not safe for children to consume, it is addressed immediately. Parents have been reminded to chop grapes lengthwise into halves or quarters according to the age of the child. Policies and Procedures of the service has been emailed to parents. 4. The manager has discussed the importance of correct sign in and sign out of children for fire safety and other safety reasons. The Outdoor play policy has been updated to highlight the importance of bringing back the class register to the classroom when returning from outdoor play. 5. A written memo was circulated among the team with the instruction to keep the kitchen door closed at all times. The memo was signed by the members of the team to confirm that they understand the importance of having the kitchen door for children’s health and safety. The display of the notice to keep the kitchen door closed at all times has been changed to make the notice more visible and clearer. The manager checks the kitchen door at regular intervals to ensure it is kept closed at all times. Preventive Action: 1. Management will continue to assess the use of the keypad when outdoor area is used. 2. Art & craft materials like glitter and scissors will be used only under the strict supervision of the educator(s). The art corner will be reviewed by the management on a continuous basis. The manager will do spot checks to ensure art and craft materials are safely used. 3. Healthy eating policy has been updated to include the safe practice for chopping grapes and other fruits and vegetables. The Manager and staff will rigorously monitor snack brought by children from home. Future new staff members will be trained on this at the induction stage. 4. The manager will so spot checks to ensure class registers are accurately completed and class registers are not left in the outdoor area. Future new staff members will be trained on signing children in and out in a timely manner. 5. The manager will continue to check the kitchen door at regular intervals and also remind the team. Future new team members will be trained on this at the induction stage. Infection Control: Corrective Action: 6. Water temperature is now checked and recorded three times a day at 8.30am, 12.30pm and 4.30pm to ensure the correct water temperature at all times. Water temperature record sheet has been amended accordingly. Staff have been instructed to inform the manager know if they feel the water temperature has gone high. 7. In one-to-one meeting, management has addressed the issue with the team and a box labelled with “Children’s lunches for refrigeration” have been introduced in Bright Moon and Shining Stars room. A written reminder has been put on the wall closer to children’s belongings to remind the team to put children’s perishable snacks brought from home in the fridge. Every morning the manager confirms with the staff if children’s perishable snack brought from home have been refrigerated. 8. A new ventilation fan has been installed in the nappy changing area. Preventive Action: 6. A new water thermostat has been ordered from Waveform Electrical Wholesale to ensure consistent water temperature. It will be installed as soon as it is delivered. 7. New team members will be trained on this at the induction stage to ensure the correct storage of children’s perishable snack. The manager will conduct spot checks to ensure perishable food items sent by parents are stored in the fridge. 8. In future, if the ventilation fan stops working at any time, measures will be taken to fix or replace it immediately Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11. ### Earlier inspections - 23 August 2024 — New Service · PDF ### Other services in Dublin - [The Early Years Academy Ltd](/creche/the-early-years-academy-ltd-deansgrange.md) Deansgrange - [The Embassy Montessori](/creche/the-embassy-montessori-dublin-4.md) Dublin 4 - [The Green Gate Montessori](/creche/the-green-gate-montessori-skerries.md) Skerries - [The Learning Circle Childcare](/creche/the-learning-circle-childcare-dublin-13.md) Dublin 13 - [The Lodge Montessori School](/creche/the-lodge-montessori-school-dublin-16.md) Dublin 16 - [The Toddler Inn](/creche/the-toddler-inn-dublin-7.md) Dublin 7 - [Tree House Pre School & Montessori](/creche/tree-house-pre-school-montessori-dublin-18.md) Dublin 18 - [Ballycullen Montessori](/creche/ballycullen-montessori-dublin-24.md) Dublin 24 - [Dolphins Early Education and Childcare Centre](/creche/dolphins-early-education-and-childcare-centre-dublin-24.md) Dublin 24 - [Luttrell House Creche](/creche/luttrell-house-creche-dublin-15.md) Dublin 15 [Alert me when a new report is published](/help.md) · [Dated report on this service — €19](/report.md) --- Página: https://creche-inspection-reports.pages.dev/creche/the-diverseminds-academy-dublin-7/ Fonte: Tusla Early Years Inspectorate Recolha: 2026-09-11