Inspection of 8 July 2024 — Inspection Report
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. Garda vetting disclosures were available for twenty-four adults. However, six Garda vetting disclosures were not dated within the previous three years in adherence with the Early Years Inspectorate Regulatory Notice ‘EYI-RN12.3 Renewal of Garda Vetting’. 2. A room used on the first floor named as the “break out” room was used during the day by some of the children in the care rooms with the exception of the baby room. The room was not secured to prevent children leaving unsupervised where they could access a number of unsecured rooms and toilets, a lift and the stairway. The room was not secured to prevent unauthorised persons in. 3. The temperature of the warm water exceeded 43 degrees Celsius posing a risk of scalding. The temperatures recorded ranged between 46.2 degrees Celsius and 46.6 degrees Celsius in respect of the wash hand basins in the sanitary accommodation serving the toddler room, and the sanitary accommodation and the wash hand basins in the senior pre-school room. 4. There were splinters on the wooden toy kitchen in the outdoor play area posing a risk of injury to children. Infection Control: 5. The required 50 cm distance between the cots in the sleep rooms was not maintained posing a risk of the spread of infection. 6. The mattress covers on 1 cot in each of the sleep rooms were unclean posing a risk of cross contamination and the spread of infection. 7. The sweeping brush, sweeping pan and brush were stored in the toilet cubicle in the Senior pre-school room posing a risk of cross contamination and the spread of infection. 8. There was no running warm water at the sink in the nappy changing room serving the baby and toddler rooms posing a risk of cross contamination. Hand washing by the adults and for the children after nappy changing was observed to be carried out in the children’s toilets in the toddler room. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. The Garda vetting disclosures were submitted. A word document has been created demonstrating the expiry date for each adult’s Garda vetting. 2. Alarms have been fitted on each door. The alarms are designed to emit a loud and continuous noise whenever the doors are opened. The primary purpose of the alarms is to prevent children from leaving the room unsupervised. The loud noise serves as deterrent and the heavy doors add an additional layer of security to ensure children cannot exit easily. The alarms are triggered if an authorized person attempts to enter the room, thereby enhancing the overall security of the children. A routine schedule for testing and maintaining the door alarms including checking the battery life, verifying the sound of the alarms and ensuring the doors close securely. Regular drills or refresher training for staff on the use of these alarms should be conducted to reinforce correct usage and response protocols. This will prevent system failures and ensure continuous protection against unauthorized exits or entries. 3. The temperature of the warm water is controlled and will be monitored. A document is in place to record the temperature of the warm water each day. 4. The splinters on the wooden mud kitchen were sanded down and varnished. Infection Control: 5. There was 1 cot removed. The partition between the sleep rooms will be removed. A carpenter has been booked to complete the work and pictures of the completed work will be forwarded to the inspectorate. 6. Mattress protectors for each child were purchased. 7. They were moved out to the hallway. 8. There are now 2 sinks provided in the nappy changing room, the renovation works have been completed. The staff will follow the nappy changing procedure
Regulation 29 — Premises
- (d) There was black staining observed on the walls and water pipes in the sanitary accommodation serving the Junior pre-school room. (e) The nappy changing unit in use on the day of the inspection did not have steps for the older children to safely access the unit. The steps had been removed at the beginning of the inspection for the carpenter to carry out work on them
Provider's corrective action:
- (d) This was cleaned and painted by a professional. (e) A new child stair is provided
Found compliant: Regulation 9, 11, 19, 25.