Inspection of 27 April 2026 — Inspection Report
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (b) Although it is acknowledged there were two references available for a staff member, there was no documentary evidence available to show that these references had been verified. Full checks must be completed on references for staff members in order to establish their validity
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider has submitted evidence of the attempts made to verify the references which were for a long-standing staff member. The service commit to ensuring all references will be verified for any new staff member recruited
Regulation 16 — Record in relation to pre-school service
- (1) The following records were not maintained: (g) The Risk Management policy, which is required under Schedule 5 in accordance with Regulation 10 was not available. Documented policies are required to clearly outline the service decision making procedures on specified practice areas
Provider's corrective action:
- A risk assessment policy was developed and submitted. This will be adopted and made available with other policies
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. A plastic bag was observed on the floor of the sanitary area off the Toddler room, which was potentially accessible to the children. This posed a potential injury risk. It is acknowledged no children were observed to have unsupervised access to the sanitary area on the day. 2. Cleaning agents were observed to be stored in an unsecured low press in the preschool room. These posed a potential risk if accessed by children. It is acknowledged the safety latch on the press had broken the day of the inspection, and this had been replaced by the afternoon. 3. Trailing flexes were observed within reach of children in the Toddler room. This posed a risk of injury. 4. The accident and incident forms were not fully completed in a consistent manner. Of the 12 forms reviewed, the following was identified: • Three did not have a record of the parents acknowledging they had been informed of an incident. • Six did not have a record of the date the parent was informed of the incident. • One did not have the full details of the child’s name or details of the staff completing the form. All accident and incident forms must be completed in full in order to support effective and timely communication to provide for the care needs of children following an incident. 5. A staff member reported that a child in the care room had previously opened the fire exit door, and the push bar on the fire door was observed to be potentially accessible to children. All exit routes must be secured to restrict the movement of children. It is acknowledged that the service is in the process of fitting a gate to the bottom of the external ramp to minimise risk to the safety of children. 6. There was no bottle of fever reducing medication available on the premises, which could pose a potential risk to the safety of children should they urgently require this. Infection Control: The following increased the potential risk of infection. 7. The corner of the two couches in the toddler room were torn with foam exposed, leaving an ineffective cleaning surface. 8. There was a gap where skirting was coming away from the wall in the Toddler room, leaving an ineffective cleaning surface. 9. The foot-pedal operation of the bins used for the disposal of paper towels in the sanitary areas of the Toddler and Pre-school were not working, thereby requiring repeated hand-touch of the lid of the bin. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. The bag was immediately removed. Staff were reminded to dispose of plastic bags when sent by parents supplying nappies. 2. The service has reviewed the practice of storing cleaning agents in the room. It was discussed with staff to store them at a high level in the future, rather than in a locked press. 3. A hook was fitted in the room for the wire to be looped over. The registered provider reports that the issue was discussed with staff and they have been reminded to check that the flex is looped on the hook every morning as per the risk assessment form. 4. Management report that staff were reminded of the importance of fully completing the accident report sheets. Management will ensure that the reports will be reviewed to confirm they are completed in full. 5. Management report that the emergency door is required to be unobstructed and the push bar accessible. The materials in the area have been rearranged to distract attention from the door. Practitioners are alert to children playing in the area. A safety gate has been erected outside the emergency door so that even if the fire door is opened children can go no further without adult assistance. 6. A bottle of fever reducing medication was purchased. This is stored in a high press in the preschool room. A monthly date check/availability check for the medication has been added to the First Aid box check list. Infection Control: 7. The old sofas were temporarily restored. New sofas have been ordered and staff reminded that they need to inform the manager when furniture falls into disrepair. 8. The skirting was reattached to the wall to eliminate the gap. Staff have been reminded to report damage to surfaces when it occurs and not to leave it to worsen. 9. The bins were temporalty repaired and new bins were ordered. Staff were reminded to inform the manager when equipment breaks
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 25.