Inspection of 31 October 2024 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider on 31 October 2024 in relation to non- compliance found in relation to regulation 25 first aid. It is acknowledged that the manager issued a response on the 4 November 2024 with plans and evidence on how the service proposed to address the immediate action issued on the day of inspection.
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- There were four staff employed in the service who had 8 references available on file that were not validated. All staff working directly with children are required to have two written and validated references available on file in the service prior to commencing working directly with the children
- There were three staff employed in the service who had one written reference available on file when two are required. The references on file for these staff members were not validated
- The inspector was not assured that staff were provided with appropriate information, training and supervision
- New staff were not provided with an induction when commencing work in the service. A staff member advised that they were not given a copy of the services policies, procedures, and practices
- Staff did not have regular one to one/supervisory meetings with the manager
- Staff advised regular staff meetings were not held. Agendas were not set, and minutes shared with staff as is best practice in meetings in a preschool service
Provider's corrective action:
- 1.2. All written and validated references are now available on file in the service. The manager will ensure all required written and validated references are available on file in the service prior to staff commencing work in the service
- New staff receive an induction from the manager of the service. They are introduced to the current staff and learn from them. The policies and procedures in place are available for staff in the service. 2.3 Staff have regular 1 to 1 supervision meetings with the manager. The manager has meetings in the rooms with the staff and any issues arising are dealt with then
Regulation 17 — Information for parents
- There was no information handbook for parents of children proposing to attend the service. The service did not provide parents with information as required under regulation. The registered provider is required to provide an outline of the curriculum, the hours of operation, the funding schemes available, contact details, the facilities available within the service, information on the day-to-day requirements and running of the service: healthy eating, medication management, behaviour management, complaints, fire safety and first aid
Provider's corrective action:
- The information booklet will be given to all parents and kept in the rooms for staff to reference
Regulation 19 — Health, welfare and development of child
- The outdoor play area to the front of the service needed to be further developed for the play and stimulation of the children attending. For example, there were limited areas of interest, ride on toys or open-ended toys to develop the free play and imagination of the children
- The inspector was concerned in relation to the use of screen time in the service during transitions. For example, after lunch the children were observed watching a cartoon and later again in the afternoon. The use of screen time in early years services is not encouraged as a behaviour management tool. Soothing and calming children is best achieved by a balance of listening to the child, helping them to communicate their needs and ensuring the service has provided the correct physical environment for the child
Provider's corrective action:
- The management of the service is in the process of reviewing the outdoor area to the front of the service
- Staff are now aware they are not to use screen time in managing behaviours in the service
Regulation 22 — Food and drink
- Parents provided all snacks and hot meals for the children attending the service. While the service has a healthy eating policy, some of the food observed on inspection did not meet the requirements for children attending a preschool service, for example:
- Many of the children were observed having snacks which were high in sugar, for example chocolate spread sandwiches for their morning snack
- A child who was 18 months old was observed drinking juice from a bottle. This practice is contraindicated for tooth decay in young children
- Children in the creche room were given juice to drink throughout the day of inspection from beakers provided by their parents
- Some of the hot meals did not provide adequate nutritional balance and were highly processed, for example one child ate a meal of noodles and sausage. Another child had pasta and cheese which was reheated in the microwave as their main meal of the day. Children attending a full day care service are required to be provided with a hot meal. This meal should consist of foods from at least three food groups. For example, rice/potato /pasta, a vegetable or salad, and a protein meat, fish or beans. The main meals observed on the day of inspection did not meet this requirement
- There was no evidence available to demonstrate that the service had communicated the nutritional requirements and healthy eating policy to parents
Provider's corrective action:
- Foods high in sugar are now put back in the children’s lunch boxes and not given to them to eat in the service
- Parents have been informed that children will only be given milk or water to drink from bottles going forward
- Juice will no longer be provided for children in the service. 4.5 Parents have been informed the standard of food provided on the day of inspection did not meet the standard required. Parents have been informed of the standard of food required and have been provided with information leaflets which outline the standard required. The service will keep a supply of food in the service to give to children if their snack or meal is not sufficient to meet their nutritional requirements
Regulation 25 — First aid
- There was no evidence that there was a staff member trained in a first aid responder course employed in the service on the day of inspection. An immediate action notice was issued to the registered provider on the day of inspection. It is acknowledged that the inspector received a response on the 4 November 2024 outlining the steps the registered provider proposed to take to address the non-compliance found. The manager has submitted evidence that three staff employed in the service have been booked to do a first aid responder course during the months of December and November 2024 It is acknowledged that the registered provider submitted evidence of first aid training for two staff in response to the immediate action notice. However, the training undertaken does not meet the required standard of First Aid Responder (FAR) training
Provider's corrective action:
- Three staff have attended training in a First Aid Responder course since the inspection
Found compliant: Regulation 10, 11, 15, 23, 26, 28.