Safeguarding & compliance
How we are registered, inspected and held to account
Tusla registration and inspection
The Register of Early Years Services lists every registered service, the type of service, the number of children it can accommodate and the age profile. We are registered as a full day care, part-time day care and sessional service for 62 children aged 6 months to school age, with a separate school-age club. Tusla registration number shown on request — demonstration site.
Tusla is legally obliged to inspect services regularly and all inspection reports are published on the Tusla website. You can look up any service, including ours, before you ever ring them. You are also welcome to ask us directly for our latest report — we will hand you a copy, not a summary.
Tusla early years inspection reports and register
Services must meet the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, covering health and welfare, first aid, adult:child and space ratios, behaviour management, the register of children, information for parents, premises, safety, food and drink, insurance, and management and staffing. Tusla's Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF) supports compliance.
Child safeguarding
Our Child Safeguarding Statement is displayed in the entrance hall and is available on request. It is written under the Children First Act 2015 and sets out the risks we have identified and the procedures that manage them.
Our Designated Liaison Person is Aoife Brennan, owner and manager. She is the person to whom any child protection concern is reported, and the person who makes a report to Tusla where the threshold is met. Concerns can be raised with her in person, by phone on 056 000 0000 or by email to hello@glemara-demo.ie. You do not need to be certain before you speak to us.
Corporal punishment is prohibited. Our managing behaviour policy is positive, age appropriate and written down, and it is one of the policies we go through with you at enrolment.
Garda vetting and qualifications
All staff, students and volunteers with access to children are Garda vetted before they begin. Anyone working with pre-school children must hold an appropriate qualification from the Department's list of recognised qualifications, and we keep evidence of every qualification on file.
A person trained in first aid for children is available at all times. Parents must be given information about the person in charge and staff, the adult:child ratios, the age range, the type of care and facilities, opening hours and fees, and the service's policies — all of which is either on this website or in the parent handbook we give you on your first settling visit.
Our policies
Every policy below is available on request and displayed or held in the entrance hall. We go through the ones you'll use most at enrolment rather than handing you a folder.
- Managing behaviour
- Authorisation to collect a child
- Fire safety and evacuation
- Administration of medication
- Infection control and exclusion
- Safe sleep
- Complaints
- Admissions
- Child safeguarding statement
- Healthy eating and allergens
- Outings and outdoor play
- Data protection, photography and video
Adult:child ratios and floor space
These are set out in Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. They are legal minimums. We roster above them at drop-off, mealtimes and collection.
Full day care or part-time day care
| Age | Adults : children | Floor area per child |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 year | 1 : 3 | 3.5 sq m |
| 1–2 years | 1 : 5 | 2.8 sq m |
| 2–3 years | 1 : 6 | 2.35 sq m |
| 3–6 years | 1 : 8 | 2.3 sq m |
Sessional services (up to 3.5 hours)
| Age | Adults : children | Floor area per child |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 year | 1 : 3 | 1.818 sq m, max 22 per room |
| 1–2.5 years | 1 : 5 | 1.818 sq m, max 22 per room |
| 2.5–6 years | 1 : 11 | 1.818 sq m, max 22 per room |
School-age childcare: minimum of one adult for every twelve children. Full day care settings must have two adults on the premises at all times.
Insurance, first aid and the register of children
Children must be adequately insured against injury while attending, and our certificate of insurance is displayed in the entrance hall. A person trained in first aid for children is on the premises at all times and our first aid kits are checked monthly.
We keep a register of children as required by the Regulations, recording each child's details, attendance, contacts and authorisations to collect. Records are kept securely and only for as long as we are required to keep them — see our Privacy & Cookies page for the detail.
Legislation and oversight
We operate under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 and Tusla's Quality and Regulatory Framework. Policy responsibility for the sector sits with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Child protection reporting is governed by the Children First Act 2015.