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Parents keeping their child at Limerick creche despite biting incidents
THE parents of a child who was bitten a total of eight times while at Wilmot's Childcare in Annacotty are keeping their youngster at the creche – and now have a baby in their care too.
"All the issues have been resolved and we are happy now," said the father of the child who made a complaint to the HSE
The creche, located in Annacotty Business Park, and owned by Rosemary Wilmot, was investigated by the HSE. The child had been bitten twice on the day of the complaint, May 12, 2008.
The HSE investigators reviewed CCTV footage from that day and found several areas of concern. These included the use of "punitive and inappropriate" disciplinary methods by staff, which should be stopped immediately; young children left standing up against a wall for long periods of time as a disciplinary measure; a lack supervision of children by staff; minimal interaction between staff and children; and overcrowding.
Ms Wilmot said these do not reflect the "whole picture" but acknowledged the biting incidents had occurred.
"When they took the information here in May. They didn't have the correct full information in that they made assumptions based on ages, based on rooms. For example, in our baby room you could have some under 1 and over 1.
"Based on this information that they took on the day from existing records they didn't have the age profile of the children correct. They didn't have the complete picture," said Ms Wilmot. Referring to overcrowding, Ms Wilmot said that in the report it said the capacity was 110 in May.
They came in October and then they agreed the capacity was 138 with just five new places added, she said.
"The use of 'punitive and inappropriate disciplinary methods by staff'. People don't know what that is – a child was left on time-out for too long and it shouldn't have happened. Don't get me wrong, staff were disciplined. Agreed procedures were a minute per age but they left them too long, they got distracted in dealing with it," said Ms Wilmot, who was named the Shell LiveWire Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002, shortly after setting up the creche.
The HSE say they are standing over the findings of the report. In a statement issued this Tuesday the HSE said they used the attendance records of the crche going back a number of months in the assessments.
"The provider subsequently challenged this. It is our practice to use existing records to review attendance. Inspections are based on what is available on the day," the statement reads.
The HSE say that they have received co-operation and have had a positive dialogue with the owner/manager of the service.
"Advice has been regularly sought by the provider to ensure compliance with the Preschool Regulations, and additional inspections have been sought by the provider to ensure that she is achieving recommended standards. The HSE recognises the commitment of this service to achieving full compliance with the regulations," the statement concludes.
Ms Wilmot, who was away during the investigation, said they have had a lot of support from parents since the report was revealed by the Irish Independent. "They haven't seen what was reflected in the report. It doesn't reflect what goes on behind closed doors," she said.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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