Just three inspectors for 311 childcare providers across Galway

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN THERE are just three people to carry out inspections for the 311 childminders, creches and pre-school services operating in Galway city and county. Just over 180 routine inspections were carried out by HSE pre-school services last year in Galway and there were 22 follow-up visits. It has also been confirmed that 30 complaints were made about childcare services in Co Galway last year. Yesterday (Tuesday) representatives from the HSE and Galway City and County Childcare Committee (GCCC) met to discuss implementing a plan to better support childcare committees, managers and staff as well as parents who avail of local childcare services. â€ËœVery stretchedâ€â„¢ Mary Giblin, co-ordinator of GCCC says there arenâ€â„¢t enough staff to carry out childcare inspections in Galway. â€Å“It is very stretched. Itâ€â„¢s not just carrying out inspections, there are reports, follow-ups and complaints to attend to,â€Â she told The Herald. Providers are only notified of the first inspection and thereafter inspections are unannounced. Mary Giblin stressed that the inspection process is very detailed and lengthy. She has welcomed the promised compulsory registration of childcare services, which has followed the recent investigation into creches. â€Å“We have been calling for compulsory registration for a number of years and it is something childminders have also been asking for. â€Å“Parents need to know that there is always someone to contact if they have any concern about childcare, both in the HSE and the Galway childcare committee,â€Â said Mary Giblin. She stressed that it was vital that those taking care of children, from childminders to larger creches, all be registered properly in the future. â€Å“Not all creches are like those highlighted recently. There are a high number of very high quality services meeting the needs of parents and children in Galway and some have earned national quality awards,â€Â she said. Last year 30 complaints about different childcare providers operating in the city and county were made. HSE family services and GCCC take complaints very seriously and a protocol is in place to deal with these. Any alleged breach of regulations is referred to the HSE while other queries are mostly dealt with by the GCCC. â€Å“We are working together and will be more stringent and more robust in our approach to helping support staff and parents,â€Â added Mary Giblin. The HSE and GCCC are jointly hosting an information day for childcare managers on June 18 and a similar event is planned for parents in September. Mary Giblin is encouraging all childcare providers to make their most recent HSE inspection report available to parents who request to see it and to have a copy of it on display on the premises. Inspection reports are due to be published online in the coming weeks. Parents, ask questions Parents, she pointed out, shouldnâ€â„¢t feel uncomfortable asking questions of their childcare provider and she encouraged them to visit premises and ensure they have all the necessary information they need. She hoped recent events made the Department more aware of the value of accredited training and she hopes funding will also be made available for ongoing staff training to ensure skills are maintained and added to. The Galway City and County Childcare Committee has a guide to help parents when choosing childcare and this is available to download from their website www.galwaychildcare.ie. Further information is available from HSE West Pre-school Services at 091-771928 or Galway City and County Childcare Committee at 091-752039.