The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published two inspection reports on children’s residential centres operated by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in the South and Dublin Mid Leinster regions.

HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under Section 69 of the Child Care Act, 1991 as amended by Section 26 of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011, to inspect children’s residential care services provided by Tusla. HIQA monitors Tusla’s performance against the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres and advises the Minister and Tusla. HIQA conducted these unannounced inspections in January 2024.

The unannounced inspections primarily focused on the leadership and management of the centres and how effective Tusla was in ensuring that a good quality and safe service was being provided to children. Additionally, they focused on the care and support children received and how children’s rights were promoted and realised.

12 standards were assessed in the centre in the South. Two standards were found to be compliant, five were substantially compliant and five were not compliant. These findings marked a deterioration in the performance of the centre since the last inspection. Significant improvements were required in the management, governance and oversight of the service. The inspection found that staff were not receiving supervision. There was no formal process for the evaluation of staff practice and the management of staff performance. Oversight of mandatory training was not well managed and several staff did not have up-to-date training in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017). The system for the identification and management of risk required strengthening. Service audits lacked action plans and there was a need for increased oversight of these. In addition, staffing levels fell below what was required and, as a result, the centre had to rely on agency staff, or on existing staff to work additional hours.  

Despite this, children were well cared for in the centre. They were treated with dignity and respect and supported to make choices and express their views. Relationships with family and friends were promoted. Children were provided with opportunities for the development of life skills and personal independence. All children were in full-time education and had their health needs met. Improvements were required in relation to information management and the admissions process. Some children’s files were missing key documents such as care plans, and the centre register was not up to date.

The inspection of the centre in Dublin Mid Leinster assessed eleven national standards and, of these, eight were compliant and three were substantially compliant. There had been a number of changes to the management and staff of the centre in recent years, which impacted on the consistent leadership, governance and stability of the service. The centre did not have a centre manager in place at the time of inspection and alternative management arrangements were in place. The centre had a core staff group and a consistent deputy regional manager who were committed to the young people; however, three staff were due to leave their posts at the end of February 2024. The deputy regional manager and the centre management had developed a management strategy plan for 2024. They had good oversight of risk management, and there was an up-to-date safety statement. However, supervision was not in line with the provider’s policy and appraisals were not taking place in line with the national standards. Records of team meetings required improvement, as well as ensuring a team-based approach to working through regular team meetings, reflective learning and effective communication. The young people’s care records were up to date and of good quality.

The provider promoted and protected the health, wellbeing and development of young people living in the centre. All young people were supported and enabled to develop skills in preparation for leaving care. There was a strengths-based and individualised approach to education and training with young people which maximised their strengths and abilities. The centre staff had a positive approach to the management of challenging behaviours. Young people were safeguarded from abuse and their safety was protected and promoted. All child protection concerns were appropriately reported, recorded and followed up on.

Following the inspection, the provider submitted satisfactory compliance plans to address the issues identified during the inspections. The inspection reports and compliance plans can be found from the link below.