As a parent or guardian, choosing an early year’s childcare service for your child is often one of the first and possibly one of the most significant decisions you will make. It is important therefor that you are confident that the early years’ service which you choose for your baby or young child is a safe and nurturing place, where your child will grow and develop to his or her full potential.
Tusla Early Years Inspectorate is committed to clearly communicating with parents in relation to what they should look for when choosing a Tusla Registered Early Years’ service.
The following tips may guide you
1.Read the last published report for the Early Years setting on the Tusla website
The best way to learn more about the Early Years Childcare service that you are enquiring about is to firstly; Read the last published Tusla Early Years inspection report for the Early Years’ service on the Tusla website. On reading a Tusla Early Years inspection report it is important to note that the report on the Tusla website is the last published report for the Early Years’ service.
Guide to understanding the contents of a Tusla early years inspection report
2.Make an appointment to visit the Early Years Setting
Make an appointment to visit the Early Years Childcare Service. Visits to Early Years services are best scheduled when the service is in operation. When arranging the visit to the childcare service, ask the provider if the Early Years’ service report on the Tusla website is the most recent Inspection report for the service.
If the published report on the Tusla website is not the most recent report, ask the provider when their last Tusla inspection took place and if there were any areas of concern identified by the Tusla Early Years inspectors on the day of inspection, you can also request to see a copy of the draft report for this most recent inspection.
3.Before visiting the setting read the following guidelines
Before visiting the Early Years’ Service you might like to read tips for parents when choosing an Early Years’ service. Click here to read what a parent should expect from an Early Years’ service.
4.Prepare a number of questions you wish to ask on the day of the visit to the early years setting
Having read the guidelines above, it may be useful to prepare a number of questions that you wish to ask the early Years’ service provider on the day you visit the service.
5.On arrival at the setting, request to see the Tusla certificate of registration for the Early Years setting
On arrival at the Early Years’ service, it is advisable to request to see confirmation that the service is registered with Tusla.
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