Inspection Tools and Templates

Inspection of Early Years Services

The inspection of Early Years Services in Ireland is governed by two key pieces of legislation –

• Child Care Act 1991, Section 58 as amended by Part 12 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013
• Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.1. 221 of 2016)

The Early Years Inspectorate is legally obliged to ensure that inspections are carried out regularly and with appropriate frequency in early years services in order to verify that the relevant requirements of the appropriate legislation are adhered to in full. Inspections are carried out by eight regional teams and are coordinated and managed nationally. Inspections cover four key areas; Governance, the Health Welfare & Development of Children, Safety and Premises & Facilities. At different times the focus and timings of inspection may change.

An example of a Template Inspection Notebook and an Inspection Report can be found below:

Tusla Regulatory Inspection Notebook and Report
English	Irish	English	Irish

Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA)

The Corrective and Preventive Action process is an opportunity for the service to respond to the inspection report detailing the corrective actions and preventive Actions (CAPA) undertaken to address non-compliance identified in the draft Inspection Report. The corrective and preventive actions are the defined actions necessary for the registered provider to take in order to meet the regulatory requirements.  There are two components to the Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions (CAPA) Form.

Guidance Information on completing the CAPA form with a sample CAPA can be found below to assist in completion. You can also access a eLearning course on the eLearning section of our website.

CAPA form	English | Irish
CAPA Guidance

Inspection Findings Review

Inspection Findings Review refers to the process applied if the registered provider disagrees with inspection findings as per the draft inspection report. 

If a registered provider wishes to request an Inspection Findings Review, they must complete the Inspection Findings Review Form, with evidence provided where possible and within the following timeframes:

• Review 1: Make the submission within 10 working days from issue of draft inspection report 
• Review 2: If the registered provider is unhappy with the outcome of Review 1, they have 5 working days from issue of Review 1 outcome to submit a request for review 2.

Guidance documents have been developed to explain the process to providers and are available below along with a webinar on the process. You can also download the Inspection Findings Review Form. 

A request for an Inspection Findings Review must be sent to eyi.ifr@tusla.ie. 

Request for Inspection Findings Review Form
Guidance Document: Inspection Findings Review Process
Guidance Document: Inspection Findings Review Process – One Page
Webinar on the Inspection Findings Review process

Factual Accuracy Review

Factual accuracy refers to an error in the draft inspection report, for example: number of staff members, date of inspection.

If a registered provider wishes to request a Factual Accuracy Review, they must complete the Factual Accuracy Review Form, and submit the completed form within 10 working days from issue of draft inspection report.

A request for a Factual Accuracy Review must be sent to the lead inspector who carried out the inspection to which the factual inaccuracy relates to. You can also download the Request for Factual Accuracy Review form below 

Request for Factual Accuracy Review
Factual Accuracy Guidance Document for Registered Providers