Tusla Inspection: What Actually Happens on the Day
Last updated: July 2026
Tusla Early Years inspections are usually unannounced. This is what the day itself looks like: who arrives, what they ask for first, and where services most often get caught out.
How the day typically runs
- Arrival. Inspectors identify themselves to the Person in Charge and usually begin with a walk-through while the service is operating.
- Observation. Ratios in each room, interactions, sleep and meal routines, and the condition of the premises.
- Records review. Staff files, child records, attendance, policies, incident logs, and fire and safety checks against the 2016 Regulations.
- Feedback. Verbal feedback on the day, then a draft report. Non-compliances need a corrective action plan.
The records they ask for first
- Staff files. Garda vetting dated before the start date, qualifications, references, and Children First records.
- Attendance registers. Children's and staff arrival and departure times, cross-checked against the ratios they observed.
- Child records. Enrolment, emergency contacts, consents, medical information, and incident logs.
- Policies. The set required under the regulations, with evidence staff have read them.
- Safety records. Fire drills, equipment checks, sleep monitoring, and risk assessments.
Where services most often get caught out
- Ratios met on paper but breached during breaks and transition times. See ratios during breaks and lunches and the full Tusla ratios guide.
- A Garda vetting disclosure or First Aid cert that expired months ago.
- Incident logs that exist but are not categorised or reviewed.
- Policies last reviewed years ago, with no record that current staff have seen them.
- The Person in Charge counted in ratios while doing admin in the office.
Run the free Tusla inspection readiness check before the next visit.