Few responsibilities in early years care carry as much weight as keeping sleeping babies and toddlers safe. A clear, well written safe sleep policy childcare Ireland settings can rely on protects children, reassures parents, and gives your team a consistent standard to follow every single day, regardless of who is on shift.
This guide walks through what belongs in your policy, what Tusla expects to see, and how to turn general safe sleep principles into a working, documented procedure for your setting.
Why a Safe Sleep Policy Matters
Babies and toddlers spend a significant part of their day asleep while in your care, often in a room with several other children and a rotating team of staff. Without a clear policy, safe sleep practice can vary from person to person, which increases risk. A strong policy removes that variation. It sets out exactly how sleep spaces should be arranged, how often children should be checked, and what equipment is and is not permitted, so that every staff member, from the most experienced room leader to a new team member on their first week, follows the same standard.
Beyond the safety case, a documented policy is also a core expectation of Tusla's Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF) and something inspectors will look for directly, particularly in settings caring for children under 24 months.
The Legal and Regulatory Background
Sleep provision in Irish early years settings is governed by the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, and interpreted in detail through Tusla's Guidance for the Early Learning and Care Sector on Sleep Provision for Children under 2 Years, published in August 2023. This is the sleep policy Tusla requirement that every service caring for children under 24 months should be working from, alongside the wider Quality and Regulatory Framework.
The guidance is specific rather than vague. It sets out requirements for cots and floor beds, supervision frequency, room conditions and how to manage a transition from a cot to a floor bed safely. Building your policy directly around this guidance, rather than a generic template, is the surest way to meet what inspectors expect to see.
Safe Sleep Guidelines Creche Staff Should Follow Every Day
Certain principles apply in every setting, regardless of the age group or room layout:
- Back to sleep, every time. Babies should always be placed on their backs to sleep, since this is consistently associated with a lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Correct room temperature. Current guidance sets a recommended room temperature of 16 to 20 degrees Celsius for babies under 12 months, and 18 to 22 degrees Celsius for children over 12 months.
- Appropriate sleepwear. Sleep bags should be low tog, sleeveless and hoodless, sized correctly for the child, with no loose bedding, pillows, bumpers or soft toys in the cot.
- A clear, uncluttered sleep space. Cots and floor beds should be positioned so staff have a clear line of sight, with nothing obstructing observation.
- Consistency across the team. Every staff member, not just those regularly assigned to the baby room, should know and follow the same procedure.
Cots, Floor Beds and Sleep Equipment: What Tusla's Guidance Says
Tusla's 2023 guidance is clear that children under 12 months must have access to a cot, and that all sleep equipment must meet recognised EU safety standards. A transition from a cot to a floor bed can only be considered from around 15 months of age, and only where a child is showing genuine developmental signs of readiness, such as climbing out of a cot or already having transitioned at home.
Before any transition, services must complete a full risk assessment, obtain written parental agreement, and ensure the floor bed itself has a firm, correctly fitted mattress placed on a clean floor with a minimum of 50 centimetres of clear space on all sides for infection control, safety and supervision. Where children sleep on floor beds, in room supervision must be maintained at all times, not just periodic checks from the doorway.
Children born prematurely, before 32 weeks' gestation, are corrected for gestational age up to their second birthday and are generally recommended to remain in cots unless a specific risk assessment indicates otherwise.
SIDS Prevention in Early Years Settings
While SIDS prevention early years practice draws on the same core principles used in the home, such as back sleeping and a smoke free, clutter free sleep space, a childcare setting carries the added responsibility of consistent practice across multiple staff and multiple children. Practical prevention measures your policy should reflect include:
- Never leaving a bottle or feeding cup with a child to self settle unsupervised.
- Checking that any comforter brought from home, such as a soother, meets your setting's safety criteria before it goes into the cot.
- Avoiding overheating by dressing children appropriately for the room temperature rather than adding extra blankets.
- Ensuring new staff and students receive safe sleep induction training before they are left unsupervised with sleeping children.
Building a Safe Sleep Risk Assessment
A safe sleep risk assessment childcare teams can rely on should be treated as a living document, not a form completed once and filed away. At minimum it should identify hazards specific to your sleep room, such as cot spacing, temperature control, staff sightlines and equipment condition, and set out the control measures in place for each. If your service is developing risk assessments for the first time, our guide on how to write a risk assessment for your creche walks through the process step by step, including a free template structure you can adapt directly for a sleep specific assessment.
Writing Your Infant Sleep Procedure Step by Step
Once your policy sets out the principles, your infant sleep procedure Ireland services need should translate them into a clear, repeatable sequence for staff:
- Before sleep. Check the room temperature, confirm the cot or floor bed is set up correctly with appropriate sleepwear, and record the child going down to sleep along with the time.
- During sleep. Carry out and document physical observation checks at regular, defined intervals, positioning yourself so you always have a clear view of every sleeping child.
- On waking. Record the time the child wakes, note anything unusual observed during sleep, and communicate relevant details to parents at collection.
- In an emergency. Set out clearly who responds first if a child is found unresponsive, what the immediate steps are, and who contacts emergency services and the child's parents.
Writing this down in full, rather than relying on informal habit, is what turns good intentions into a procedure that holds up under scrutiny, whether that scrutiny comes from a new staff member's questions or a Tusla inspector's file review.
Supervision and Observation Checks
Consistent, documented observation is one of the areas inspectors focus on most closely. Checks should be carried out and logged at regular, defined intervals rather than left to individual judgement, and where floor beds are in use, full in room supervision is required throughout the sleep period. A simple, clearly laid out sleep record sheet, kept beside the cot or floor bed area, makes this easy to maintain consistently even during a busy shift.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Some of the most frequent issues found during inspections are avoidable with better documentation and training. These include sleep policies that have not been updated since before the 2023 Tusla guidance, floor bed transitions carried out without a documented risk assessment or parental agreement, sleep areas cluttered with soft toys or loose bedding, and observation records with gaps or vague entries. Reviewing your policy and your team's actual daily practice side by side, rather than assuming the two match, is the best way to catch these gaps early.
FAQ
At what age can a child move from a cot to a floor bed?
Generally from around 15 months, and only where the child shows clear developmental readiness, parental agreement is obtained, and a full risk assessment has been completed.
How often should sleep observation checks be recorded?
Checks should be carried out and documented at regular, defined intervals in line with your service's own safe sleep policy and Tusla's guidance note on the subject.
What temperature should a baby's sleep room be?
Current guidance recommends 16 to 20 degrees Celsius for babies under 12 months, and 18 to 22 degrees Celsius for children over 12 months.
Can comforters or soothers be used during sleep?
Many settings allow a soother during sleep as it is associated with reduced SIDS risk, but soft toys, loose comforters and bulky items should be avoided in the cot itself.
Does every early years service need a safe sleep policy?
Any service caring for children under 24 months should have one, since it is a specific expectation under Tusla's Quality and Regulatory Framework.
Final Thoughts
A safe sleep policy is not paperwork for its own sake. It is one of the most direct ways your service protects the children in its care and gives parents genuine confidence in your practice. Building your policy around Tusla's 2023 guidance, training every member of staff consistently, and keeping your risk assessment and observation records current will keep your setting both safe and inspection ready. If you would rather adapt a ready made policy than start from scratch, our Safe Sleep Policy and full Sleep Area Pack are built specifically around this guidance and ready to tailor to your setting.
