Happy Days Childcare Services

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's emotional well-being is supported by staff as they settle quickly into their play and learning. Staff greet children enthusiastically when parents hand them over at the nursery door, and they gather much information from parents about each child. Children explore a varied range of activities and experiences according to their interests, ages and abilities. Staff know their children well and plan and implement a curriculum to help children build on their skills and gain new knowledge. For example, babies practise their walking and crawling skills safely due to the effective support provided by the staff who work with them.

Children's communication and language development is supported very well. Staff working with babies and young children introduce sign language as one way to help build on their communication skills. Older children use language confidently to tell visitors what they are making during their imaginative role play. Children understand what staff expect of them and behave well. Staff help children to share toys and take turns. Older children, with appropriate guidance from staff, hand out flannels to their friends to help promote their health and independence skills. Children learn how to wash their hands and face after eating as one way to keep clean.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The staff team works effectively with other agencies to support the individual needs of children who require extra support, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work sensitively with parents, and effective strategies are in place to accommodate what children need in order to thrive at the nursery.
• Staff who work with babies are attentive and sensitive to babies' individual needs and routines. They interact and engage with babies effectively. Babies thrive in their learning environment and particularly enjoy singing time. Babies bob up and down and clap to the songs sung by the staff.
• Staff help babies to develop their range of vocabulary well. For example, during a messy play activity, children explore small-world animals and white yoghurt, and staff introduce words such as ice and stomp. Babies attempt to repeat these words as they bang the animals in the yoghurt.
• Staff help older children to develop their imaginative skills. They provide a range of real vegetables and pretend food for children to access. Children excitedly pretend to make soup and encourage visitors to try and taste the pretend ingredients. Children extend their own play and introduce new ingredients for visitors to try.
• The manager/owner understands and values the importance of staff supervision as one way to enhance their professional development and improve the outcomes for children. However, sometimes, supervision, coaching and support are not effective in ensuring all staff understand how to implement the manager's vision of an effective curriculum. For example, staff who work with younger children do not engage and interact as well as their staff peers do to ensure the learning intentions for these children are supported and met.
• Overall, staff plan activities that build on the interests of children and support what they enjoy playing with. However, staff who work with younger children do not give enough consideration to what they want each child to learn next. This means that, sometimes, play is not planned specifically or tailored to individual children's next steps in learning. As a result, younger children do not benefit from activities and experiences that will enhance their development or help them to remain focused in their play.
• All staff, including the management team, work closely with parents to ensure partnerships are effective. Staff share and exchange information with parents through various methods in a safe and secure way. Parents comment about how well their children settle and how their children are being supported by the attentive staff team.
• Staff ensure that, from a young age, children learn to be independent and develop good social skills. They use positive words of encouragement to help build on children's confidence and self-esteem. For example, staff encourage and praise older children as they put on and take off their coats by themselves.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the ongoing coaching and support for staff to develop interactions with children and overall teaching skills
• help staff to tailor and plan more precise activities and experiences to support younger children's individual learning intent and needs.