Happy Days Club & Nursery School Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are highly attentive to the individual needs of children, carefully considering what they need to thrive. For example, they encourage those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to arrive early. This allows them extra time to settle before their peers. By thoroughly reviewing accident reports, staff skilfully identify patterns and plan activities to strengthen children's physical skills, reducing the likelihood of future accidents. This reflects a proactive approach to children's safety and development.

Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to creating a supportive and engaging environment. For example, they carefully plan activities that broaden children's experiences and deepen their understanding of familiar stories. They thoughtfully select resources and equipment based on close observation of children's interactions, such as introducing weighted blankets to promote children's well-being and focus. Staff deeply respect children, ensuring that they feel valued and heard. For instance, they encourage open discussions about feelings by asking children, 'Is there anything you would like to talk about?' Staff purposefully select books and provide innovative mark-making activities to help children to consider how different experiences make them feel. They respond promptly to children's comments, offering comfort, such as rubbing their back, and provide one-on-one attention to those who need extra time to express themselves. This nurturing approach fosters emotional security and trust.

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

• Staff collaborate exceptionally well across both rooms to support children's ongoing development. They have established shared curriculum goals, ensuring a focus on the essential skills that children need to succeed at each stage of learning. Through meaningful praise, staff boost children's confidence and enrich their experiences.
• Children with SEND receive the same outstanding opportunities as their peers. For example, they engage in a cutting activity where they independently use a knife to slice a courgette. Tailored support, including one-to-one assistance, visual aids and sensory resources, further enhance children's learning and participation.
• Staff enthusiastically reflect on their own continuous professional development, recognising the significant progress they have made over time. Passionate and well supported in their roles, they consistently plan ways to enhance the provision, demonstrating their responsiveness to the evolving needs of children.
• Leaders ensure that professional development opportunities are thoughtfully tailored to meet the specific needs of both staff and children. For example, various training opportunities have helped staff to expertly support children's emotional regulation. Inset days feature guest professionals, such as a teacher of the deaf, to enhance staff's understanding of specialised needs. Leaders participate in parenting courses, enabling them to offer families practical strategies to further support children's development at home.
• Staff build highly effective relationships with parents through regular communication, encouraging their active involvement in their children's learning. For example, they organise opportunities such as parents' evenings and events that aim to help parents to understand how activities prepare children for school. Staff tailor the information they share based on families' specific needs, offering guidance on local walk-in centres, autism awareness, and safeguarding. Parents feel highly supported and praise the exceptional strategies they have learned from staff.
• Staff demonstrate exceptional dedication to ensuring a smooth transition to school. For instance, they liaise effectively with teachers to ensure consistency in children's learning. Staff integrate school-based activities into the curriculum, helping children to become more familiar with the experiences they will encounter at school. Parents highly praise staff for their creative ways of developing boys' writing skills. They recognise how effective teaching significantly contributes to their children's school readiness.
• Group times are highly effective, with children of all ages consistently engaged. Staff read familiar stories, use picture cards to teach prepositions and incorporate memory games; all of which encourage children's active participation. For example, staff encourage children to identify rhyming words in a story, such as 'dog' and 'log'. This supports children's phonological awareness.
• Mealtimes offer a valuable opportunity for children to engage in meaningful conversations with staff and peers. They discuss topics, such as where their food comes from, allergies, healthy food choices and the importance of brushing their teeth. These discussions deepen children's understanding of nutrition, health and their environment, while strengthening their already excellent communication skills.
• Staff nurture children's independence by encouraging them to take ownership of their daily routines, such as putting on their own coats, using the toilet and washing their hands. They promote critical thinking and problem-solving, offering children guidance when necessary, such as giving them helpful hints on how to peel an orange. This helps children to build confidence in their abilities, fostering a sense of accomplishment.
• Parents and carers greatly appreciate how all children have full access to an education. They recognise that staff use advice and guidance from external professionals and allocate funding 'perfectly' to meet children's needs.