Happy Days Nursery & Pre-School Weston-Super-Mare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff plan the curriculum effectively so that children are eager to join in with the exciting activities. They enable children to become active learners, choosing whether they prefer to be indoors or outdoors. For example, babies crawl outside onto soft surfacing, and under constant supervision, they take safe risks, crawling up a low ramp and down the other side. Mobile children excitedly experiment with finding out which travels fastest down a ramp out of toy animals, cars or water. Staff use a book to show older children yoga poses, then they demonstrate and explain what to do, teaching children concentration, control and balance, as well as developing their awareness that they can use books for information.

Caring, gentle staff welcome children with a smile, and children settle quickly and are emotionally secure. Children develop a positive attitude to learning and, overall, behave well. Staff help them to learn through trial and error, supporting their problem-solving skills, as well as their resilience to setbacks. Children develop in confidence because staff focus on them becoming increasingly independent throughout the nursery, such as pouring their drinks, peeling fruit and putting on their boots. By pre-school, children serve their own meals and take themselves to the toilet. This prepares them well for school.

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

• The strong leadership team provides good support for staff, ensuring that they receive regular training, mentoring and guidance. Staff confirm that recent appointments in senior staff has had a beneficial effect, and they feel valued and supported. Leaders implement robust induction procedures, enabling staff to gain a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The quality team is regularly at the setting during this time of transition, providing additional support.
• Staff know their key children. They identify their interests and follow their lead. For example, when children start singing and performing, they introduce instruments to extend their ideas. However, arrangements to share information across the staff team are not embedded. For example, when a key person is absent, other staff do not know the intent and focus to be able to challenge and extend some children's individual learning needs.
• Staff plan well. They understand the learning intentions of activities and use children's interests to motivate them, such as learning the life cycle of a caterpillar. Older toddlers strengthen their hands with squashing and rolling dough, ready for later writing skills and developing their good imagination. Children eagerly enjoy number rhymes and use mathematical language in their play.
• Staff implement the curriculum for children's communication and language development well. Those supporting the babies have had training to use sign with singing, which they implement daily, reinforcing the signs and words during daily routines. Staff use stories and repetition to help all children remember more. They introduce new vocabulary and check children's understanding, such as what a volcano is, giving them plenty of time to think and respond. However, on occasions, noise levels in the older children's rooms sometimes prevent them from hearing and joining in with conversations.
• Leaders are monitoring the practices for promoting children's health, and they provide parents with good information on establishing children's independence in toileting. Staff follow good hygiene procedures and provide effective support for young children who are potty training. Children enjoy nutritional meals and snacks and know to drink plenty of water to keep healthy.
• Children listen and respond well to staff. Staff support them effectively in starting to understand their emotions. However, not all staff implement the setting's behaviour management strategies consistently, meaning children do not always receive clear messages to help them learn to resolve conflict for themselves.
• Leaders and staff establish good partnerships with parents. They share important information to help staff meet children's individual needs and support development at home. Parents confirm how well their children are progressing, especially in their language and social skills. Those responsible for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities work well with outside agencies and schools. This ensures that all children have a smooth transition to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the sharing of information between staff so that they fully understand the curriculum intent for individual children, and implement it consistently to challenge and extend children's learning to the highest level
• improve noise levels in the older children's rooms to enable them to hear and join in conversations more effectively
• focus staff development on consistently implementing the agreed behaviour management strategies to support children in understanding expectations and help older children in resolving conflict for themselves.