Happy Days Nursery Exeter

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and immediately settle into playing at this welcoming nursery. They make good friendships with other children and enjoy spending time playing alongside them. Children develop equally warm relationships with the kind and caring staff. Staff are knowledgeable and have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They provide children with a wide range of learning opportunities as part of a rich and varied curriculum. They quickly recognise when children might need extra help and arrange for them to receive appropriate support in the nursery and from other professionals.

Children are excited by their learning. They delight as they use their imagination while playing with play dough. They use garlic presses to carefully make 'worms' to put on their imaginary pizzas. Staff make good links to children's prior learning as they play, such as reminding them of the herbs they grow together. Staff help younger children experiment with adding flour to their play dough to see how they can change its consistency. Children become immersed in their play and concentrate for extended periods.

Staff promote early literacy skills and vocabulary development particularly well. Children learn to listen to individual sounds and blend them to make words to support their early reading skills. Staff help children to develop a love of stories, including by encouraging children and their families to take part in the nursery's 'awe and wonder book club'.

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

• Leaders have a clear vision for what and how they want children to learn. They carefully consider how to adapt the curriculum to make it accessible for all children. For instance, to support children who learn English as an additional language, they ensure staff know key words in children's home languages to aid effective communication.
• Children spend much of their day learning through music. Staff provide frequent group singing activities to help children become more confident communicators. Children participate in these sessions with great enthusiasm and demonstrate a genuine love for music from a very young age. Children learn the words and actions to a wide range of nursery rhymes and demonstrate very good skills in playing simple musical instruments, such as small drums, bells and xylophones.
• On the whole, staff promote children's mathematical development well. For instance, they help children to learn about counting through singing. However, staff do not consistently support children to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts during free play activities and do not always extend their knowledge.
• Staff promote children's physical development very well. They provide frequent opportunities for children to develop their small muscle skills, such as through squeezing wet sponges. Children demonstrate good control when mark making as they play. For instance, they concentrate as they use chalk to draw around their own and other's feet as they learn in the outdoor area.
• Staff help children to learn to keep themselves healthy. Children learn the importance of wearing hats and putting on sun cream to protect them from the sun when playing outdoors. Staff build well on children's understanding of helping to keep cool during the hot weather, including explaining the importance of regularly drinking water and staying in the shade.
• Overall, staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and conduct. They support children to learn how to recognise their emotions and build well on their understanding as they get older. However, at times, staff do not apply the behaviour expectations consistently and children are unclear on what is acceptable and what is not. At these times, children can find it difficult to regulate their behaviour, which can cause other children to become upset.
• Leaders regularly assess the effectiveness of the nursery to help ensure children make the best possible progress. For instance, they have recently conducted an audit of the support they provide to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders respond well to any areas for development, such as through providing additional staff training.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff share information on children's progress through both daily discussions and regular written feedback. Parents comment how they particularly appreciate the suggestions staff give them to help support their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help children to consolidate their mathematical knowledge during their free play to support their understanding even further
• support children more consistently to regulate their behaviour and understand the impact of their actions on others.