Happy Days Penair

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this exceptional nursery. They thrive as they explore the exciting woodland learning area. For example, they show great confidence as they balance carefully on logs and then jump as high as they can while they pretend to be giraffes reaching the leaves on a tree. Children demonstrate superb physical development for their ages. Staff support children to develop their spatial awareness effectively as they play on wheeled toys, including bikes. Children learn to problem solve effectively from a very young age. Staff are patient, and they give children the freedom and time to develop their own ideas, such as supporting babies to make choices about how to best climb on play equipment. Children delight as staff praise them for their perseverance.

Leaders strive for excellence throughout the nursery. They have consistently high expectations of what all children can achieve and meticulously put in place plans to support those children who are at risk of falling behind. They provide highly effective support to ensure that children achieve their full potential and work closely alongside other professionals and parents. Staff are highly skilled practitioners. They leave nothing to chance and put in place a challenging curriculum that ensures that children excel in all areas. For example, children take part in daily small-group sessions that are designed to encourage the children to become more confident in communicating with others. Children listen consistently well to adults and their friends alike as they talk about their knowledge of different animals, such as butterflies and centipedes. Staff skilfully use the sessions to make links to prior learning, such as the animals they have found on bug hunts. Children are engaged at all times effectively and are enthusiastic participants.

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

• Leaders are passionate about their roles as early years educators. They are highly enthusiastic, and they share their vision for the nursery incredibly well with staff. This helps ensure a consistent approach to supporting children to learn across the nursery and the effective implementation of a very ambitious curriculum. Children make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Staff take every opportunity to promote children's communication and language skills. They consistently use stories and songs skilfully throughout the day to introduce new words and ideas. Children benefit from frequent, high-quality discussions with staff as they play together. For instance, toddlers learn the word 'tentacles' as they play with plastic octopuses in the water tray. Children demonstrate a wide-ranging vocabulary for their age as a result.
• Staff provide high-quality learning experiences for children that build extremely well on their cultural capital. Children develop a sense of social responsibility through embedded practices that teach them about the ecology of the local area and the importance of recycling. For example, children take part in regular litter picks in the area around the nursery and then learn how to sort the materials they find into those that can be recycled and those that cannot. Children take pride in their achievements and demonstrate their understanding through recycling their rubbish throughout the day.
• Staff ensure that children take part in a rich set of experiences that develop their understanding of communities beyond their own. Children learn about an extensive number of cultural events to support their appreciation of diversity and their own heritage. For example, children learn about the Bulgarian spring festival of Martenitsa through traditional activities, including making and giving bracelets to each other for luck. Children demonstrate a high level of interest in learning about other ways of life.
• Staff have embedded systems that encourage children to take managed risks. Children learn the importance of risk assessing both their own activities and the nursery environment. For example, children learn to complete checks on the outdoor area, including learning about which plants are safe to touch and which are not.
• Children's attitudes to learning are excellent. They are respectful of staff and each other and make the most of the high-quality experiences on offer. Children become deeply engaged in their learning and are skilfully encouraged by staff to extend and develop their ideas. For instance, staff support babies to develop their understanding of cause and effect as they hide toys in a sand tray with them. They patiently repeat the activities with babies and develop with understanding of key words and phrases as they play, such as 'Where is the boat?'
• Leaders are highly reflective. They regularly assess the effectiveness of the provision and pinpoint areas for improvement. For instance, they have further developed their already effective supervision and training processes to include a tailored peer observation process for the nursery. As a result, staff are now more confident in assessing their own areas for development and in supporting their colleagues to further improve their excellent practice.
• Parents speak highly of staff. They comment on the 'incredible leadership' of the nursery and feel their children are very well supported. Staff provide a bespoke settling-in process for children before they start and provide highly effective frequent updates to parents on their child's progress. They provide training workshops for parents to ensure a consistent approach to supporting children, such as in helping them to learn key signs to communicate with babies and toddlers.