Happy Hours Nursery - Yatton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely happy in this safe, warm and welcoming environment. They have close relationships with all staff and strong bonds with their key person. Staff know all the children very well and react sensitively when they need support. This leads to a real sense of community and a family feel. Children show delight when members of staff greet them. This helps children feel safe and emotionally secure.

Children enjoy choosing different activities and are enthusiastic to take on challenges. For example, in a messy play experiment, they expertly use syringes to transfer the mixture and show intense concentration. Children show they are building on previous knowledge. For example, they recall how food gets hot in the oven when pretending to cook, and toddlers draw lines on the floor to represent tracks.

Children benefit from regular music and dance sessions led by a visiting professional. Children excitedly learn how to move their bodies in different ways to music, develop a sense of rhythm and use their imaginations.

Children show high levels of confidence in their independence skills, such as putting on their coats and boots. They are proud to take part in daily routines, such as being 'special helpers' at lunchtime when they carefully carry the plates of food to their friends. Children play outside with great enthusiasm. They talk excitedly about going for walks. For example, they remember collecting pumpkins, which they helped to make into soup, and going to the shops.

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

• Managers and staff are aware of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family life, children's development and well-being. They make adaptations to help children with their personal, social, emotional and language development. For example, staff use signing and symbols to further support children's understanding, read lots of stories using new vocabulary and give children the words to express their emotions. Staff quickly identify when children may need additional support. They work closely with outside agencies to arrange highly effective early interventions so that children make the best possible progress.
• The manager provides an ambitious curriculum for all children. The quality of education is excellent, with the intent and impact of learning clearly understood. Staff are extremely skilful at using the children's own curiosities to extend their learning and introduce new skills and concepts. For example, when children put out some mats in a row, staff suggest that they put numbers on these using stickers. Children use their emerging writing skills to do this. Their ideas develop into a plan to put the corresponding number of stones on each mat. Children excitedly work together as the activity evolves across the floor. Staff recognise that children are still highly involved and motivated, so they extend and adapt the activity to include letters.
• Staff show exceptional respect to the children. Children respond with exemplary behaviour and very positive attitudes to learning. Staff quietly ask babies and young children if they may wipe their noses or change their nappies, and they speak about what they are doing and why. As a result, very young children feel valued and respected as a partner in these routines.
• There is a very strong partnership with parents, with excellent communication channels and opportunities to exchange experiences, ideas and news, both online and in person. Parents have complete trust that staff do their very best to help their children learn, develop and become self-confident. For example, staff and parents agree strategies so that movement between rooms is as smooth as possible. Parents appreciate the links with the local school and how children are prepared so well for the next stage in their learning.
• Senior staff act as inspirational role models and recognise the strengths within the team. The manager supports the professional development of staff exceptionally well by providing access to a wide range of training packages and regular opportunities to discuss practice and support each other. This leads to a shared ethos, a consistent approach and aspiration to maintain high-quality practice.