Happy Days Day Nursery Poole

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide exciting environments for children to explore and play.

They set up the rooms well to provide attractive places to play, dependant on children's needs and interests. Activities and resources are accessible and encourage children to explore. The youngest children independently and confidently move about, exploring new experiences, such as 'snow', squishing it between their fingers and letting it fall from their hands.

They use the slide with increasing confidence and relish the praise they receive for their achievements. Older children become thoroughly engrossed in their imaginary play, as they take on di...fferent roles in the 'hospital'. In the wild garden, they investigate bugs and worms, making 'nests' for them, and create a mini obstacle course to test their balance under the safe supervision of staff.

Throughout the nursery, children gain strong personal, social and emotional skills. They are confident, emotionally secure, and develop positive relationships with others. Older children are very kind, caring and cooperative.

They play considerately with others, sharing their ideas and following each other's lead. They share, take turns and are helpful during the daily routines. Staff give the children lots of praise for their help.

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

Management uses self-evaluation very effectively to bring about positive changes. They have focused well to improve children's safety and learning experiences since the last inspection. This has resulted in extensive training on safeguarding particularly, but also on developing the quality of teaching, so that activities are more engaging and stimulating.

Staff's respectful attitude, communication and engagement with each other provides children with a positive outlook and role model for how to behave and interact with others. Children learn good manners and show kindness, for example inviting the inspector to join them for lunch.Staff focus well on the younger children's emotional and social development to ensure children have the confidence to enjoy learning and make good progress with their communication and physical development.

Staff help them to feel emotionally secure and know the children really well, even those who have recently started at the nursery. They know when they are tired, hungry, or just need a cuddle, and respond to their needs well.Parents speak positively about the caring staff and happy environment.

Staff inform parents about their children's learning and progress during the regular parent evenings. However, the sharing of this information on a more regular basis is not successful, so that parents are clear about their children's ongoing next steps and how they can continue the learning at home.There are good outdoor learning opportunities for children, including the wild garden, where older children explore nature and learn to take some safe risks in their play.

For example, they consider safety aspects when placing planks of wood across tyres for walking on. The younger children thoroughly enjoy kicking and throwing autumn leaves, finding out how they feel and sound. They enjoy using ride-on toys and practise using chalk to make marks.

There are good opportunities for children throughout the nursery to lead and direct their own play, but at times, staff do not extend learning further, so that children receive more challenge, sustaining their concentration and engagement for longer periods and exploring on a deeper level.Staff support the younger children well to ensure they are capable of doing things for themselves, in line with their age and stage of development, so they are ready and able to manage the move on to the next room and stage in their learning.Effective management provides good support to staff to develop their skills, confidence and quality of teaching.

Staff morale is good, and they speak positively about the levels of support and encouragement to attend training to bring new ideas, such as introducing music in different ways for children.Although staff provide some targeted adult-led activities, older children do not always get the input they need to develop their language at other times during the day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Management has taken effective steps to improve the procedures that they and staff follow when they become aware of a child protection concern or a pre-existing injury. They work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure children and families receive the support they need to thrive. Staff are very clear on their responsibility to protect children from harm.

They are alert to potential signs of abuse or neglect and understand the need to record any details accurately. Staff provide a safe environment for children to explore independently, helping them to make their own assessments of risk as they play.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nextend teaching to demonstrate and facilitate more learning and challenge to the children during their own play nensure the older children receive the support and input they need throughout the sessions, to improve on their speech and language during their play and daily routines nimprove communication with parents to help them better understand their children's next steps and how they can continue the learning at home.