Happy Days Nursery And Pre-School Bath

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and staff have lovely relationships. Children quickly settle to the exciting activities and enjoy their learning.

Staff are gentle and responsive to babies' needs. Babies gently fall asleep in their key person's arms, showing how secure they feel. Older children are empathetic when their friends get upset and help to teach each other.

For example, children are competent in using scissors and support others in using them correctly. Children learning English as an additional language are confident to use their English. Children lead discussions and find out what they want to know about school, positively demonst...rating their excitement to go.

Young children are given good opportunities to repeat and practise their new learning and skills, embedding their development well. For example, staff help children recognise when their voice echoes and they enjoy listening to themselves. Staff demonstrate up and down and children spontaneously use it in their play.

Parents cannot currently come into the setting, as they would have done before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions. Instead, their child's key person speaks to them daily at the door, who parents say know their children well. Parents confirm that staff share all information they need, to provide consistent care and learning at home and in the nursery.

Settling children into the nursery is sensitive to each child's individual needs. Staff work extremely well in partnership with parents to prepare older children for school.

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

The strong leadership and management team is ambitious and wants the best outcomes for children.

They continually evaluate their practice to accurately focus areas for improvement and staff development. For example, due to their occupancy rising they are taking on more staff. They receive an effective induction programme and mentoring to ensure good support for all children.

The manager has a strong understanding of the quality of education. She recognises the learning taking place and where staff can extend it further.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the management team meets regularly with staff to give them opportunities to discuss their well-being as they recognise the impact this can have on children.

Staff give children daily opportunities to explore their emotions., so they are eager to learn in the happy environment.Staff provide good support for children's communication and language skills.

For example, they use signs with words, narrate children's play and give them enough time to think and respond to questions. Young children join in with actions to songs and words they know. Older children use books to extend their vocabulary, such as understanding what a stethoscope is.

However, staff sometimes miss the chance to progress children's learning further. For example, through reading non-verbal signs from children with less language ability as they try to communicate through gestures or body language.Staff provide a calm, busy environment, where children decide whether to learn indoors or outdoors.

Children become independent, managing as much as they can for themselves. For example, at mealtimes they serve themselves, clear away and rinse their crockery. Older children make playdough, noticing that when they add too much water, it gets sticky and knowing to add more flour to rectify this.

Children are imaginative and creative. For example, they decide they will have a swamp and pterodactyls in their jungle, adding herbs which stimulate their senses and prompts further discussion. They make potions and talk about magically changing a toy lion into a butterfly.

However, they do not have all the opportunities they could to extend their mathematical development, such as making predications and testing their ideas relating to volume and quantity.Children's behaviour is good. Staff acknowledge children's feelings well and provide successful support to enable children to manage problems for themselves.

For example, staff say, 'I can see that you are getting cross…' when young children want the same toy. They calm down as staff help them to consider what to do. When children share toys, staff then reinforce how the problem was solved and highlight the children's kindness.

Staff continually observe the children to know what they can do and need to learn next. Staff work effectively with parents and outside agencies, to ensure children with special educational needs receive all the help they need. All children make good progress for their future learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a good understanding of all safeguarding procedures. They know what to do if they have a concern that a child may be at risk of harm.

Staff are clear about their whistleblowing policy and who to report to if they have concerns about other staff. The manager has been addressing ways to encourage children in taking safe risks and challenges. For example, older children now make their own obstacle courses, considering ways to keep safe.

Young children climb in and out of tyres without help, closely observed by staff. Children use a range of tools safely.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to recognise and respond to any non-verbal communication from children to help them make even better progress help children to make predications and test their ideas to support their mathematical development further.