Happy Days Nursery And Pre-School Lyde Green

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are excited to enter this beautiful and thoughtfully designed nursery. They warmly greet their key person and friends.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make excellent progress. This is because there is an incredibly well-sequenced, focused and ambitious curriculum in place. For example, babies and toddlers confidently explore their room with support from staff.

They quickly begin playing with ice and flowers in a water tray. They learn words for senses and flowers. Older children quickly settle to exciting and challenging activities.

They m...ake sensory play dough, experimenting with different amounts of ingredients. They follow recipe cards and measure out ingredients. Staff skilfully encourage children to try out their own ideas.

Children are positively safe and secure as the key person system is incredibly effective. Children have a deep sense of belonging as staff build close relationships with them. This allows children to be confident and try out new things.

They persevere and have a positive attitude when new skills are difficult to master. Children have a clear understanding of the routine and expectations. They are extremely polite and kind towards each other and the environment.

Staff foster a unique culture of inclusive values and respect. All children thrive and they feel highly valued.

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

Leaders and managers share their ethos and ambition for all children extremely effectively with staff.

They have incredibly high expectations for all children to succeed and be ready for their next stage in life. The manager inspires the team with her passion for learning and improving practice. This supports the staff to develop and improve their already high levels of teaching and care to ensure children flourish.

The manager is sharply focused and finds innovative ways to engage and support families in learning. For example, she has led the staff and families through the 'Eco-school' program. This has supported children to learn to care for the planet.

Partnerships with parents are exemplary. The manager seeks parent's views regularly through different means. She strives to find the most effective way to communicate with parents.

She delivers workshops, such as supporting children's communication and cooking healthy meals. Parents are encouraged to celebrate and share their children's achievements from home. Staff use this to build children's skills and knowledge when they are in the nursery, such as supporting children to write their name.

Staff share children's progress and next steps very skilfully ensuring parents can continue to support this learning at home.All children are deeply engaged in meaningful play throughout the day. Children can practise what they know and try out new ideas.

This is because staff carefully plan activities and the environment. For example, older children measure card to make a crown for their heads. They carefully measure double sided tape to fit the length of card and decorate it with dried flowers and leaves.

They talk excitedly about the walk they went on to collect the flowers.The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) skilfully supports each child with SEND to make excellent progress. She uses her expert knowledge to involve outside agencies.

This ensures children with SEND have the best support they can. She liaises with parents and works alongside them sharing targets. This ensures their child thrives.

All children make excellent progress with their communication and language skills. For example, babies love joining in with a 'sing and sign' activity. Staff expertly engage the babies' using props and lovely expression.

The babies join in, singing the familiar songs and copying the actions. They chuckle as they clap their hands in delight. Toddlers are encouraged to talk about trips to the beach and holidays as they eat their lunch.

They learn new words and recall what they know. Staff use photographs of beaches to support the children and label new words.Children understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle as staff thread this throughout the nursery.

Displays and activities promote children's understanding of good oral hygiene. The nursery provides healthy nutritious meals for all children. Older children serve themselves as staff support them to understand what foods are healthy and why.

Children get plenty of fresh air as they explore the lovely garden. They have opportunities to run about, climb, dig, build, and explore water.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and managers ensure all staff have extremely robust knowledge of safeguarding. All staff have a clear understanding of their duty to safeguard children. They confidently know all categories of abuse and can identify the signs.

They are secure in their knowledge of how to protect children and how to take appropriate action. Leaders and managers have a rigorous recruitment process in place. This ensures the suitability of all staff to work with children.

They regularly check staff's ongoing suitability to continue to work. There are very effective risk assessments and systems in place. This eliminates hazards to children and staff and keep them safe.

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