Happy Days Nurseries are looking forward to welcoming families into their nurseries for their first open day of 2024! On 2 March 2024 between 10:00 – 13:00 all sites will be opening their doors to new and existing parents, friends, family and the local community to enjoy lots of fun activities for all ages!

With British Science Week just around the corner, the open day will include a host of science, technology, engineering and maths activities around the theme of ‘Time’. It is the 30^th Anniversary of British Science Week and they are celebrating this milestone thinking about time since the week began and looking to the future!

It is also the perfect time for any new parents looking to secure a place for April 2024, to come and view their nurseries and learn more about the new government funded hours for working parents with children aged 2. Their friendly colleagues will be on hand to answer any questions about funding from how to access it, to the impact on fees. There will also be a special offer for any new parent that enrols on the day!

Happy Days open days are also the perfect opportunity for existing parents to come into nursery and spend time with their children in the nursery environment and chat to the nursery team. Existing families are being encouraged to bring their friends and family to enjoy the day with them.

The first open day of 2024 also provides an opportunity for Happy Days to raise money for their chosen charity, Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW). This wonderful charity has been caring for children with life-threatening conditions for over 30 years, by providing children’s hospice and professional family support services. They are dedicated to making the most of short and precious lives through the provision of the best possible hospice care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions. The care offered at each of their three hospices is not just about medical and nursing support for sick children but enriching lives of the children and their whole family.

Fiona Blackwell, Operations Director, said, “Not only will our March Open Day provide the perfect opportunity to cement our partnership with parents, as well as giving new parents and the local community the opportunity to visit their local Happy Days Nursery to see for themselves how their child will SHINE in our care, but it also allows us to raise vital funds for CHSW, a charity close to all our hearts.

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone into our nurseries and I want to thank all of our colleagues who are giving up their weekend to make this event a special occasion for all.”

For more details on the activities taking place at your local Happy Days Nursery, visit our Open Day event page.

Anyone interested in attending an open day can just turn up at their local Happy Days Nursery on 2 March between 10:00 – 13:00.

From February 5th to 11th, we’re joining the nationwide celebration of National Apprenticeship Week! This year’s theme, “Skills for Life,” perfectly reflects our commitment to nurturing young talent and empowering them with the knowledge and abilities to thrive in the early years sector.

Throughout the week, we will be shining a spotlight on our apprentices and the valuable role they play in Happy Days.

MONDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2024 – APPRENTICESHIPS FOR ALL!

We kick things off by highlighting the inclusivity of apprenticeships! Age (17+), background, or prior experience doesn’t matter – apprenticeships offer a fantastic pathway to a fulfilling career in childcare.

TUESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2024 – EMPLOYER TUESDAY

We shine a light on our fantastic apprenticeship programs, showcasing the diverse roles and oppor-tunities we offer.

WEDNESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2024 – APPRENTICE WEDNESDAY

Hear directly from our inspiring apprentices! They’ll share their journeys, achievements, and why they love being part of the Happy Days team.

THURSDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2024 – OUR FUN FACTS

Get ready for some fascinating statistics about Happy Days’ apprenticeships and the impact they have on our nurseries and the wider community.

FRIDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2024 – CELEBRATION FRIDAY

It’s time to celebrate the incredible talent and achievements of our apprentices!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10 – 11 FEBRUARY 2024 – THE NAW WEEKENDER

We wrap up the week with a recap of our activities and a peek into the exciting future of apprentice-ships at Happy Days.

National Apprenticeship Week is a chance to celebrate the power of apprenticeships in shaping suc-cessful careers and contributing to a brighter future. Join us as we champion this valuable learning pathway and inspire the next generation of early years professionals!

SHARE YOUR STORY

We would like to showcase some motivational stories to highlight how your apprenticeship has helped during the year. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with us via our socials to share your story.

Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools responds to the launch of the government campaign to recruit early years workers

The government has today launched its campaign to recruit more early years workers, which includes a £1,000 cash incentive trial. 

Here at Happy Days we are delighted that more is being done to not only attract more early years workers, but to also highlight the important work of early years professionals. For a long time we have been promoting the vital contribution our colleagues make to shaping the future through their passion, drive and commitment to providing quality care and education, giving every child the best start in life.

Kim Herbert, Managing Director, stated, “With the introduction of the new government funding in April, it is vital that we recruit early years practitioners to enable us to meet demand and provide these additional places for parents. Whilst this new government recruitment campaign will assist us with our recruitment efforts, we have already invested heavily in not only attracting new colleagues, but in expanding our Colleague Value Programme, creating a supportive environment where everyone can thrive and we look to the government for further support to enable us to continue to do this.”

Fiona Blackwell, Operations Director, commented, “The new government funding has created a high demand for places and we welcome any support to attract new talent into the early years workforce. Our colleagues are pivotal to inspiring a generation of children who, in turn, shape the future of the world, and it is only right that we highlight what a tremendous job they do.”

With many of our nurseries reaching capacity we urge parents to contact their local Happy Days Nursery and secure their place now. 

Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools is thrilled to announce the official opening of their brand new nursery, Yate.

Happy Days Nursery & Pre-School, Yate, Bristol is nestled within the new Ladden Garden Village development. This stunning purpose built nursery has its own designated parent parking for ease of drop off and collection. As with all Happy Days Nurseries, the site provides a secure, calm, and neutral environment with wonderful outside areas which allows children to experiment, explore, enjoy, and ultimately shine! Yate nursery boasts four brand new purpose built nursery rooms fitted out and equipped with all the best resources and furniture, to provide inspiring childcare and education, where every child shines.

Our Nursery Manager, Zoe Seymour has worked in childcare for 17 years and joined Happy Days at the start of January 2024. She said ‘We have free flow curriculum indoor and outdoor for our older children. We take children from 3 months to 5 years of age and would love you to come and meet us!’

After officially opening on January 29th, Yate is actively recruiting for Early Years Practitioners, Nursery Room Leaders and Senior Room Leaders. For anyone interested in joining the Happy Days team, please contact us via: recruitment@happydaysnurseries.com.

Happy Days Nursery, Exeter, are excited to be celebrating their ten year anniversary on 23 February 2024. Located on the Peninsula Pary Business Estate, they first opened their doors in 2014 and have been delivering exceptional care and education to the local community and employees of the business park ever since.

To commemorate this magical milestone the nursery are celebrating with a Birthday Tea Party with the children and families on 23 February but are saving their big birthday party for their open day on Saturday 2 March, where they will be opening their doors for the whole community.

To help them celebrate, Happy Days Nursery, Exeter, would love to see as many children, parents and colleagues, past and present, as possible at the open day to share their memories. We’d love to hear and share your thoughts between now and the open day, so please get in touch by emailing marketing@happydaysnurseries.com

We will be sharing our reflections of the past 10 years across social media and the website so keep an eye out for these! 

If you would like more information contact Sophie, Nursery Manager, on 01392 369 741 or email exeter@happydaysnurseries.com

To book a visit of the nursery, click here: https://happydaysnurseries.com/our-nurseries/exeter/

Happy Days Nursery and Pre-School, Longhedge is celebrating a significant milestone as it commemorates its first year of operation. The occasion was marked with a cheerful event attended by The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Salisbury, Councillor Atiqul Hoque, existing parents, new parents, representatives from the Local Authority and Uplands building contractors, creating an atmosphere of celebration and community spirit.

The event had a theme of celebrating the growth of the nursery, which had completed its first year of operation. Guests were invited to tour the nursery, and Mayor Atiqul Hoque was among them. The mayor praised the nursery team for their dedication and hard work in providing a nurturing environment for the children.

Existing parents, some of whom have been with the nursery since it opened in January 2023, shared their positive experiences. One parent, expressed, “Happy Days Nursery has truly become a second home for our child. The caring staff and engaging curriculum activities have made a significant impact on our child’s development.”

New parents, eager to be a part of the Happy Days family, were welcomed to the event too. They had the opportunity to tour the purpose-built nursery, meet the practitioners, and learn more about the nursery’s mission, vision, and approach to early childhood education.

The event concluded with a heartfelt thank you from the nursery’s manager, Julia Gale, who expressed gratitude for the support received from both the Salisbury community and local authority. Julia said, “We are thrilled to have completed our first year, and we look forward to many more years of fostering a love for learning and providing a safe and nurturing environment for the children of Salisbury.”

The birthday celebration of Happy Days Nursery was not only a significant achievement for the nursery but also a proof of the strong sense of community that has developed among parents, early years practitioners, and Local Authority. As Happy Days Nursery enters its second year at Longhedge, the team looks forward to pursuing its mission of nurturing every child to become a lifelong learner and to enable their future success.

We are super happy to announce that our Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-School Charlton Heights Chef, Karina has achieved a 5* this week during her EHO inspection!

So, what is an EHO rating and what does it cover? Ratings are a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found at the time of inspection.

This includes:

• handling of food
• how food is stored
• how food is prepared
• cleanliness of facilities
• how food safety is managed

Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools is delighted to announce that our setting in Derriford has received a GOOD Ofsted result, following an unannounced inspection in early November. Opened in 2008, the nursery is situated in Derriford Business Park and offers children wonderfully spacious environments to support children’s learning and growth, with their own woodland area and outdoor space.

The report highlights how ‘children are cared for by welcoming and nurturing staff. Strong settling-in procedures and staff’s attentiveness to children’s care needs result in children who are happy and well settled. Staff have high expectations for all children. They help children to develop friendships with their peers and be kind to each other. Children behave extremely well. Staff are excellent role models.’

Zara Austin, Nursery Manager, shares her gratitude and pride for her team, “I am immensely proud of the team for their exceptional and consistent work and dedication to the children and families in our care”.  

If you want to work in this exceptional environment with our professional knowledgeable team or, are a parent looking for the best care and education for your child, then contact Zara, or the Derriford team, on 01752 786318 or email derriford@happydaysnurseries.com.

We are delighted to announce that Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools have now launched the Boogie Mites programme in our nurseries to support goals underpinned by the ‘Strong and Confident Communicators’ aspect of our unique ‘Where Children Shine’ curriculum. Boogie Mites aims to offer early years educators and parents the knowledge, confidence, and resources to harness the brain-boosting power of music every day, encouraging children to move and develop through music.

In preparation for this exciting launch, our colleagues took part in training, hosted by Liv McLennan. Alex Venter, Quality Lead Manager, who attended training, shares her admiration for the team and excitement for this new instalment, “We had a brilliant time at training – it was incredibly engaging, and I cannot wait to continue sessions in the nursery. The children really enjoy this activity and training has only allowed us to enrich these experiences even further.”

Sue Newman, Operations Director at Boogie Mites, shares her excitement for this partnership, “We are delighted to be introducing Boogie Mites School Ready Music Programme to Happy Days Nurseries. Our trainer, Liv McLennan, has enjoyed working with such an enthusiastic team over the three Saturday training sessions. We look forward to working with Happy Days, supporting implementation, and extending music knowledge, confidence, and resources via our monthly webinars”.

Starting children on a musical journey in pre-school, develops auditory processing and rhythmic skills, laying strong foundations for language, literacy, and learning in a school environment. Click here to find out more about Boogie Mites, their missions, and how the programme can be implemented at home or nursery.

Did you know we have produced a short podcast series on Boogie Mites and how you can utilise it at home? The four-part series contains detailed episodes between 7 and 10 minutes long, providing detailed information in an engaging, bite-sized way.

Check out the whole series on Spotify here!

Happy Days are delighted to announce that they have commenced the roll out of ParentZone across their nurseries, with 80% of settings now using the app. This award-winning app is designed to build stronger partnerships with parents and caregivers, providing instant updates to involve families in their children’s day at nursery.

ParentZone has been developed by Connect Childcare and has been in the industry for over 18 years. They have won a number of awards and are loved and trusted by over 3,400 nurseries, 77,000 practitioners & 180,000 parents.

With ParentZone, parents can receive updates on the activities their child has been participating in throughout the day along with professional observations of their child’s learning and development through photos, videos and notes. It also allows the child’s Key Person to share important daily information like what food their child has eaten, nap times or nappy changes, too.

The ParentZone App allows parents to upload their own experiences with their child at home, making it quick and easy to share activities and their child’s developmental milestones between home and nursery. It even has a full parent hub that helps families facilitate their child’s learning from home.

At Happy Days, we believe that building relationships with our families is extremely instrumental to the delivery of care, and ParentZone has already highlighted strengths in communication.

Jackie Cambridge, Head of Quality, stated, “The introduction of the app has reduced the time practitioners spend completing paperwork to track children’s progress, make observations and assessments, allowing more time to be spent engaged in meaningful interactions with children.

The app has also strengthened parent partnerships providing an interactive two way communication between parents, nursery and the child’s Key Person, which effectively supports children’s learning and development both at home and at Nursery.”

Our parents are also delighted with the App.

Helen, a parent at Happy Days, Treloweth, commented, “I just wanted to say how much I love the ParentZone app and to tell you how much I appreciate it. I think it’s a credit to yourselves that this app is kept up to date daily regardless of what’s happening at the nursery. It’s great to see what she’s been eating but the best bit is the snap shots! These are amazing and gives us parents insight into what they are up to at nursery.”

Samantha, also a parent at Happy Days, Treloweth, stated, “ParentZone is fantastic! It’s so great to see snapshots of our daughter’s time at nursery and she loves looking at the photos each evening and talking us through her day. We like to upload things from home too, to share with her key worker, it’s perfect for creating a full picture of her early years.”

To find out more about ParentZone, including its features and set-up information, click here: https://connectchildcare.com/information-for-parentzone-users/