Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools understands that the cost of childcare can represent a significant portion of parents outgoings and therefore wants to ensure all families are receiving the support they are entitled to.

With the financial support available expanding in England, Happy Days are embarking on an Affordable Childcare Information Campaign, to ensure all parents are aware of the various government programs that exist to support with the cost of childcare.

Through their social media channels, website and emails to parents, Happy Days are highlighting all the support available as well as when and how to access it.

Alongside this, all of its 24 settings are holding Affordability Information Events for parents in the local community to access, with colleagues on hand to answer any questions.

Fiona Blackwell, Operations Director, stated, “With the government childcare support expanding, we appreciate that parents may feel overwhelmed with what support is available to them. We are therefore commencing an Affordability Campaign to highlight to parents exactly what that are able to access. We appreciate that everyone’s circumstances are different, so we are explaining all the funding options available in order for them to understand what they can check they are eligible for.”

For families that are new to accessing funded childcare, Happy Days encourages parents to visit their website, Click here, which not only explains the options available but also includes a downloadable ‘Help with the Cost of Childcare’ brochure as well as links to government websites where parents can check their eligibility.

With demand for childcare places increasing, particularly for under 3’s, Happy Days are encouraging parents to apply for a place today to prevent disappointment. click here to find your local nursery and book a tour.

Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-Schools in Exeter have had another busy week of learning, this time all about food!

After spending the last few weeks learning about wildlife and nature by watching butterflies develop and taking part in gardening, they were ready to get their chef hats on.

This morning the Explorers took part in a fruit tasting activity and really enjoyed it. The children spent the activity practising their fine motor skills to use safety knives to chop up a banana and spoons to scoop seeds out of a melon. The children even had the option to look the part by wearing an apron and a chef hat. This assisted the Let’s cook aspect of our curriculum nicely.

The Happy Days Let’s Cook Programme encourages children to take a more active role in choosing, preparing and cooking simple dishes which will encourage them to eat a wider variety of healthy foods. Research shows that the more familiar children are with ingredients and the more they feel involved in the process, the more likely they are to eat the food at the end.

When engaged in the cooking programme the children will be introduced to new healthy ingredients, and encouraged to explore unknown tastes, smells and textures which will increase their exposure to a wide range of fruit and vegetables, herbs, spices and foods from a variety of cultures.

Teaching children about the benefits cooking and nutrition can make a real difference to the quality of their lives; it equips them with the confidence to make healthy food choices and supports a healthy enjoyment of food. Learning to cook from an early age can contribute to maintaining a healthy weight, good oral health and general health and wellbeing.

Despite the rain, spring has arrived at Happy Days Nursery Exeter. The children have been making the most of it by getting their green fingers on. They’ve been planting various flowers and vegetables for the Happy Days garden.  

The Adventurers had a large selection of seeds to choose from to plant; Cucumbers, Carrots, Morning Glory, Sweet William, Godetia and sun flowers. After choosing their seed everyone discussed all the different things that plants need to grow.

This helps them develop their understanding of the natural world, appreciate it’s beauty and learn to take care of it. This is part of the Inquisitive & Ambitious Thinker aspect of our curriculum through the Let’s Grow Programme. Throughout the year the children have the opportunity to sow seeds, tend to the plants and harvest the produce, improving their understanding of where food comes from.