Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools is delighted to have been given the opportunity to expand its portfolio further with the acquisition of Toddletown and Mulberry Corner. Toddletown consists of two nurseries located in Godalming and Farnham, with Mulberry Corner located in Chandlers Ford. This represents a strategic acquisition as all of these areas are new to Happy Days and demonstrates its desire to move into new communities outside South West England as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

The Directors and members of the Senior Team at both Toddle Town and Happy Days have had close relationships for a number of years.  The vision and values of all the directors are closely aligned, with a focus on providing inspiring childcare and education, nurturing children to become learners for life, making Happy Days the perfect fit for this group of nurseries. Given the similarities, a catch up between a member of the Toddletown director team and Happy Days’ Marcia Viccars naturally led to an agreement to sell without going to market.

Toddletown was established in Godalming in 2020 with Farnham opening in August 2023. Both nurseries provide an environment that feels like home and where children are free to explore and lead their own play. Their open-ended resources help children with their imagination, self-confidence and problem-solving skills and they focus on helping children with their emotional wellbeing and regulation. With fantastic outdoor spaces full of opportunities for even more learning and play, the children are outdoors in all weather.

Mulberry Corner Nursery has been based in Chandlers Ford for over 30 years, with its location making it an ideal choice for families commuting and for those who live locally. Their long-standing, highly qualified and experienced staff team ensures the children in their care are respected as unique individuals with a learning programme tailored to suit their different needs and interests.

Marcia Viccars, Merger & Acquisitions Director, said, “Having known the outgoing Directors for a number of years, we were delighted to be given this exclusive opportunity as we knew that the nurseries would fit seamlessly into the Happy Days portfolio. It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with the team through this sale process.”

Kim Herbert, Managing Director for Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools stated, “We are thrilled to be growing our portfolio again with this acquisition. Not only have we had the exclusive opportunity to work with the directors whose values and beliefs of providing children with the very best care and education align with our own, it has also allowed us to expand into new areas of the country. The staff team at all three settings will remain in place and we are looking forward to working with them, to continue to provide quality childcare, ensuring all children have the best possible start in life.”

Eamonn O’Connor, spokesperson for the outgoing owners said “We are immensely proud of Toddletown and Mulberry Corner and the impact the nurseries have made in their respective local communities. It has been a privilege to watch so many children flourish under our exceptional nursery teams. Having known key members of the Happy Days team for some time, we are confident that the nurseries will continue to go from strength to strength and impress everyone who works at, attends, or visits the nurseries. We extend our sincere gratitude to our dedicated teams and supportive families for their loyalty and commitment. We would also like to thank the team at Harrison Drury, led by Mark Traynor, who provided valuable legal advice to us on this important transaction”.

We opened our first nursery in 1991 and now operate 22 nurseries throughout the South West and Wales, with a further two opening in 2024!
With over thirty years of expert experience and an ethos to support children to become strong and motivated learners for life, we pride ourselves on providing a service to enable parents to work and live their daily lives knowing their children are cherished and cared for to the highest standard.

The Hollies Daycare Nursery was established in March 2002 and quickly established an excellent reputation for providing first-class quality care for children of pre-school age in the Canton area of Cardiff.

We are registered with Care Inspectorate Wales for 148 children. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.
We offer breakfast club, wrap around and after school club. We promote and offer the Childcare Offer in Wales.
to foster the development of the Welsh language and its culture in order to provide a continuum of care and education between home and nursery.

Where did you hear about Camau?

We wanted to increase our Welsh within our daily routine and contacted NDNA Cymru. A meeting was set up and we heard about Camau through the Welsh promise, and this is why we decided to get some staff on the training.

2 of our Staff, Kim and Sam embarked and complete the on the self-study Camau course. This Welsh language course is bespoke to the childcare and early years sector. The Camau Mynediad 1 gave us the basic Welsh, such as colours, number, pronunciations, and greetings.

Kim said:

“The course was helpful as it refreshed knowledge already known and it was good to be able to do this on my own time.”

Sam said:
“I now feel more confident to use more Welsh in the setting and be confident to converse with fluent Welsh speaking children. The course met expectations and I’m now doing the foundation 1 level”

Happy Days Nursery & Pre-School is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its Yeovil location, formerly known as Yew Tree Nursery. The official ceremony took place on Saturday, June 22nd, with a ribbon-cutting led by the honoured Mayor of Yeovil, Councillor Andy Kendall.

Happy Days acquired Yew Tree Nursery earlier this year, expanding its commitment to providing exceptional childcare across the South West of England and Wales. The grand opening event was a great occasion, welcoming both new and existing families. Attendees, including parents hoping to secure a spot for their child, were treated to tours of the beautifully refurbished nursery and some wonderful activities led the Happy Days team.

“We are delighted to celebrate the official opening of Happy Days Nursery & Pre-School in Yeovil,” said Kylie Mitchel, Nursery Manager. “The beautifully refurbished interior space is fantastic, and we can’t wait to continue nurturing young minds in this exceptional environment and I encourage all parents to come and take a closer look.”

A big thank you to Katie, after reaching her 10th year work anniversary at Happy Days Nursery Exeter!

This month we have been celebrating our colleague who has worked at Happy Days for 10 years. Throughout her time at Happy Days Katie has supported the learning and development of children in both our Explorers and Adventurers units…. Where she has worked in every room caring for all different ages and needs. Katie has supported whole families as siblings have attended Happy Days and Katie loves sharing stories with children.

Thank you for all of your support and dedication over the years!

We are super happy to announce that our Happy Days Nurseries & Pre-School Penair chef, Yasmin has retained a 5* this week during her EHO inspection!

Yasmin has been at Penair for 3 years now, we’re so thankful for her dedication to the nursery and commitment to the role. The Manager at Penair spoke ‘Yasmin enjoys producing wonderful food daily and is great at accommodating any dietary requirements needed.’

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