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.

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/

Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools is delighted to have been given the opportunity to expand its portfolio further with the acquisition of The Yew Tree Nursery & Pre-School, Yeovil. This is the second setting in Somerset and demonstrates its desire to grow in the South West of England as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

The Yew Tree Nursery & Pre-School is located in a beautiful and historic building, providing care for children from 3 months to 5 years old, as well as offering After School Care and Holiday Clubs for children at school ages. The nursery offers safe and secure provision in dedicated spaces, providing opportunities for children to explore, investigate and develop their creativity within a caring and stimulating learning environment.

Kim Herbert, Managing Director for Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools stated, “We are thrilled to be growing our portfolio again with the acquisition of this fantastic nursery whose ethos of nurturing children in a warm, friendly environment aligns with our own and we are looking forward to building on this. The staff team at the Yew Tree Nursery will remain in place and we look forward to working with them to support children to become strong and motivated learners for life and provide a top class service to enable parents to work and live their daily lives knowing their children are cherished and cared for to the highest standard.”

Heidi McCarthy, outgoing owner of the Yew Tree Nursery said; “I am very impressed with Happy Days professionalism and their commitment in providing the best nursery experience for all children. I am very pleased that Yew Tree Nursery is now part of Happy Day`s family.”

Fiona Blackwell, Operations Director, added, “The Yew Tree Nursery is the perfect fit for us, and we look forward to welcoming our new colleagues and families into the Happy Days Group.”

The sale was brokered by Redwoods Dowling Kerr. Jenna Caldwell, Director of Childcare & Education for Redwoods Dowling Kerr, commented “It was a pleasure to assist both Heidi and Happy Days with the sale of Yew Tree Nursery and we wish Happy Days all of the best with their latest acquisition”.

Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools has now increased its total number of settings to 22, with more new nurseries in the pipeline. Anyone interested in selling their business, or a developer looking for a nursery provider to partner with, should contact

Kevin Higgs: kevin.higgs@happydaysnurseries.com;

Kim Herbert kim.herbert@happydaysnureries.com or

Marcia Viccars marcia.viccars@happydaysnurseries.com

On Thursday 5 October, Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Droitwich Spa, Councillor Kate Fellows, to officially open their nursery in Droitwich. The Mayor was joined by members of the Happy Days Senior Team along with parents, colleagues and a resident and colleagues from Woodland View Care Home.

Guests received a tour of the nursery and were treated to a Happy Days cake and cupcakes made by the nursery chef, Dawn Evans.

The nursery was then officially declared open but the Mayor of Droitwich who cut the ribbon with assistance from some of the children and Sheila, a resident at Woodland View Care Home.

Mark Beadle, Chairman for Happy Days stated, “I would like to congratulate Happy Days Nursery, and it is a pleasure to be here. It is wonderful to see this building transform. It is so lovely to see the vacant space turn out how it has. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in making this possible.”

Mayor, Councillor Kate Fellows commented; “The nursery is just wonderful, and it is a pleasure to be here today meeting the team and parents. From the soft flooring to the garden furniture, I am so impressed – the environments are beautiful. I am excited to see this nursery flourish, and huge congratulations to Happy Days.”

Manger, Ashley Webb, welcomed everyone to the nursery and stated “This is an exciting opportunity for staff and children to experience a purpose built nursery with stimulating resources and a unique curriculum offering the children the opportunity to develop to their full potential”

Nestled in the heart of Yew Tree Village, the nursery is a welcome addition to the local community and has already formed partnership with local businesses, including Woodland View Care Home and the local dessert shop, Droitwich Desserts.

The team at Happy Days Droitwich look forward to welcoming more families into the nursery as they continue to grow.

Click here for more information or to book a tour.