Happy Days Nursery

A vegetable garden that supplies children's cookery, a Softroom for indoor movement and two halls divided into play areas give Happy Days Nursery a practical, hands-on character. This Brighton setting combines space for energetic play with quieter corners and activities that connect growing, preparing and eating food. Its appeal lies in what children can actually do.

Happy Days occupies The Annunciation Church Hall on Coleman Street, Brighton, BN2 9SQ, and has capacity for 46 children aged 1 to 5. At its 6 February 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement sits alongside two clear priorities: more precise teaching and more opportunities for children to manage everyday tasks themselves.

Morning, afternoon, Short Day and Full Day bookings give families several attendance patterns, with funded hours usable across sessions.

Rooms and Ages

Daisy Hall, designed for children from 9 months to 2 years, combines sand and water exploration with a home corner, an art area, a story book room and cosy places for quieter moments; the nursery's accepted age range starts at 1 year. Bluebells Room serves 2-year-olds, with an emphasis on communication, friendships and practising personal tasks such as dressing and feeding. Buttercups Hall is designed for children aged 2½ and above, bringing construction, exploration, literacy and mathematics into a spacious, light hall where children's interests help shape play.

The Softroom adds space for bouncing, climbing and imaginative play indoors. It gives physical activity a place even in wet weather. The Kitchen also serves several purposes: children eat together there, take part in cookery and use it for smaller group activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning and wellbeing, including learning through play indoors and outside. Happy Days combines activities led by adults with those initiated by children, and offers periods of free-flow play when children choose where to spend their time. That gives the day both planned teaching and room for individual interests.

An individual learning journal informs the activities planned for each child. Staff record development and use those records to adjust what comes next, rather than relying only on the same activity for everyone. Parents can view the online journal and discuss it in meetings with their child's key worker.

Cookery takes place at least weekly. Children make simple dishes and baked food, using produce they have tended in the garden during summer. Measuring ingredients, counting and following the order of a recipe bring early number work and language into an activity with a tangible result. Parents and carers can also contribute cooking activities, including foods from their own cultural traditions.

In February 2024, younger children explored scented dough with adults talking alongside their play, while outdoor sand activities involved uncovering pretend fossils with brushes. Those examples show language being attached to an action or object, rather than taught only in a separate group activity. During the same month, older children discussed animals associated with Lunar New Year and practised listening while others spoke; music activities involved familiar songs and dancing together.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children use the garden daily. A rock climbing wall and climbing frames provide opportunities for movement, while the mud kitchen and growing area support hands-on exploration. A beach hut and gazebo add further features to the outdoor space.

In the Fruit and Vegetable Garden, children water plants, weed and harvest crops. Summer cookery uses their produce, linking care for plants with preparing food.

Relationships and Communication

The online learning journal gives parents access to their child's learning between conversations with staff. Key worker review meetings provide a separate opportunity to discuss the record and planned activities. Together, these arrangements make communication about development more substantial than a brief account of the day's play.

In February 2024, staff shared home-learning ideas with families, who could also discuss developmental concerns.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support through individual plans, work with outside agencies and targeted sessions, with strategies also shared with parents. The current SENCO role includes contact with speech and language services, health visitors and BHISS, giving families identifiable routes for coordination around additional needs.

In February 2024, adults used words from children's home languages and read books in two languages to help children learning English. Staff also used consistent, child-specific strategies when children needed help managing their behaviour. These are concrete examples of adapting communication and expectations to the child.

Learning records are sent to the child's next education setting, giving staff there information about development to support the transition.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, across 51 weeks, closing for bank holidays and the Christmas week. Morning bookings run from 8am to 12.30pm, afternoons from 1.30pm to 6pm, Short Days from 9am to 3pm and Full Days from 8am to 6pm. A Lunch Hour from 12.30pm to 1.30pm can extend a morning or afternoon booking.

Funding arrangements also include morning bookings extended to 1pm or 1.30pm, and afternoon bookings starting at 1pm or 12.30pm, depending on the funded-hours pattern. Part sessions cannot be booked. Remaining funded hours can contribute towards a complete session, with its unfunded balance paid privately.

The child-placement enquiry form takes preferred start dates and session choices. Fees are invoiced in advance each month; booked sessions remain chargeable during the stated closures and when a child misses attendance through illness or a family holiday. Leaving requires four weeks' notice. A deposit secures a booking and is returned when the child starts; there is no registration charge.

Funding and Paid Extras

Happy Days offers working-parent funding for eligible children over 9 months, universal funding for 3- and 4-year-olds, and Early Learning for 2 year olds for eligible families receiving government support. Entitlements can be used over 38 term-time weeks or stretched across the year: the 15-hour entitlement becomes 11 hours weekly, while 30 hours becomes 22 hours across 51 weeks. Funded hours are allocated before private hours, and the nursery places no daily or session cap on their use.

Twice-daily snacks are included for both privately paid and funded sessions, while parents supply prepared lunches and dinners; the packed-lunch policy asks families to avoid products containing nuts. Lunchboxes have dedicated refrigerated storage, and food can be warmed, with parental permission required for reheating rice.

Water-based nappy wipes are included, including during funded sessions; families provide nappies and nappy cream, plus their preferred sun cream and any wipes needed for special requirements. Cookery, educational materials and activities carry no extra fee, and funded sessions also include yoga, dance, music and special activities without additional charges. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding information explains the booking and charge structure.

• Independence in daily routines. In February 2024, adults sometimes carried out tasks children could practise themselves, and teaching discussions needed a sharper connection to each child's next learning step. During a visit, ask how these priorities now shape mealtimes, dressing and activity planning.
• Whole-session funding. Funded hours can cover sessions without a daily cap, but part sessions cannot be booked. Families with hours left over may need to pay the balance of a complete booking.
• Lunchboxes and dietary needs. Parents provide main meals and the packed-lunch policy excludes nut-containing products. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling arrangements and how their child's requirements will be communicated.
• Choosing the younger-child environment. Daisy Hall includes quiet corners as well as exploratory play. A visit can establish how settling, rest and movement fit together for a child starting nursery.

Happy Days suits families seeking morning or afternoon care as well as Short Day or Full Day attendance, with considerable freedom over how funded hours contribute to those bookings. Its strongest practical attractions are the indoor movement space, daily garden use and the connection between growing food and weekly cookery.

The February 2024 priorities provide a useful test of the everyday experience: children should have opportunities to attempt personal tasks, and planned teaching should connect closely to what they need next. For families comfortable supplying main meals and booking complete sessions, this is a flexible offer with concrete activities beyond the playroom.