Happy Days Nursery & Preschool, Penrice, St Austell

Daily signing with babies and growing food with children give Penrice's August 2025 nursery day a recognisable character. Communication and practical experiences featured alongside personal care, in a building designed for nursery use on the Penrice Hospital site.

At its 20 August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The setting has capacity for 63 children aged 3 to 60 months. That is whole-nursery capacity, rather than a measure of your child's group size.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play and interaction support communication, movement and social skills. In August 2025, staff planned children's next learning experiences using regular assessments, rather than giving everyone identical activities.

Babies practised signs and early words. Daily sing and sign sessions brought older babies together in small groups, while shared books introduced more demanding vocabulary. Older children were encouraged to explain their ideas. These examples show how communication developed beyond simply listening to an adult.

Social learning also happened through ordinary routines. In August 2025, toddlers practised taking turns with staff, and older babies helped friends by bringing their shoes before outdoor play. Staff had undertaken maths champion training and shared their learning with colleagues to develop mathematical activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

In August 2025, outdoor exercise included a traffic lights game involving jumping, running and stopping. Children felt their heartbeat and discussed exercise, connecting movement with an understanding of their bodies. Growing, harvesting and tasting food added another practical strand to the day.

Technology was a weaker area at that visit. Children needed more opportunities to understand technology and use it independently, an issue relevant to preparation for their next stage of learning.

In August 2025, joining arrangements began with parents sharing their child's routines, preferences and dislikes. Each child had a key person, with individual attention while relationships developed and tailored support when moving through the nursery. This made familiar care routines part of settling, rather than treating settling as a separate exercise.

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and professionals to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, using funding for resources matched to individual needs. Outdoor mark-making materials were one example, supporting children who preferred learning outside.

Meals and snacks formed part of the August 2025 day, alongside opportunities to sample food children had grown. Lunchtime routines needed attention: adults did too much of toddlers' cleaning and clearing, while older children relied on repeated reminders. Choosing food and serving themselves did not yet extend consistently to managing the whole meal routine independently.

Penrice Hospital, Porthpean Road, St. Austell, PL26 6AA is the nursery's address. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round opening and closures at Christmas and on bank holidays.

In August 2025, the nursery employed 24 childcare staff and received funding for children, including disadvantaged children. That funding position belongs to the inspection date.

• Lunchtime independence. In August 2025, children needed more support to learn cleaning and clearing skills. Ask how mealtimes now help your child practise those tasks.
• Technology and school preparation. The August 2025 improvement action concerned children's understanding and independent use of technology. Ask for examples of how this now fits into preschool learning.
• Settling around your working week. Weekday opening spans 7.30am to 6pm, and August 2025 settling arrangements centred on a key person and familiar routines. At a visit, discuss how your child's settling plan would fit the attendance pattern you need.

Penrice suits families who value communication, outdoor activity and a personal approach to settling. Its August 2025 examples are concrete: babies signing together, children explaining their ideas and learning through growing food. Lunchtime independence and technology deserve attention alongside those strengths when deciding whether the nursery fits your child.