Happy Kids Education Centre Ltd

Happy Kids Education Centre Ltd

Unique reference number (URN): EY556695 Address: Unit 6, Manchester Park, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 9EJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 08/05/2018 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Happy Kids Education Centre Ltd

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Needs attention

Not all children receive learning opportunities that fully support their progress. The consistency and effectiveness of staff interactions with children vary across the setting. At times, interactions do not extend children's thinking or respond closely enough to what individual children already know and can do. This means children are not as well prepared for the next stage of learning. This particularly affects children who require additional help to participate and learn, as support is not always purposeful or matched to the barriers they experience.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children benefit from clear routines, which have a positive impact on children's enjoyment and engagement in learning at the setting. They receive encouragement to take responsibility for everyday tasks. Children confidently select activities and equipment that interest them from resources placed within their reach. Familiar routines also promote independence. Children know to wash their hands at appropriate times and, when preparing for outdoor play, they find their coats and shoes and attempt to put them on themselves.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not establish routines consistently enough to help children understand what is expected of them throughout the day. At times, transitions lack clear direction. For example, after children collect their coats and shoes in preparation for outdoor play, some return to the playroom. They wander around because they are unsure what will happen next. During circle time, some younger children find it difficult to remain engaged and need additional support to maintain their interest.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Staff generally model kind and respectful behaviour. They remind children to listen, share and consider the needs of others. There are many warm interactions between staff and children. Parents and carers describe staff as caring, approachable and supportive. They value the positive relationships staff have established with their children. Staff encourage children to attend regularly and monitor their attendance through an online app, offering support to families when required. Leaders recognise that routines need to be strengthened so that children experience the same clear expectations throughout the setting. However, this work is not yet fully embedded in everyday practice.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff do not consistently put their knowledge of safer eating into practice. They do not always prepare food in a way that is suitable for children's ages and stages of development or consistently remain seated with children throughout mealtimes. However, staff remain present and supervise children while they eat. Staff have recently completed safer eating training and demonstrate a clear understanding of how to support children to eat safely. Leaders have not yet ensured that staff consistently translate this knowledge into practice. Staff understand children's individual dietary requirements. However, arrangements for managing these and ensuring that food is suitable for children's individual needs are not implemented consistently.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Children form warm and trusting relationships with staff. They comfortably approach familiar adults for reassurance and support and are confident in expressing how they feel. Staff respond with affection and kindness, which helps children to feel secure and valued.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff implement safe sleep procedures well and always remain with sleeping children. They check on children regularly while they rest. Appropriate cots and sleeping mats are available, and each child has their own bedding. Staff have recently completed safer sleep training. They demonstrate a secure understanding of the procedures they must follow. Staff complete risk assessments each morning and continue to monitor the environment throughout the day. When a potential hazard is identified, staff respond promptly and take appropriate steps to remove or reduce the risk. This helps to maintain a safe environment for children.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The curriculum is not yet implemented consistently across the nursery. Children have considerable freedom to choose their play, but staff do not provide enough purposeful learning alongside this. This is particularly noticeable for younger children, who have access to resources but do not consistently benefit from planned activities that reflect their interests, needs and stages of development. As a result, children's learning is not supported equally well across all areas of the early years curriculum. Staff have responded to advice to make learning more child-led. However, they have not yet achieved the right balance between independent exploration and focused support.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff sometimes do not consistently build on children's emerging interests. For example, during an activity where children learn about themselves, children start arranging beads into patterns. Staff do not recognise or extend this learning through questions, suggestions or additional activities.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

There are some positive learning opportunities for children in the setting. Older children enjoy using mirrors to explore their faces and different expressions. Children also draw freely at the creative station and access resources, such as trains and construction toys. Some staff know their key children's next steps, and discuss children's development during weekly staff meetings. However, some staff are not always clear about how they support the next steps of children who already attend the setting. Leaders recognise that staff need further support to translate their planning and knowledge of children into consistent and purposeful interactions and learning opportunities.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not yet use inclusive strategies consistently across the setting. Staff do not always adapt their interactions and the learning environment to reflect children's individual communication and learning needs. For example, leaders have introduced visual lanyards to support children, including those who speak English as an additional language. However, very few staff use these lanyards. Consequently, children do not benefit consistently from the approaches introduced to help them communicate, understand routines and take part in learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders understand the importance of identifying and supporting children who face barriers to learning. Managers, who are also the special educational needs coordinators, work closely with parents and carers and the local inclusion team. Children have plans that identify their needs, the support they will receive and the goals everyone is working towards, or more detailed plans if they have more complex needs, where appropriate. Managers ensure that parents contribute to these plans and that their views are considered when decisions are made about their children.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Some staff have considerable experience of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They help colleagues to plan suitable activities and support families when needed. These arrangements provide a positive foundation for inclusive practice. However, leaders need to ensure that agreed strategies are understood and implemented consistently by the whole team before they can make a sustained difference to children's experiences and progress.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leadership and oversight are developing. Managers hold several key responsibilities, including designated safeguarding lead and special educational needs coordinator. They are also regularly included in the staff-to-child ratios and work directly with children. While this supports the daily running of the setting, it reduces the time available for managers to monitor practice and support staff development. Weekly team meetings take place and include an appropriate focus on safeguarding and children's welfare. However, leaders do not yet give enough attention during these meetings to the quality of education. Staff need clearer guidance about what they want children to learn and how activities and interactions should build on children's existing knowledge and identified next steps.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Formal staff supervision arrangements are not currently in place. Consequently, leaders cannot routinely review staff's individual practice, identify gaps in their knowledge or provide targeted professional development. However, leaders have recently started to focus more on staff wellbeing, including additional emotional support and opportunities to discuss workload.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Managers are committed to improving the setting and have identified several areas requiring development. They seek advice and work closely with external agencies. Managers also respond positively to professional recommendations. To strengthen the curriculum, leaders have started to make changes in staff practice, including plans for further training. However, this work remains at an early stage and is not yet consistently embedded across the team.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children's experiences across the setting are variable. While they can freely select from available resources, activities are not always planned or supported in ways that help children to remain interested and develop their learning. Some children move between play areas without settling to a clear purpose. Staff do not consistently recognise opportunities to build on children's ideas or adapt activities to their individual abilities and interests. This means that children do not consistently receive the support they need to build securely on what they already know and can do. Children appear happy and comfortable at the setting and form warm relationships with staff. They seek reassurance from familiar staff when needed. Children respond positively when staff encourage them to participate. During circle time, children enthusiastically join staff in singing songs they know well. When children find it difficult to engage, staff choose a

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

favourite song, which successfully encourages children to join in.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children know the staff well and learn to play positively with other children. Staff support their individual care needs, including nappy changing and sleep routines, effectively. This helps children to feel settled and secure and develop a sense of belonging.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy making choices about their play, including drawing and exploring creative materials. Children listen attentively and participate enthusiastically in a story after lunch. Children of all ages have opportunities to play outdoors. They enjoy riding bicycles and using the slide and play imaginatively in the playhouse. For example, children use sand to pretend to prepare food. These experiences support their enjoyment, physical development and imaginations.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

strengthen monitoring to ensure that all staff understand and consistently implement the safer eating policies 09/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently to support all children's learning and progress 09/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve the quality of teaching and interactions so that all children make better and sustained progress from their individual starting points 09/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement regular and effective supervision arrangements to identify staff's individual development needs 09/10/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with a manager, staff, parents and carers and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The

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Address:

Unit 6 Manchester Park Tewkesbury Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL51 9EJ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Happy Kids Education Centre Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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