Open 51 Weeks Of The Year
We understand that working parents and carers need flexible childcare arrangements. We’re open 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year.
With over 25 years in childcare, quality is central to our ethos and the concept runs throughout everything we do at Happy Tree Academy. We employ a dedicated Quality Manager to ensure that every aspect of the nursery and its operation conforms to the very highest standards and industry best practices. We house the Auralern training centre for childcare professionals, hand-pick and train the very best staff within the borough. We are OFSTED registered with a team of qualified staff.
We aim to offer a high quality, first rate service at a competitive, value for money price. We understand that parents have a choice when it comes to nursery provision and you can be reassured that Happy Tree Academy ensures both excellence and affordability. The fees include:
• Lunge and Leap Classes (a specially designed fitness program for toddlers and preschool children)
• French Language Lessons
• Bollywood Dancing Sessions (Autumn 2023 term only)
We hold a food hygiene rating of 5 for serving and storing hot meals delivered by a catering company and for supplying and serving snacks.
We use Hungry Moose (hungrymoose.co.uk) a specialist bespoke nursery catering company that provide quality fresh, healthy, nutritious hot lunch & tea that are delivered on site.
Snacks are provided in the morning and afternoon and children have access to fresh fruits and water throughout the day.
All meals and snacks can be adapted to individual dietary needs.
Happy Tree Academy recognises that parents and families are the most important people in children lives, and that parents are the child’s first educator. Shared experiences at home have an important impact on children’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. Parents are welcomed at any time in the nursery to assist with the children’s learning or to observe their child’s development. Key and familiar persons in the nursery aim to respect and value parents by listening, engaging and involving them in their child’s learning and to offer sensitive support during times of transition.
Regular updates, newsletters and communications keep parents informed of their child’s progress and planned activities. Each child has an individual development journal and these are accessible to parents at any time. We hold regular progress reviews and complete assessment reports 2 times a year.
It is now a well established concept that children develop and learn best through play. Happy Tree Academy provides the ideal environment for your child to grow and enhance their physical, intellectual, emotional, social, sensory skills and abilities.
We at Happy Tree Academy, firmly believe that training employees is critical to the success of the Nursery.
We recognise that employees have differing levels of cultural capital, skills and experience. The interview process and continuous performance reviews aid to identify training needs.
By addressing these needs and providing tailored training for all employees, as employers we aim to fill any skill gaps. This not only improves employee performance but significantly boosts their confidence and ability to perform their tasks to the highest level.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
We are committed to investing in offering current and regular training to all employees. CPD is an on-going series of training which offers a combined approach with the aim of helping to understand the wider environment as well as the specifics of the job to make an employee perform at their highest possible level.
Training which all employees are required to complete is:
• Food Hygiene (every 3 years)
• Paediatric First Aid (every 3 years)
• Safeguarding/ prevent duty (annually)
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
We follow the regulations on qualified staff to child ratios as set out it in the EYFS. It is our responsibility to ensure that all employees have the appropriate qualifications to be counted within these ratios.
Any unqualified staff are employed on the premise that they will be enrolled onto a recognised qualification training program. In addition, the unqualified staff are inducted and provided in-house training on the EYFS.
Apprentices/ students on placement
We are proud to support apprentices and students on placement and work closely with reputable training providers.
Placement students are fully supervised as they work alongside fully qualified staff and the focus on training and best practices is always at the forefront of everything we do.
We also have an assessor on-site to support the students/ apprentices with their assessments and assignments.
Each child will be allocated a Key Person throughout their time at Happy Tree Academy. We aim to ensure that wherever possible, the Key Person stays with the child as they move from one room to another to ensure smooth transition (otherwise a familiar person from the room will take over as your child’s key person). The Key Person will liaise with the parents on a regular basis and update them on the child’s development.
Providing a safe and secure environment for all our children and staff is a key priority. Whether inside or outside the building, all play areas are supervised and we regularly inspect equipment, doors, locks and fences to provide peace of mind. We carefully select our staff, checking personal and employment references and obtaining clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service. Staff are trained in Paediatric First Aid and the latest health and safety procedures.
All visitors to the nursery are accompanied throughout their visit and we have strict security procedures regarding authorised people to collect your child.
Our Forest School is an inspirational approach to learning that provides children with opportunities in a local woodland or a natural environment to develop lifelong skills such as independence, high self-esteem, the opportunity to control and express their emotions, take risks safely
and learn through investigation and discovery.
It is a long-term process with regular sessions in a natural site over a period of time. The site must be sustainable, so clear and careful planning, observation, reflection and care for the environment and the ecological impact is paramount. Respect for the environment is at the centre of the practice, allowing and supporting ecosystems to co-exist with the learners.
We utilise a secure online and smartphone app (Blossom) to inform parents of their child’s learning, progress and development throughout the day.
The app documents the various activities that children have taken part in day-to-day and gives parents updates on their child’s eating habits, toileting as well as overall progress during their day.
The app is secure, password protected and only permits access to authorised devices.
