About Us

Our staff have the training and experience needed to adapt to your child's every need and provide them the support to learn and grow. We work closely with parents and outside agencies to help every child reach their full potential.

A holistic approach means that your child can arrive with calm and confidence. And when your child is ready to leave us for big school, we will be there every step of the way.

Meet the Team

  • Isabelle Qamar

    OWNER

    MA Childhood Studies, Level 7+

    Isabelle has been working with children since 2002 and has always excelled at supporting children to find their independence.

    Isabelle runs three nurseries across South Manchester and often brings her staff together to learn from their unique experiences.

  • Kirsty McDowall

    MANAGER

    NNEB, Level 4

    With over 22 years of experience, Kirsty excels in building relationships with children, parents and staff.

    Her knowledge of policies and procedure ensures that Happy Days run smoothly. She is the Safeguarding Lead Practitioner in the nursery.

  • Stacy Duplex

    SENDCo MANAGER & EYFS LEAD

    Early Years Teacher, Level 6+

    With a Level 3 in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator, Stacy can work with you and your child to make sure they have the support they need to succeed at Happy Days. She also keeps our curriculum up to date and engaging for our children.

  • Kassandra Whitehouse

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    SENDCo Trainee, Level 5

    Kassandra is working towards her Degree in Early Childhood Studies.

    She has excellent skills in working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and works on a one to one basis to make sure every child can thrive in their environment.

  • Vicky Wray

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 3+

    Vicky is working towards her level 4. She is our WellComm champion and assesses all our children’s speech and language ability. This includes children with special needs, disabilities and English as an additional language.

    With Vicky’s help Happy Days is proud to be a Language Friendly Nursery.

  • Lucy Bayissa

    SENIOR PRACTITIONER

    NNEB, Level 3

    With over 27 years of experience, Lucy has excellent skills in working with children of all ages.

    She excels when taking care of younger children, supporting them while settling-in and helping to develop their independence.

  • Areg Otaryan

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 3

    With over 10 years of experience, Areg works well with younger children in our Caterpillar and Butterfly room.

    She’s great at supporting their transition from home to the nursery and provides children a welcoming environment.

    Areg speaks Armenian as well as English!

  • Corrine Young

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 3

    Corrine is our lead in Oral Health Practice and helps our children develop strong healthy teeth.

    She enjoys working with our older children and likes to find fun ways to incorporate their interest into stimulating activities.

  • Christine Beeharry

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 2 Diploma in Care

  • Roshan Rahim

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 2

    Roshan enjoys working with our younger children in the Caterpillar room. She loves encouraging children to be more independent.

    Roshan speaks Bengali as well as English!

  • Sylvia Wireko

    CHILDCARE PRACTITIONER

    Level 2

    Sylvia adapts well to working with children of all ages and is popular in all of our rooms.

    She excels at forming strong relationships with children in the nursery.

  • Leila Bagratian

    COOK

    Lily has been cooking in this nursery for over 10 years. She updates her food and hygiene knowledge on a regular basis and makes sure the children have fresh food everyday.

    You can sometimes find her supporting the children’s in their day to day routines.

    Lily speaks Armenian, Russian, and English!

  • Yulya Grigoryan

    CLEANER

    Yulya cleans all the rooms at the end of every day to ensure that the children are safe when playing with toys.

    She can sometimes be found supporting the children in their routine activities and play. She especially loves singing and learning new songs at group time.

    Yulya speaks Armenian, Russian and English!

1263544.jpg

“A key strength of the nursery is how well children settle and gain confidence. Staff build excellent relationships with all children. As a result, children are extremely happy and form special relationships with their peers and staff. ”


— Ofsted (January 2020)

Find out more about our Ofsted report.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

“Every child deserves the same play and learning opportunities as other children.”

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo) Stacy and Kassandra, work hard to provide quality access and inclusion for children with a range of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). Our staff’s skill and training allow us to accept referrals from across the childcare industry, including our partners Rodney House and Sure Start.

With an additional Level 3 Early Years SENCO Award from NASEN (National Association of Special Educational Needs), Stacy specialises in monitoring children’s attainment and progress, in order to develop an IEP (Individual Educational Plan).

At Happy Days Nursery, you have the opportunity to share your knowledge and concerns with our SENCo and work together to find the right strategy for your child. We will also apply to funding on your child’s behalf and apply for a EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan).

You may also be interested in applying for a EHA (Early Help Assessment).

Learn more about our approach to working with children with SEND by clicking here.

Learn about our partner Rodney House - RHOSEY Outreach.

 

EYFS Curriculum

“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”
— Maria Montessori

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework that directs our approach to childcare. The four guiding principles are:

  1. That every child is unique.

  2. That every child can learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

  3. That children learn and develop best in enabling environments.

  4. That children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.

There are 3 prime areas for a child development that we focus on with our young children:

  • Communication and Language Development

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development

  • Physical Development

To learn more about the EYFS and how you can support your child’s development at home, click the link below.

What to expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage: a guide for parents.

 

What Parents Are Saying

 

“The whole team is lovely, and Lucy, James' Keyworker, is amazing! When he started, she did everything she could to help him feel settled, she really went above and beyond, and she always takes the time to go through his day with us, which is truly appreciated.

We're really grateful that we can drop James off at Happy Days and not worry at all. Thank you!”

— John G.

“We couldn’t be happier with our experience of happy days so far. It provides a home from home for the children and the staff are so caring and make such an effort to get to know all the children so well.

Our little boy gets so excited going into nursery which is lovely to see when leaving him for the day. The biggest compliment we can give is that it genuinely feels like we are leaving our son with family rather than a paid provider.”

— Alexandra M.

“Happy Days is a fantastic nursery! I’ve sent both my kids here, the eldest got referred to speech and language for delayed speech. I was really grateful for the additional support the staff offered during this time.

My youngest still attends the nursery and has so much fun everyday, she’s so excited to leave the house every morning.”

— Lyndsey B.

Take a Peak at Our Rooms

  • Caterpillar Room

  • Butterfly Room

  • Ladybird Room

  • Busybee Room

Click Here to See More