Poulton Happy Days nursery celebrate its 20th anniversary

Hayley Howarth, Melissa Hoyle, David Hoyle, Sophie Mellor, deputy mayoress of Wyre Colette Birch and Faye McCulloch with founder and director Jackie Hoyle and operations manager Catherine Rosenfield with the cake

Poulton Happy Days, on Carr Head Lane, was the first site to open as part of the Happy Days Childcare group in 1999.

Staff held a full week of events to give children and parents the chance to join in the celebrations across the group’s five sites around the Fylde coast

Faye Mcculloch, setting manager for Poulton Happy Days, said: “Poulton Happy Days was the first site to open in 1999 and opened the celebration week on June 17, 2019.

“Parents and their children who attended Happy Days at Poulton in the early days also came and visited to mark the special occasion.

“The wider community also got involved.”

Each nursery enjoyed a full schedule of events and performances, including Whambajam – Active Percussion Play, Grandaddy and Nanna Trumbell, children’s circus entertainers Simon from Acorn Music, and children’s party entertainer Jo Jingles with music, singing and movement for babies.

There were also football sessions with AFC Fylde and Tiny Tangerines from Blackpool Football Club as well as a visit from an ice cream van – Courtney’s Cones.

Faye added: “The week was a huge success and the children, staff and visitors had such an amazing time.”

Happy Days has sites in Poulton, Anchorsholme, Ansdell, Norbreck and Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital.

Catherine Rosenfield, operations manager, said: “Celebrating 20 years on the Fylde coast brought lots of happy memories as many generations of families have attended our settings during the 20 years.

“We started in Poulton in 1999 with only 16 children and we now have five settings across the Fylde and have provided care for over 8,000 children.

“We are very proud of our highly qualified staff and the care that we provide in ensuring that our children get the best start in life.

“We have celebrated our anniversary with all our staff, children, parents and some VIP guests.

“We pride ourselves in supporting the local communities and all our entertainers for the events work on the Fylde and attend the settings on a regular basis.

“We also had visits from our emergency services, police, ambulance and fire service who gave the children a lot of fun in showing them around their vehicles.

“It was lovely to see parents returning with their children, who are now at high school, to join the celebrations.

“Every child and staff member took home a commemorative gift as a reminder of the celebrations.

“We are now planning for the next 20 years!”