We are delighted to announce that Busy Bees have added nine exceptional nurseries to our growing portfolio of quality childcare settings. Early Years Childcare, a private nursery provider, became part of the Busy Bees family this week, meaning Busy Bees now hold 146 settings, offering over 13,000 childcare places and employment to more than 4,600 staff.

Early Years Childcare provides places in and around the Sussex area, Basingstoke and South East London, and has an excellent reputation for providing quality care within the communities it serves. Seven of the group’s settings hold a ‘Good’ Ofsted outcome, and the remaining two are in the top 10% of nurseries in the UK who hold an ‘Outstanding’ outcome.

Although no immediate changes to Early Years Childcare’s nurseries are planned, Busy Bees aim to work closely with nursery managers to share best practice and discuss opportunities for the enhancement of children’s experiences and continuous improvement. We are also looking forward to investing further in the resources and infrastructure of each of the Early Years Childcare settings.

Ian Steel, the owner of Early Years Childcare, explains, “Early Years Childcare took the decision to sell the business to Busy Bees after concluding that, as a large, well-resourced organisation, they are able to focus all their attention on expanding the business whilst ensuring the very highest levels of care and service to customers and their children.

Marg Randles, Managing Director at Busy Bees, said “We have been working closely with Early Years Childcare to ensure the handover goes as smoothly as possible for children, parents and staff. We recognise that any change may cause some nervousness but we will be keeping everyone informed every step of the way, as we support staff to constantly develop the excellent care, resources and services the nurseries currently provide.

“We have been impressed with the commitment of the staff and their drive to provide an excellent service to children and parents. Nursery managers and their staff teams will continue to play the most important role, working with children and families, both current and future.”