Busy Bees held our yearly Managers Conference to promote and celebrate best practice throughout each of our nurseries, as Managers from Busy Bees nurseries across the UK attended an inspiring day to share thoughts and ideas, as well as congratulate nominated nurseries who received an award in recognition of outstanding achievements in selected areas.

Managers from all over the country met at Yarnfield Hotel in Staffordshire, where they heard from one of Busy Bees’ original founders and Managing Director, Marg Randles, who highlighted all of Busy Bees’ successes throughout 2011, including 17 Busy Bees nurseries rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, being the first childcare company to develop an Early Years Nutrition course, being the first childcare company to have menus nutritionally analysed, receiving our bronze accreditation from the Soil Association, being the first nursery company to be awarded Occupational Health and Safety 18001 award, and raising over £55,000 for our sponsored charities.

Exemplary nurseries received awards on the night in categories such as Best Team, Manager of the Year, Partnership with Parents, Nursery of the Year, Nursery Garden, Dedication to Training, and Outstanding Achievement.

A major focus of the day was Busy Bees’ ‘See the Difference’, a campaign to ensure that each of our nurseries maintain a high level of care and service by answering to a strict and thorough criteria, and undergoing regular training sessions. Managers also heard from Busy Bees Benefits, which aims to provide employers and employees with benefits they are entitled to. Busy Bees are actively campaigning to increase the cap for childcare vouchers above the current limit of £55 per week to £75 per week, as childcare fees have increased by 40% since 2006 but the cap has stayed the same.

Marg Randles, Managing Director at Busy Bees, explains her expectations from the day, “The theme for the day was ‘Doing Best What Matters Most’ and without doubt the most important thing we can do is to consistently deliver quality childcare to the thousands of parents who chooses to leave their child in our care. To hand over the care of your precious child is possibly the most difficult decision you can make as a parent and we strive to demonstrate every day that they have made the right decision.

“A tremendous amount of work went into organising and making the day a success, ensuring our Managers have lots of ideas and inspiration to take back and share with their teams, helping them to deliver an even better service to children and their families.”