About Busy Bees
"We started Busy Bees because we wanted to provide exciting, innovative care for our children, in an environment that presented plentiful opportunities for play, interaction and development, simply because we wanted them to have the best possible start in life.
We created a nursery environment that was safe, with resources nowhere near as sophisticated as those in our nurseries today, but learning opportunities were always plentiful. We recruited staff with passion, enthusiasm and a never ending commitment to the children. Parents were always assured that their child was happy, because their interests were nurtured, and their individuality respected.
We continue to preserve this ideal in all of our nurseries today, by employing dedicated staff who share our vision and who are passionate about shaping a future generation."
-Marg Randles, Managing Director and Co-founder
Our Mission Statement
"To ensure that every child’s needs are met by making every child’s interests, safety and happiness central to everything we do"
- To ensure that Busy Bees is a place where a child’s uniqueness is respected and celebrated
- To encourage every child to achieve their full potential at each stage of development, to give them the best possible start in life
- To effect and offer a range of developmentally appropriate activities to feed the unique interests of each child, create an excitement for learning and encourage independent and active learning in all environments
- To work in partnership with every parent / carer to assist us in providing high quality care, specific to the developmental and individual needs of their child
- To focus and empower a skilled and knowledgeable staff team, developing the strengths of all practitioners to support and extend children’s learning and development through the child’s interests
Why Busy Bees are different - National Support Centre
At Busy Bees we believe it is essential to ensure the best possible care is being provided in each of our nurseries, which is why our team of over 100 people at the National Support Centre support and offer guidance to all of our nurseries and their staff teams.
Each of our Nursery Managers are supported by a Regional Director, who regularly visit each of the nurseries they manage to ensure that best practice is being adhered to, and to support the Nursery Manager with any issues or questions they may have. All Managers attend regular meetings with their Regional Director to ensure that all information is cascaded and best practice is shared.
The quality of the staff teams at our nurseries is paramount to creating a safe and stimulating learning environment. Busy Bees have a dedicated HR team who offer support to Nursery Managers on all employment matters, offering guidance and advice to ensure we recruit, retain and develop individuals who share Busy Bees’ vision in providing the best possible care.
Busy Bees are committed to training and developing the capable staff we recruit, so we use our Training Team to deliver in-house training for staff at all levels, as well as funding external training programmes and supporting Busy Bees learners while they work towards their qualifications. Training not only keeps our employees up to date on the latest childcare developments, policies and procedures, but also empowers and inspires them, so they have the knowledge and vision to deliver the best possible care to your children. Our training team operate so efficiently that Busy Bees has retained the Investors in People Award since 1994 for our commitment to training and development.
A number of departments at Busy Bees have received acknowledgements for the service they provide, including our Health and Safety Team, who have worked hard to ensure we retain our membership of the British Safety Council. Our National Health and Safety Advisor is responsible for advising and updating company policies and maintaining high standards of safety in nurseries. Our advisor also monitors changes in national standards and ensures that they are implemented throughout our nurseries.
Busy Bees understand that safety is of utmost importance, and we want parents to feel safe in the knowledge that their little ones are in a safe, caring environment. Our Health and Safety team regularly visit the nurseries to support and audit practice, and each of our nurseries have their own Health and Safety Co-ordinator, who ensures health and safety guidelines are being adhered to at all times.
Each of our nurseries receives annual Environmental Health inspections, and our Nursery Managers are supported by our Catering Team. The Catering Team work closely with the nursery Chefs, not only on health and safety in the kitchen, but also on promoting healthy eating with well planned menus. They also work closely with our national food suppliers to ensure the quality of food and allergy control is maintained.
Our Catering Team carry out regular audit inspections at each of our nurseries to ensure Busy Bees are fully compliant with the Food Safety Act, and a Food Safety Management System is in place for all nurseries to adhere to.
All nurseries follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which is a compulsory learning framework that must be implemented in all Ofsted registered childcare settings. Busy Bees have a Childcare and Curriculum Team, who are responsible for ensuring the staff have everything they require to deliver the EYFS to the highest standard. The team regularly roll out childcare initiatives that follow the EYFS guidelines, such as Busy Babies, Cooking with Me and Imagination Station, and visit the nurseries regularly to support and audit implementation and practice.
Our National Support Centre provides advice and guidance to all nurseries throughout the country and each member of staff has training and experience in the role they carry out, so they can deliver the best service to our Nursery Managers, who in turn can provide the best care to your child.
