Busy Bees Nurseries Reviews 

The staff are amazing, caring and professional

Initially we had a good experience with lovely key workers but the last few months have been terrible. No key worker system, mostly agency staff, moving babies and toddlers around different rooms everyday, drop off and pick up chaotic, lack of security at the entrance. Towards the end, our one year old was upset and emotional every day that she attended nursery. I just wish we saw the signs and took her out of there sooner!

The nursery have been great with both my children my little boy has Trisomy 21 and they were amazing with him and really helped him settle. They also now care for my little girl too.

All key workers are fab, great with the children and always so welcoming. Morag is especially an asset to the company. Always give great handovers on what my little one has been up to through out the day and receptionists are also lovely and welcoming. Very happy with busy bees and how my little one has settled. Also always clean rooms and children always look happy!

My son’s first nursery. Highly professional staff
Highly recommended

Fantastic nursery for my little boy wouldn’t go anywhere else! The staff are amazing! Such friendly, warm and welcome environments. They have really helped my little boy develop since he started!

This is my 3rd child that has come to this nursery from my eldest of 13, middle 10 and my youngest 15 Months . I absolutely love the staff here and the communication is great. I get to check throughout the day how my child is getting on. Cannot recommend them enough.

Nursery teachers are fantastic and they look after my son very well.

I never felt my daughter was completely safe. Other parents took their children out due to bad experiences. My daughter would scream going in. I only realised how unhappy she was when she started her new nursery and was beaming!

We’ve used Busybees since 2023 and now our second child attends. The nursery is absolutely amazing! We’ve never had any problems, staff are fantastic in every room, caring and very supportive towards the children. Lisa and Ria are fabulous! We would never send our children anywhere else!
Best childcare providers around!

Staff are amazing, very clean and the children look like they enjoy their time at nursery with all the other children

Very good, caring.

EVERYTHING WAS GREAT CANT FAULT IT.

Our daughter joined at 12 months old in April this year.

I was really worried about her going to nursery but the team at Busy Bees are fantastic and have really looked after her.

She is learning so much whilst at nursery, it’s amazing finding out all of the new skills that she has gained.

I would highly recommend Busy Bees Holmes Chapel to anyone.

Big thank you to Nic, Amber and the whole team for being so lovely and caring 😊

I have two children at Kids 1st Durham and both are thriving. Staff know the kids well and both enjoy going. Food seems to be great, usually all eaten, and they enjoy their friendship groups and activities theybdo. We do term time only and honestly, the only negative is that the terms don't always match with the school holidays.

wasn’t told they were under investigation for safeguarding issues, wasn’t happy to send my baby there when i am not convinced he will get the best care, and given they were being investigated under safeguarding allegations, i believe i should get my £100 deposit back for which i am still awaiting a response

This nursery used to be called little bears and there was so many nice little touches they used to do.. such a great nursery. .
eg
Make cards on peoples birthdays / have different dress up days / fun newsletters with birthdays and key info.
They used to have stay and play days etc, never mind they fact we used to get a few pics a week of updates - now it’s maybe once every 2 weeks
Since it’s changed there is none of the above and no special touches for the children. I don’t believe this is of fault of the staff working there - it’s because it’s now ran by a very large company.
There used to always be the same staff too so you really got to know every one - now the turnover of staff is quite high - why is that

Our experience with Busy Bees has been mixed, with both positive and disappointing aspects. There are some very caring staff and we have had positive experiences, but also inconsistencies in the standard of care we expected.
I believe there are several areas where Busy Bees could improve. The external grounds and maintenance need greater attention, including rubbish being left next to the main entrance areas and the general upkeep of the grounds. Internally, the nursery would benefit from further investment. Parents pay a significant amount for childcare, so providing the basics is not always enough – the overall environment and service should demonstrate value for money.
Communication could also be improved. The app has much more potential and could be used to provide parents with more meaningful updates throughout the day. Continued training and development of carers would also help ensure a more consistent standard of care and parent communication.
Maintenance issues should also be managed more proactively. For example, when the air-conditioning failed during the extreme summer weather, parents were advised that rooms might have to close and children might need to be collected. While we understand that unexpected issues occur, failures arising from maintenance are ultimately the provider's responsibility and should not simply become a problem for parents to manage. Where nursery provision cannot be provided, Busy Bees should also communicate clearly how this affects parents' fees and invoices.
Overall, there is a lot that Busy Bees does well, but there is also significant room for improvement. Given the cost of childcare, parents should consistently see high standards of care, well-maintained facilities, good communication and clear value for money. Busy Bees has the opportunity to raise its standards further and should do so, particularly as parents will naturally compare the quality and value offered by alternative nurseries.

It was nice during the course of our time. Teachers were kind and friendly.