Busy Bees at Cheam
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Sutton for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2024. Open since 2010, with 83 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Surrey
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Surrey from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
SM3 8QLWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
- 8 December 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 27 August 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 18 July 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 24 July 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff provide an inviting environment for children to enter. Key staff come to the main door to collect children and use this as an opportunity to talk to parents and hear children's news. Children happily leave their parents with staff to go to their rooms, and once there they quickly settle down to play with their friends.
Staff have built strong bonds with children. Children eagerly explore the activities that staff have set out for them. Babies explore and investigate with different textures and apparatus, building on their coordination and physical skills. Staff encourage children's communication. They narrate what is happening and reinforce this with signing. Older babies enjoy action songs and excitedly try to pop bubbles and chase them around the room. They observe a tomato plant with staff and create their own using paint. This encourages children to explore and investigate and to use a range of different mediums to express themselves.
All children benefit from a well-equipped outside play area that provides plenty of shelter and shade. Older children enjoy negotiating obstacle courses, digging in the sand trays and pouring water using various containers. Staff use these activities well to build on children's skills and extend their knowledge. For example, they encourage children to learn how to manoeuvre over equipment safely, predict what might happen if they pour water over a waterwheel and match upper- and lowercase letters as they dig blocks out of soil. Children are kind to each other and behave well. All children make good progress in their learning and development.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the curriculum intent, and staff consistency in implementing this, to ensure it is challenging, maintains all children's interest and consistently meets their individual needs.
- 24 July 2024Good
- 19 July 2019Good
- 11 May 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees at Cheam
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.