Busy Bees Christian Pre-School Nursery
Good★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Chigwell for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 17:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2022. Open since 2020, with 50 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 Redbridge
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Redbridge 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
IG7 4ALWhat 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.
Ofsted inspector, 7 September 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive eager to play and learn and show their delight as they enter the nursery after the long summer break. They greet staff with enthusiasm and express that they are happy and secure. Children enjoy outdoor play, they climb, and ride wheeled toys along the painted track in the garden as they negotiate around each other, supporting their physical skills. Children make sense of the world as they act out their-real life summer holiday experiences and develop their language and communication skills.
Staff are responsive to young babies and join in with their play showing a warm interest. Babies are happy and secure and watch staff's faces with joy and wonderment. They successfully, with support, climb small steps up the slide developing their balance and coordination. Babies enjoy listening to stories and understand that pictures represent objects and they show they like pictures and become familiar with sounds and words. Children are well behaved and there is friendly cooperation between children and adults. Children who have additional needs are supported well. Children enjoy activities such as 'bucket time' which helps children to concentrate and take part in an activity for an extended period of time. Children learn to share an activity with other children, building social skills.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help children to build new vocabulary by encouraging the use of complete sentences in everyday talk, for example by rephrasing what they are saying.
- 7 September 2022Good
- 17 March 2022Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Christian Pre-School Nursery
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.