Busy Bees Day Nursery at Chafford Hundred Station Side
Good★ 3.7 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Grays for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2001, with 92 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 Thurrock
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Thurrock 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
RM16 6YJWhat 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, 10 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children really enjoy their time at nursery. They say 'goodbye' to their parents at the door and happily accompany staff to their room. Children have close, supportive relationships with their key person, other staff and their peers. Babies snuggle into their special person before crawling off to find some toys, while preschool children greet their friends as they arrive and explore the activities on offer together. Children are confident communicators. Babies babble happily, waiting with anticipation for staff to acknowledge and respond to them. Toddlers develop a love of books. They sit with staff to listen to their favourite stories. Pre-school children approach staff to share their thoughts and ideas, and to ask for help.
Children behave well. They take turns, share resources and play happily alongside other children. Older children use chalk to draw patterns on the concrete outside, while babies happily make marks using plastic trucks and coloured paint. Staff narrate what they are doing, naming the different colours of the paint as the colours mix. All children make good levels of progress in relation to their starting points. Staff know what children's interests are and what they need to learn next.
This enables them to plan activities and experiences that excite, inspire and motivate children to extend their learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- work with staff to improve the variety and accessibility of resources to encourage children's independent play further n support staff, particularly those in the pre-school room, to help them identify ways to organise daily routines more effectively.
- 10 March 2022Good
- 9 March 2017Good
- 1 October 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Chafford Hundred Station Side
- 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.