Busy Bees Day Nursery at Hempstead
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Gillingham for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 2010, with 76 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 Medway
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Medway 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
ME7 3QGWhat 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.
- 14 August 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 19 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are eager and happy to attend this welcoming and friendly nursery. The staff team provides meaningful and interesting experiences that excite and motivate children to play and explore. Staff carefully consider the children's interests and development during all activities. Children show they have developed meaningful and close attachments to staff. For instance, in the baby room, children will hold their arms out for cuddles from their key person when they need reassurance. This supports children's well-being and happiness.
The curriculum builds sequentially as children progress through the nursery. For example, the baby and toddler rooms currently have a focus on children's communication and language development and their personal, social and emotional needs. In the pre-school room, the curriculum then further builds on children's independence and self-help skills, preparing them for their eventual transition to school. Stories, reading and singing are an integral part of the curriculum for the younger children. The impact of this is evident as children in pre-school independently play with small-world resources, retelling stories and phrases from well-known books. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
(SEND) are well supported across the setting. The staff meet regularly with other professionals to support children in bridging gaps in their learning and to further support the staff's professional development.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- create a more challenging and ambitious mathematics curriculum to deepen children's knowledge and understanding of a range of mathematical concepts that are appropriate to their age and stage of development n develop the learning environment for babies, to focus more closely on promoting their physical development.
- 19 September 2024Good
- 22 February 2019Good
- 11 July 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Hempstead
- 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.