Busy Bees Day Nursery at Norwich Meridian
Good★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Norwich for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 April 2023. Open since 2003, with 112 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 Norfolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Norfolk 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
NR7 0TAWhat 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, 18 April 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
All children receive a warm welcome from staff as they arrive at nursery. Those who are new to the setting are offered flexible settling-in arrangements. Babies who become upset or tearful are given attention and reassurance. Staff softly sing lullabies to help babies to settle. Routines from home are valued and followed. All staff are respectful, kind and nurturing as they get to know the children and their individual personalities. Staff get down to the children's level and play alongside them. They model how to use resources so that children can follow. Children listen to stories, which staff read to them with animation. They have good opportunities to handle books and learn how to turn pages.
Children learn how to behave and to be kind to each other because staff embed consistent boundaries for expected behaviour. Staff extend older children's learning as they ask thought-provoking questions. They help children to explore the difference between a square and a rectangle. Children work out how to negotiate the obstacle course, which they helped to construct. Children use their fingers to count in sequence as they join in with familiar action songs. They handle chalks as they make their own creations on the concrete outside. Children pretend to care for their doll 'patient' in the role-play area, which has been set up as a hospital to replicate children's families' experiences.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- encourage staff to engage more effectively with children at mealtimes and to model expected behaviours. In addition, support staff to better manage transitions to sleep times, so that all children are helped to rest in a calm, quiet environment n enhance the quality of teaching further by supporting staff to plan and deliver a curriculum that consistently supports all children, particularly those who are slower to speak, to develop their speech and language skills to the highest level n enhance the quality of learning by helping staff to understand and use a range of strategies that particularly support toddler-age children to express themselves and begin to regulate their own behaviours.
- 18 April 2023Good
- 8 May 2019Outstanding
- 21 May 2018Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Norwich Meridian
- 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.