Busy Bees Day Nursery at Preston Hospital
Good★ 3.3 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Preston for children from birth to 5, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 April 2024. Open since 2003, with 60 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 Lancashire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Lancashire 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
PR2 9HTWhat 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.
- 29 July 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 30 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff are committed to giving children the best start in their early education. As a result, children benefit from a wealth of activities that spark their interests and hunger for learning. Staff do their utmost to ensure that children are happy and settled. They place children at the heart of everything that they do. Consequently, babies and children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. This is evident from the laughter and conversations that flow throughout the nursery. Children have a voice. For example, they are actively encouraged to put forward their ideas on what may happen when mixing paint.
Children relish the opportunities to spend time with their friends. They enjoy collaborating with one another. For example, children offer each other guidance and support as they plant pretend vegetables. Staff encourage children to be independent. Babies learn to feed themselves. Older children help to set the table for meals, serve themselves and clear away afterwards. This helps to prepare them for their next stage in learning. Children behave well. They provide gentle reminders to their friends about using 'kind hands'. Overall, children demonstrate positive behaviours and good attitudes to learning.
A key strength of the nursery is how well the staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff think carefully about what the children need to learn and how. The special educational needs coordinators
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help all staff to organise activities more precisely to focus on what leaders intend n strengthen the curriculum, so that learning intentions are clear and consistently implemented.
- 30 April 2024Good
- 1 June 2018Outstanding
- 5 March 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Preston Hospital
- 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.