Busy Bees Day Nursery at Sittingbourne
Good★ 3.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Sittingbourne for children from birth to 8+, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 November 2022. Open since 1999, with 77 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 Kent
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kent 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
ME10 4SUWhat 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, 2 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy to come to this safe and nurturing nursery. They are greeted by friendly staff who engage positively with them throughout the day. Children receive lots of praise, which helps to boost their self-esteem and confidence in their abilities. They often play alongside their friends and enjoy singing familiar songs together and completing rhymes. Staff teach children to be kind to each other.
Children praise their friends when they put their own coat on and help each other clean the table after snack time.
All staff have high expectations for children and provide activities based around their own interests, to engage them. Babies are confident and at ease in the nursery. They babble and kick their arms and legs with excitement, as staff play peekaboo with them. Toddlers immerse themselves in learning about different sea creatures, while matching toys to pictures. Older children show enthusiasm when exploring a parachute outdoors. They work as a team to solve how to use sticks to turn the parachute into a den. Staff support children of all ages to become independent. They even help staff to complete daily risk assessments, with the help of 'Safety Buzz', a bee teddy.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- improve staff's confidence in adapting their teaching and routines, to ensure all children are benefitting from the learning taking place n support staff to further improve their interactions with children, to give children more time to think and respond to questions before the learning moves on.
- 2 November 2022Good
- 5 December 2016Good
- 20 September 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Sittingbourne
- 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.