Busy Bees Day Nursery at St Albans Hatfield Road
Outstanding★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in St. Albans for children from birth to 5, open 07:00 to 18:15, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2023. Open since 2002, 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 Hertfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hertfordshire 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
AL4 0HLWhat 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, 22 March 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children flourish and thrive in this amazing nursery. They receive support from staff who nurture and encourage them. All children separate from their parents and carers happily and with ease. Older children self-register, choosing which coat peg to place their photo on. Younger children find their own belongings from their labelled pegs. This enables all children to have a sense of belonging from the time they start their journey at the nursery.
Children explore with awe and wonder in the inviting environment. Older children grate chalk and add it to a coffee pot, explaining that this is to make coffee. Babies find toy animals from a farm as staff sing 'Old Macdonald had a farm'. Children revisit previous learning to further embed their knowledge. For example, they look at a carrot top and can remember what vegetable it comes from and what they must do to remove it from the ground.
Babies enjoy a wide range of songs and rhymes. They sway back and forth during the singing. Older children retell stories they have previously heard. They use the book and props to aid their storytelling. This enables children to have excellent language and communication skills.
- 22 March 2023Outstanding
- 15 August 2017Outstanding
- 22 August 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at St Albans Hatfield Road
- 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.