Busy Bees Day Nursery at Sunderland Fulwell
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Sunderland 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 November 2022. Open since 2003, with 82 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 Sunderland
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Sunderland 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
SR5 1NWWhat 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.
- 15 September 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 23 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children respond positively to the warm greeting that staff give them when they arrive. This helps children to feel safe and happy. They positively beam when they interact with the staff and other children. They show consistently high levels of excitement and engage fully in the activities that staff provide for them.
Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff use information gathered from parents and carers to provide targeted support. This helps to fill the gaps in children's learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Children concentrate for long periods as they look at light patterns and shadows made with torches, comparing how coloured plastic squares change colours. They are watched by attentive staff who offer encouragement and praise them for their achievements. This helps children with their self-esteem and confidence.
Staff plan activities to encourage children to talk about their emotions and name their feelings. They teach children to understand what makes them unique.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to recognise how to use spontaneous opportunities to extend and challenge every child's learning further - ensure assessments of children's development are consistently accurate, and use this information to support children's learning even further.
- 23 November 2022Good
- 28 March 2017Outstanding
- 11 April 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Sunderland Fulwell
- 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.