Busy Bees (Durham) Ltd
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.5 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Durham for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2024. Open since 2017, with 169 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
All two, three and four year old children are entitled to Early Years funded sessions through the Free Early Years Education grant. There are currently 30 Hours FREE Early Years entitlement per week, across 38 weeks of the year.
Worth knowing. Funded Places – Chargeable Extras.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
DH1 5HWWhat 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, 5 November 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff provide a welcoming and nurturing environment for all children. They warmly greet children at the door. There are good settling-in procedures that are flexible to meet the needs of all children. Staff find out the needs of children and their home routines, which they follow in the nursery. Staff are caring and sensitive to children's needs. They provide reassurance and cuddles where needed, supporting children emotionally.
Staff help children to have high levels of confidence. Staff listen to children, and from a young age, children are confident to speak to visitors to explain what they are doing. For instance, when involved in an activity, children say they are squeezing the dough. The voice of the child is very important to management.
They have developed a nursery council. This gives children the opportunity to have a say in what happens in the nursery. For example, staff have shown children the possible risks around the nursery and asked them to see if they can identify any risks. This helps children to stay safe.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- review organisation of lunchtime for older children, so that children do not wait too long to have their food n support staff to review the organisation of the environment for younger children so that they have sufficient space to practise their emerging walking skills.
- 5 November 2024Good
- 18 June 2019Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees (Durham) Ltd
- What it costs
- 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
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? 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.