Busy Bees Playgroup
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Deal for from 1 year 6 months up to school age, open 08:15 to 12:45, 5 days a week. £32.25 a session for 1 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2009, with 30 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year.
| Age | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year olds12m to 2y | £32.25fees (3hours) 9am to 12 noon, 3 hrs | |
| 2 year olds2y to 3y | £5.884 hrs £23.52fees (3hours) 9am to 12 noon, 3 hrs | |
| 3 & 4 year olds3y to 4y | £16.92fees (3hours) 9am to 12 noon, 3 hrs |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £4.23 a session Lunch club (3/4 hour) is available from 12 noon to 12.45pm
- £2.75 a day healthy school dinner and dessert supplied by Whole school
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Up to 30 hours per week (for 38 weeks a year) of free early years education for working parents; All children age 3 & 4 will be entitled to 15 hours of free early education; Free for 2 (2 year old ) funding must meet with certain criteria.
Worth knowing. The 15 hour a week pattern is completely flexible and can be used in any combination of hours (as set out above) ie. The fee can be used by attending 5 x 3 hour morning sessions or 4 x 3 hour morning sessions plus 4 x 3/4 hour lunch clubs, etc.
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
CT14 0DEWhat 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, 10 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at the setting happy and excited to see the friendly and welcoming staff. They separate from their parents and carers with ease and settle quickly.
Children form close relationships with the staff, who care for them and get to know them well. Children are confident and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure.
They show consistently high levels engagement in the activities that staff provide and benefit from a curriculum that provides them with enriching experiences.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- extend staff's skills to enable them to build on their interactions with older children, to further extend their learning n enhance the support given to parents to help them understand how they can support their children's learning at home.
- 10 November 2022Good
- 22 March 2017Good
- 28 January 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Playgroup
- 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.
- Is £32.25 a session still the rate? 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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.