Busy Bees Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Harrogate for from 2 years up to school age, open sessions in term time, often mornings. £46.88 a day for 2 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2023. Open since 1993, with 26 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 | Full day | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 years2y to 3y | £46.88 | £31.88Morning plus lunch, 4 hrs | £7.50for 2 year old children | |
| Over 3 years3y to 5y | £40.63 | £27.63Morning plus lunch, 4 hrs | £6.50for children over 3 years old |
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £0.50 to £1.00 an hour Extra ad-hoc hours
- £2.13 to £4.25 a session Morning Session and lunch club
- £3.13 to £6.25 a day Full day
Funded hours
Universal Funding (15 hours), Working Family Funding (up to 30 hours), Additional Support Funding (15 hours for 2-year-olds).
Worth knowing. Additional charges applied to funded places: Two Year Old Places: Full day - £3.13, Morning Session and lunch club - £2.13, Extra ad-hoc hours - £0.50/hr. Three & Four Year Old Places: Full day - £6.25, Morning session and lunch club - £4.25, Extra ad-hoc hours - £1.00/hr. Parents can opt out of paying additional services charges by providing items themselves.
What childcare usually costs in North Yorkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in North Yorkshire 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
HG3 1LHWhat 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 January 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and enjoy spending time in this warm, welcoming setting. New children settle quickly and soon become familiar with their surroundings. Staff are attentive to children's needs. Children show they feel comfortable with the staff.
For example, they climb onto staff members' knees during play, and seek out staff for cuddles.
Children develop their independence skills well. They learn to put on their own coats and wash their hands before meals and snacks. Children behave well in the setting. They are free to make choices throughout the day. For example, they can choose when they want to have snack and can freely access the outdoor area.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- ensure strategies used to manage children's behaviour are applied consistently, so that children understand what is expected of them n further develop plans for staff's professional development to embed a deeper understanding of wider safeguarding issues.
- 5 January 2023Good
- 16 May 2017Good
- 2 February 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Busy Bees Pre-School
- 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 £46.88 a day 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.