Honeybees Pre-School
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Lewes for from 1 year up to school age, open 08:30 to 17:00, 5 days a week. £8.00 an hour for 2 Year Olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2023. Open since 1999, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
2 Year Olds £8.00 p/h
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
30 hours childcare.
Worth knowing. Honeybees will be offering our families up to the maximum of 28 hours to use here. (For example, four full days). Families in receipt of 15 hours we will be offering up to the maximum of 14 hours to use at Honeybees. (For example, two full days). Funded hours cannot be used at Early Bee/Late Bee sessions.
What childcare usually costs in East Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in East Sussex 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
BN7 3DPWhat 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, 20 January 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff are extremely committed to delivering a highly ambitious curriculum. They have a shared vision and strive for all children to have the best start in life. They expertly plan high quality, stimulating learning experiences. As a result, all children, including those who are disadvantaged, make excellent progress in their learning and development. Children are consistently, deeply engaged in their play. They concentrate intently as they practise and master skills, such as using scissors.
Children have access to an array of mark-making experiences. For instance, in the outside area they use chalk to draw on trees, while inside they use rollers and big paintbrushes to create large scale art. This supports children to develop the small hand muscles they need for early writing.
Children's personal, social and emotional development is at the core of the curriculum. Staff nurture children's personalities and value each child as a unique and individual being. They provide exemplary support for children's emotional wellbeing. For example, they use 'feelings puppets' to help children work through any challenges that they experience. As a result, children develop an excellent understanding of their feelings and emotions. Children are exceptionally confident and form very secure attachments to the encouraging staff team. They greatly benefit from a range of outings, such as pond dipping in the local stream, trips by train and visiting the nearby allotment.
- 20 January 2023Outstanding
- 7 March 2017Good
- 3 February 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Honeybees Pre-School
- 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.
- Is £8.00 an hour 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.