Busy Bees Bedford Elstow

Progress Park, Elstow, Bedford MK42 9XE
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8.4 34 Reviews
  • Busy Bees Bedford Elstow, Bedford
At Busy Bees Bedford Elstow, every child will learn to develop new skills, take part in exciting activities and discover their independence.

The enthusiastic team design and deliver a variety of engaging activities to support children's development. With a qualified teacher onsite and following the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, the team consider each child’s needs and interests.

The fun doesn't end inside, outside the nursery offers a spacious area for children to play and let their imaginations run wild.

Do you want to keep up to date on all the excitement your little one is getting up to? Through the ‘ParentZone’ app, the team are able to deliver regular updates of your child's progress, including any key moments or milestones.
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Zoe Kirkpatrick (Centre Director)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 34

Total Places for Children

  • 112

Age Range

  • from 0 years 2 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • https://www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk/download-fee-sheet/169

  • Fee sheet available via our website, a fee calculator also available

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Parking

  • Parking available on site

Busy Bees Bedford Elstow Reviews (34)

8.4

Busy Bees Bedford Elstow has a Review Score of 8.4 (8.410) out of 10, based on 7 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Busy Bees Bedford Elstow has 34 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
  • 34
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Reviewer Connection to Busy Bees Bedford Elstow
  • 32
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Total of 34, showing 21-34
Review from Ravinder G (Mother of Child) published on 9 May 2019 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has loved attending the nursery since she was 2 years old. The staff and manager all take lots of care in making sure the child settles in well. I have had good relationships with all my daughter's key workers and have always been impressed with how well they communicate updates and messages
to parents. I was very impressed when the current nursery manager introduced the Xmas nativity to the preschool class. My daughter loved being in a group play.
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Review from Lucy H (Mother of Child) published on 9 May 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter started at this nursery in Sept 2018 and she has loved every single day there. She does 3 mornings a week and is in the pre-school room. The staff are all very attentive and lovely and my daughter bonded with them all very quickly. She loves going to this nursery and asks if she can go more.
She is always smiling and so happy when I pick her up and has never had any issues. The meals they provide always sound so delicious and I'm always envious of the food she gets to eat!


I am on the parent partnership committee and the manager is always striving to improve on all areas that she can. There is a monthly newsletter available for the parents and regular parent evenings for us to talk to our children's key worker and read their development files.


I honestly cannot fault this nursery. It has recently all been redecorated/freshened up and looks very inviting. I love this nursery and have already recommended 2 mums looking for a nursery and they have both enrolled their children here too.

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Review from Jenifer A (Mother of Child) published on 26 June 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Great personable staff who go above and beyond. My son absolutely loves going to nursery and he’s come on leaps and bounds with his language and learning in general since he started there 6 months ago.
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Review from Fiona D (Mother of Child) published on 17 April 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My experience has been amazing. I am a shift worker so they cater for my shifts. The staff are so friendly and always have time to talk to you and explain what your child has been up to. My son loves being at pre-school and is learning so much.
The quality of care is 5 star. When my son's little brother
was poorly, they helped by having my son on extra days. My youngest son will be starting here soon and I wouldn't put him anywhere else.
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Review from E B (Mother of Child) published on 17 April 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Friendly atmosphere, welcoming staff and approachable.
My little boy enjoys attending and has a good relationship with staff members.
He always has good activities to keep him stimulated and staff are quick to provide activities which enable him to progress.
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Review from L G (Mother of Child) published on 17 April 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My son started the nursery at 6 months old. The Busy Bees nursery were excellent with ensuring I had all the information I required. My son loved his days at nursery from day one and the staff were always so good in given me feedback that was detailed daily.
He has thrived and enjoyed every minute.
This
nursery has an excellent team and I highly recommend.
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Review from C E (Mother of Child) published on 28 December 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My son has been attending the nursery for three years and I am so pleased with how it has helped him to learn and socialise by attending. He often talks about the lovely staff members and the exciting activities he has taken part in each day.
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Review from Donna F (Mother of Child) published on 27 October 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Our little girl has loved Busy Bees from day one. She bonded with the staff and they have become friends of our family. Staff make the effort to get to know you and we feel they look after our daughter like she was one of their own. The recent well-needed garden renovations have increased the profile
of the nursery and our little girl loves being in the garden. We feel the staff know our little girl and are able to support her in her learning and provide opportunities for her to flourish. Family members have commented on how advanced our little girl is. We know this is because she has had a great start at Busy Bees.
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Review from Norline L (Mother of Child) published on 22 August 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My youngest son has improved with speaking and listening so much in just one month and he is trying different foods. Fantastic nursery and fantastic staff. I am so pleased I put my children here.
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Review from C R (Mother of Child) published on 3 August 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Staff clearly have children's interests at heart.
I would like to see more activities/different things (it maybe that I don't hear at end of the day feedback/my 2-year-old can't tell me).
Clearly, some investment needed in improving the facilities - new sinks etc... And outside including the toys
outside looks tired and it gets very muddy in the wet.
My child is very happy, so have no overall concerns.
Progress is being made by all the team.
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Review from Rachna J (Mother of Child) published on 2 August 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
A really good nursery provides all the care and safeguarding for my daughter, as well as a balanced vegetarian diet and they cater for her needs. She loves playing outdoors and there's plenty of facilities to allow this.
Overall pleased with the nursery.
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Review from Clare C (Mother of Child) published on 2 August 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I love my daughter's nursery Busy Bees, she has so much fun there and gets to do so many different activities. She loves the staff and overall is a very happy girl!
I love getting photos, feedback and reviews. It is clear the staff work very hard, always with a smile on their face.
I think the staff
turnover/change in management has been difficult but not affected my daughter, they continue to provide a wonderful service and I wonder why they don't promote in-house.
I would and have recommended friends to this nursery. I feel happy leaving my daughter there knowing she is happy, safe and fed well. She has come so far in 6 months and her development in all areas has been outstanding, so I appreciate all the input from staff in supporting this. The cost is high but so is the standard of service, so as difficult as fee increases are, I would always try to make sure I can continue sending my daughter here.
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Review from Sheryl M (Mother of Child) published on 5 January 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
I was nervous about returning to work and leaving my son at nursery. He has progressed from 1-2 and now currently preschool and I can honestly say is that he has nothing but thrived being in this nursery environment. The staff have been great in his care and nuturing.


However my only concern is

more outdoor play in all seasons.


But overall, as a parent this has been a great choice for my son.

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Review from Francesca M (Mother of Child) published on 21 December 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I am incredibly happy with this nursery; the staff are kind, caring and knowledgeable. They have made an effort to get to know my daughter and her routine. The staff seem to work well in the rooms with the children, chatting, playing and helping to develop their skills. They have a big range of activities
that the children complete every day which aids their learning. I also appreciate that they communicate well with me when I collect her and have good door security in place. All the staff seem friendly and approachable which is vital for me to feel my daughter is in a good place.
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Current Review Score: 8.4 (8.410)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 8.4 (8.410) out of 10 for Busy Bees Bedford Elstow is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.5 out of 5 from 7 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 3.9 out of 5 from 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.542 for Busy Bees Bedford Elstow is calculated as follows: ( (63 Excellents x 5) + (8 Goods x 4) + (6 Satisfactorys x 3) + (6 Poors x 2) ) ÷ 83 Ratings = 4.542
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 3.868 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Busy Bees Bedford Elstow is based on 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 = 3.6
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 112 number of registered child places is 22.4. 6 Positive Reviews ÷ 22.4 = 0.268
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

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Awards / Recognitions (1)

Meet the Team (1)

Zoe

Zoe Kirkpatrick

Job Title: Centre Director Joined: 2017

Hello, my name is Zoe and I am the Centre Director here at Busy Bees Bedford Elstow.


I started my journey with Busy Bees in May 2017 working my way up from a Room Manager to Centre Director. I have completed a BA (Hons) in Early Years Studies and I am Qualified Level 5 in Management.


I am a very creative person and enjoy being involved in creative activities with the children, allowing them to embrace their curiosity and challenge their own ideas.


I am committed to providing a safe and engaging environment that supports and develops each child's individual needs, working in partnership with all of my families to ensure their children have the best start in life.


I look forward to meeting you all and welcoming you to our Busy Bees Family here at Bedford Elstow.

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