Busy Bees Harlow

The Greenway, Harlow Business Park, Harlow CM19 5QE
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9.5 86 Reviews
  • Busy Bees Harlow, Harlow
Busy Bees Harlow is a purpose-built, single-storey nursery, designed with endless learning opportunities for children. The children can access the spacious and well-equipped garden areas where they are encouraged to explore their imagination. The nursery also provides a ‘Grow Your Own’ project, in which the children can get involved in digging and caring for fruit and veg.

The experienced and qualified staff are committed to giving children the best start in life and providing excellent care for all children, so they are supported, safe and well looked after whilst at the nursery. With secure key fob access and onsite CCTV, you can be rest assured your child is safe and supported.

To ensure that your child has the best time at nursery, there are a wide variety of fun filled activities and excellent learning resources available to cater for every child’s needs and interests. The nursery team plans and prepares activities in line with the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum so that your little one can learn whilst having fun during their stay at nursery. Following the EYFS curriculum will help support your child to prepare for the next key stage.

The nursery has a talented Chef who not only prepares delicious and nutritious food in line with the NHS-accredited menus and individual dietary requirements, but also cooks with seasonal produce to give children the opportunity to experience different colours, textures and tastes.
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Type of Service

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

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Kim Shinn and Louise Christie (Centre Directors)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 25

Total Places for Children

  • 121

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 08:00-18:00
    Tuesday 08:00-18:00
    Wednesday 08:00-18:00
    Thursday 08:00-18:00
    Friday 08:00-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays

Busy Bees Harlow Reviews (86)

9.5

Busy Bees Harlow has a Review Score of 9.5 (9.539) out of 10, based on 17 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Busy Bees Harlow has 86 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
  • 86
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Reviewer Connection to Busy Bees Harlow
  • 76
  • 10
Total of 86, showing 21-40
Review from Leanne A (Mother of Child) published on 27 July 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter has been at the nursery since she was 10 months old and is now leaving to head to Primary school at 4 years old. Our daughter absolutely loves going to the nursery with her heading (sometimes running) into her class each morning without a care or worry in the world, what more can you ask
for. The staff at the nursery are just brilliant, nothing is ever too much trouble, they all work so hard and you really do feel part of a nursery community, I really could not praise them high enough. The app used to keep you up to date each day on their activities, learning stories, photos etc is always updated which gives you the reassurance throughout the day that your little one is all ok. As a full-time working mum knowing our daughter is so well cared for and has such a fantastic time each day really does take that pressure off. We will all be sad to say goodbye to the nursery when the time comes, I honestly could not recommend the nursery highly enough.
Reply from Emily Graves, Digital Content Assistant at Busy Bees Harlow
Hello, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such a wonderful review! We’re glad you have given your little one the best start in life with us.
40 years of Busy Bees – 40 years of best…read more
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Review from B G (Mother of Child) published on 5 October 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughters have both been at Busy Bees since they were one year old. They have always loved going in every day as they have so much fun and think the ladies are all wonderful. I have always felt they were in safe hands and their development is well looked after. My eldest has just graduated and we
were very sad to leave nursery, but her transition to school was seamless as Busy Bees had given her a wonderful start. We are happy that our second child is still at nursery so we get to stay in contact. I would recommend this nursery to everyone, it's really wonderful.
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Review from Katie C (Mother of Child) published on 30 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We looked at a handful of nurseries with our first child and this nursery stood out for so many reasons. Our daughter absolutely loved it from day one and I don't believe we were lucky, I think it was down to the nursery staff. We have since placed our second child here and she too has absolutely loved
it. I can genuinely say that there is nothing that I think they can improve on. Just continue to maintain the high standard of service throughout the nursery. Being able to go to work and not having to worry means so much and knowing how happy they are to be there, is priceless! We are so thankful and couldn't recommend them enough.
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Review from Cassie D (Mother of Child) published on 30 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My child has been attending the nursery for the last three years. She absolutely loves it there and so do we. They always have something going on and come up with great activities for the children. The staff are fantastic, they really care for all the children and are a great extension of our family.
A few friends recommended Busy Bees spanning the last 8/9 years and it has been consistently good. We would highly recommend Busy Bees, Harlow and have done to other parents. We will be very sad when our child leaves for school next year.
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Review from P C (Mother of Child) published on 27 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My little girl just started at nursery and she is growing more and more every day. It's clear she loves it and learns something new daily. Honestly love the staff, always smiling and friendly and genuinely, my little girl is starting to grow such a strong bond already. The staff's communication with
me after her day at nursery and throughout, enlighten me on how she is feeling and what she got up to. I know she honestly is the happiest little girl, when I come and pick her up and she tells me about her friends and her day! The pictures that are uploaded on the app, are such a lovely way to ease my anxious feelings about if she's okay, which she always is. Nothing I can fault, brilliant Busy Bees! Thank you for always having a lovely environment for my child to grow in and learn every day!
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Review from C H (Mother of Child) published on 24 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My child loves going to Busy Bees. The staff come up with fun and creative activities every day, often based on things we’ve been doing as a family. We get regular catch-ups with key workers and staff, both in person and through the app.
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Review from E G (Mother of Child) published on 24 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
This nursery is a great place for your child to grow up in, everything is perfect, staff very nice and caring. My child is very happy there.
Thank you to you all for providing the best start in life for our children.
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Review from L G (Mother of Child) published on 19 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I cannot recommend or thank Busy Bees Harlow enough for looking after my son. He has attended since he was 13 months old and now at 2.5yrs he still absolutely loves it there. The amazing support the staff there give the parents also is top service. Through times of putting my son in as a baby, worries
through covid times and anxiety around how he grows up every step you are reassured and looked after as much as your child. Thank you all and keep up the great work.
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Review from Katie P (Mother of Child) published on 19 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Beautiful purpose built nursery in a central location of Harlow, close to the train station, town, industrial estates etc. Every element of my child’s learning is taken into account and the resources provided support and enable her learning and development. There are lots of natural and ‘real life’
equipment that promotes creativity and imagination and less of the brightly coloured plastic toys. Care is incredible and I have always felt that the staff genuinely love my children and enjoys spending time with them. Activities are open ended and linked to experiences at home. Staff are knowledgeable, professional, polite, hard working and experienced. The food is healthy, fresh, varied and plentiful with a friendly chef cooking on site. The managers have years of experience and are truly dedicated to making the nursery the best place for my child. The nursery is clean with additional procedures in place since Covid. My child is safe and I wouldn’t send her anywhere else!
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Review from L E (Mother of Child) published on 19 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have wanted to write a review almost immediately from when my child started nursery in July 2022. Sending such a young child to nursery naturally increased my anxiety. in fact, I began feeling nervous from the moment I conducted my extensive research on childcare options and nurseries. I decided to
choose Busy Bees, Harlow from personal recommendations and outstanding reviews online. What really contributed to my final decision, however, was visiting the nursery myself and experiencing the atmosphere and friendly staff. The entire staff at Busy Bees engage wonderfully with both children and parents in a very individualised way. One staff member, in particular, displays the highest professionalism every day when greeting us, that I almost never experienced separation anxiety. The consistent smiles and interaction from staff feels like home. The management are really committed to providing a safe, fun, and loving environment and I'm very thankful to the entire team at Busy Bees.
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Review from Sarah C (Mother of Child) published on 19 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter joined Busy Bees back in October 2021. She absolutely loves going to nursery. She runs into the room, she doesn’t even give me a chance to take her coat off! The staff were so welcoming and have always been so kind and caring to both me and my daughter. My daughter has dietary requirements
and allergies and they have been really good with all our requests and needs. During covid, the staff were really good with keeping us up to date via the app and the precautions put in place worked really well. We notice my daughter developing more and more every time she comes home from nursery. Highly recommend this nursery!
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Review from Chloe S (Mother of Child) published on 18 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Great experience with Busy Bees Harlow. My daughter is happy and excited to go in every day and for me, it is so reassuring to know she is well looked after. We have noticed her speech come on leaps and bounds after days at nursery and the team have really supported us with her recent potty training.
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Review from T B (Mother of Child) published on 17 August 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Over the moon with my little one attending Busy Bees Harlow nursery. I have been able to go to work and switch my mind off mummy mode because I just don’t worry about my little one being there. It’s their favourite place to go. The nursery takes so much care in the details of everything and the environment
is fun, creative, gentle and nurturing. The lunch menus are insanely good and my little one is yet to turn down a dish since starting. The daily feedback reports are informative. It is managed brilliantly. All the rooms are clean, the outside spaces are bright and colourful. The nursery have made me feel like I’ve done something right by my little one. They come out smiling every day and is clapping in the car on arrival each morning. They have become her own little family.
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Review from Laura B (Mother of Child) published on 15 February 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My baby joined the nursery in summer 2021. The staff were very attentive and made his start in nursery life a great experience. The nursery has very good Covid19 procedures in place and as a parent, I feel that my kid is safe. I can see my baby developing every day. The staff are always available to
help and provide great info.
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Review from Rachel W (Mother of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A lovely nursery with caring staff. The nursery has really good Covid-19 procedures and this makes us feel safe to drop our child into the nursery each day. They organise fun events regularly and the activities in the room are creative and engaging. The nursery has lovely facilities and great outside
space. Food is such a high standard and they care about the nutritional value as well, our child eats better than we do! I already have my second child's place saved, that's how much we love this nursery.
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Review from A C (Mother of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I cannot recommend Busy Bees in Harlow enough. My daughter loves it there so much, always randomly saying "I love nursery" at weekends. I'm one of those annoyingly, anxious mothers and I've always felt so at ease at drop off as I know she is in good hands. The management are always highly professional
as well as personable and the staff are all so lovely.
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Review from Sarah H (Mother of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Busy Bees in Harlow is a wonderful place. My little boy started when he turned one just as we went into lockdown and we were anxious about him starting in the middle of the pandemic but it has been an amazing experience. He settled quickly and the staff were amazing at communicating his day with us.
He now loves nursery and his key worker. She is a lovely person and I can tell that she genuinely cares for the children and enjoys her job. He eats all his food which sounds delicious. Thank you Busy Bees in Harlow.
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Review from Danielle S (Mother of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Busy Bees have been great all through the pandemic and keeping things safe. My child loves it here.
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Review from William W (Father of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I could not recommend Busy Bees highly enough. The care is second to none.
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Review from Zanetta R (Mother of Child) published on 8 April 2021 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Amazing nursery, this is the second child of mine to attend Busy Bees and I could not ask for a better environment for them to be taken care of. Wonderful staff who form fantastic bonds with the children. Updated regularly on learning and activities. Peace of mind knowing my child is happy and very
well cared for both in regards to development and wellbeing. X
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Current Review Score: 9.5 (9.539)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.5 (9.539) out of 10 for Busy Bees Harlow is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 17 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.7 out of 5 from 17 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 4.837 for Busy Bees Harlow is calculated as follows: ( (172 Excellents x 5) + (27 Goods x 4) + (3 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 202 Ratings = 4.837
  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 4.702 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Busy Bees Harlow is based on 17 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 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    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 121 number of registered child places is 24.2. 17 Positive Reviews ÷ 24.2 = 0.702
  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

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (1)

Meet the Team (2)

Kim And Louise

Kim And Louise

Job Title: Centre Manager Joined: 1996

Hi,
We are Kim and Louise, Joint Managers here at Busy bees Harlow and between us we have over a whopping 40 years experience in childcare, NNEB and NVQ Level 3 qualifications and are both NVQ assessors. We have been at Harlow since 1996.
During this time we have enjoyed working with every age group of children as nursery nurses and deputy managers, and we now job share the role of Manager, enjoying working alongside the most amazing, caring and educated staff we can find.
Our specialist skills include child protection training, mentoring our team and our Busy bees initiatives, Wake & Shake (Kim’s fav), Grow your Own(Louise’s fav) Busy Babies, Babble to Chatter, Imagination Station and completing our NDNA Quality Assurance award.
Our own 4 children have attended Busy Bees Harlow and experience of the wonders of Busy Bees and nursery life just like your child can.
So why not come and meet us and see how much fun your child could have here at Harlow.

Hayley

Hayley

Job Title: Assistant Manager Joined: 2014

Hi my name is Hayley, I joined Busy Bees in 2014. After completing Level 3 in childcare, I worked as a childminding assistant. Alongside this, I attended Anglia Ruskin University, where I graduated with a BA Hons in Education and Childhood Studies (Level 6). I have 11 years’ experience working within childcare, I am first aid at work and paediatric first aid trained. I am based in our 3-5 year old rooms, I love watching the children's personalities grow and helping to support and prepare the children for their transitions into school. Alongside this I am the nurseries EYFS representative, helping to support and monitor the education and planning in each age group. I am also the nursery SENCo and help support the children, staff and parents where required.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Busy Bees Harlow to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Busy Bees Harlow has an Enhanced Service - more info.