Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley

2 Newborough Road, Shirley, Solihull B90 2HA
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9.9 55 Reviews
  • Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley, Solihull
Busy Little Bees day nursery is located in Shirley, Solihull. It is easily accessible by car or on foot and is moments from the Haslucks Green Road bus stops.

Each child has a dedicated key person to monitor their progress, development and care.

The children are grouped by age. Bumble Bees, for babies aged up to 24 months, provides a sensory environment with activities such as stories, singing and messy play. Babies also have outdoor play and a cosy sleeping area.

The Honey Bees room, for children aged 24 to 36 months, is where children begin to expand their imagination with messy play, creating things with play dough, sand and water. At the nursery, children get involved in role-play, learn about nature and enjoy free-flow play into the multi-sensory garden.

Busy Bees is for children aged 30 to 36 months. They learn about nature and cooking while enjoying messy play and plenty of outdoor activities in the Busy Bees garden. Adjacent to this is the Honey Pot room, the pre-school area for children aged from 40 months to five years. In preparation for school life, the team follow the EYFS framework to build each child’s independence and imagination, as well as their communication and social, physical and emotional development.
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Type of Service

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

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Gemma Morton (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 12

Total Places for Children

  • 53

Age Range

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

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 & 1 week at Christmas

Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley Reviews (55)

9.9

Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.875) out of 10, based on 18 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley has 55 reviews.

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Review from Hira M (Mother of Child) published on 29 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The staff are so amazing, so caring and considerate to parents. They really do go out of their way to ensure parents feel happy and content with their child attending. They make sure to keep parents up to date with any changes or upcoming events. I am so happy with the service, the quality of learning
and the whole learning environment!
Reply from Helena Waterworth, Nursery Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback - I will ensure that your kind words are passed on to the rest of the team.
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Review from T F (Mother of Child) published on 29 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our little boy has been attending Busy Little Bees Nursery since September 2021. In this time, he has flourished both on a personal and developmental level. The staff work extremely hard, are supportive and there to answer any questions and our son is extremely happy. We are able to see what he has
been doing and he enjoys telling us all about what has been going on each day and who he has played with. His confidence has grown immensely.
I would definitely recommend Busy Little Bees to others. Thank you so much to all the staff who work so hard to make this nursery a fantastic place!
Reply from Helena Waterworth, Nursery Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you so much for your kind words, we are so glad that he enjoys his time with us at nursery. I will ensure that your feedback is shared with the rest of the team
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Review from Jaina M (Mother of Child) published on 29 April 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Since our daughter started at Busy Little Bees Nursery she has blossomed and continues to grow in every way. We know she is cared for and her growth and development is constantly reviewed with us.
The staff communicate well through email, phone or the online journal. They're also always happy for
us to ring in to check in on our daughter and give reassurance.
The food provided is almost always eaten by our daughter. They provide enough snacks and food throughout the day.
The online journal is really helpful to check in on our daughter, such as how much she's eaten/slept.
We're looking forward to the new activities the nursery have planned now that we have come out of Covid/lockdown.
Reply from Helena Waterworth, Nursery Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you so much for your wonderful, kind words. We are so pleased that you are happy with our nursery and we too look forward to offering more and more experiences to our children as restrictions…read more
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Review from Louise T (Mother of Child) published on 17 February 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have been so so happy with the care, services, communication and learning that have been provided by the nursery. My child has been in the setting for 5 months and he is showing signs of his development every day. He also talks about what he does at nursery, his friends and the staff even on the days
he doesn't attend, which to me shows how happy he is. Communication with the nursery is great. The staff seem to really care about each child in the setting. We are very happy!
Reply from Helena Waterworth, Nursery Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you so much for this lovely review. I will make sure that this is fed back to the team.
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Review from Keemat S (Father of Child) published on 16 March 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Since my son started, the staff has always been there to help and give support. They have been so good throughout the pandemic. My son has learnt so much in such a short period of time. He has come out of his shell so much.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for taking the time to complete this review. We really appreciate the lovely feedback and I will make sure it is fed back to the team.
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Review from Anna H (Mother of Child) published on 16 March 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My child goes here and the staff are absoulutely amazing. My child has developed so much since starting here. You receive lots of support and feedback. Even throughout lockdown the nursery has kept parents updated on everything. I would highly recommend this nursery.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your lovely feedback. I will make sure this is fed back to the whole staff team.
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Review from Amy N (Mother of Child) published on 5 March 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The nursery staff are brilliant, especially this year throughout Covid, they have been so supportive to the children and parents when I can imagine it must have been a very worrying time for them. Both my sons have attended and my three-year-old is there currently and absolutely loves it. He is learning
new things every day (yesterday he was telling me all about flags and countries and the things he has learned in sign language!). He can't wait to go in each day.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for taking the time to complete this review. Your comments are really appreciated and will be fed back to the team.
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Review from Amy W (Mother of Child) published on 5 March 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter started at Busy Little Bees in January 2020 and I can’t fault them in any way.
They have been brilliant with her and helped her to come out of her shell. It really is lovely to hear that she has become much more confident. She is now in the Honey Pot room and they are preparing her for
when she starts school. She can now write her name by herself which is fantastic. They have also been really helpful and thoughtful to us as a family when my newborn baby was poorly in hospital, offering to change my daughter's days at nursery to help us in the best way possible, this did not go unmissed and we are really grateful! All staff are brilliant with my daughter and she genuinely loves going to nursery which makes me happy knowing she is enjoying herself.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to complete this review. I will share this with the team.
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Review from C H (Mother of Child) published on 3 March 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter was turning 1when she started in January 2019, when I returned back to work after my maternity leave. The manager is so amazing and helped me to get the space for my daughter after I was stressed to looked around other nurseries. Now she is three, I find the headteacher, manager and the
teachers are so amazing to my daughter to make her develop confidence, happy and learning a lot, they always tell me what she has been doing etc. My daughter is always so happy with the teachers and the children, she always tells me what she has been doing. I am not going to lie, I didn't want my daughter going to big school next year - I want her to stay at nursery like forever. I will definitely recommend it to my family and friends in the future. Thank you for making my daughter feel welcome.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for the lovely feedback, I will pass this onto the team. It has been a pleasure having your daughter at our nursery.
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Review from B M (Mother of Child) published on 11 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I would definitely recommend this Nursery. Both my children have attended here over the last 5 years and really enjoyed it. Staff are very attentive and supportive and my son loves attending. From the moment he enters he is greeted with a warm welcome and he can't wait to get in and start his day! Handovers
are informative and I know exactly what my son has been up to all day! The nursery staff are very accommodating and nothing is too much trouble for them and they will do their best to support you. I would definitely recommend this nursery!
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your lovely feedback. It has been a pleasure having both of your children at our nursery.
I will make sure that this is fed back to the team.
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Review from T M (Mother of Child) published on 4 December 2020 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
This nursery is amazing. They have looked after both of my children, and I couldn't be happier with the care they provide! They have a genuine interest in my child development and they genuinely care too they helped so much with potty training my first as I wasn't confident. They have bent over backwards
to accommodate the student funding process I needed. The staff are so friendly and supportive and nothing is too much to ask. Would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Reply from Jackie Davies, Owner at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your review and your recommendation. It has been a pleasure having both of your children in our nursery.
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Review from Aimee D (Mother of Child) published on 30 November 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I can not recommend this nursery enough!
Throughout the unusual circumstances of lockdown, communication was still maintained- I was contacted numerous times to check if my daughter and my myself were ok. Different activities were also suggested to stimulate my bored 2-year-old, this helped massively.
The
professional manner of all staff ensured that upon returning to the nursery, my daughter settled back into the nursery routine with ease and I have noticed a vast improvement in her skills and her manners. My daughter is constantly talking about activities which she has carried out while in nursery and I often find her trying to recreate these activities at home. The online portal enables me to view pictures of what she has been doing throughout the day... this is something I particularly enjoy, as it enables me to ask questions and talk to her about her day.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you very much for your review. I will make sure all of your lovely comments are fed back to the team.
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Review from Jessica C (Mother of Child) published on 26 November 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been at the nursery since she was 9 months old. She was very attached to me. However, sending her to Busy Little Bees was the best thing I ever did. With the wonderful hard-working staff working with her, my daughter has really blossomed with confidence. She is always happy and I see
everything she has during the day. I even have noticed things at home such as tidying her toys away and singing songs she has learnt.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your review. I will ensure it is fed back to all the team.
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Review from Ty J (Father of Child) published on 26 November 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My girl has been going to this nursery since November 2019 and she has grown so much as a child. From being reserved and quiet, she is now very confident, happy and very talkative 2-year-old. I am very appreciative of the attention given by the staff and management for the care of my girl. Overall I
am pleased, would highly recommend this nursery.
Reply from Rebecca Lamberth, Manager at Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley
Thank you for your lovely feedback. I will pass this onto the team.
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Review from Kathryn H (Mother of Child) published on 5 December 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My daughter has been attending the nursery now since she was 11 months old. The staff are very friendly and focus on supporting the child whilst developing their independence. The key workers my daughter has had have all looked after her very well and have paid close attention to her development and
fed back to us as parents. The children are friendly and polite and the nursery encourages this in the children.


There has been a change of manager which has brought in a lot of improvement recently. My daughter is leaving to go to reception in Sep 2019 and Busy Little Bees are working hard to get her ready for school. She is currently learning to write and also learning her letters and numbers.


I would say that the nursery does have a yearly fee increase of between 2-3 pounds a day which can all add up put the price is comparable with the location. The nursery does need to invest in some new toilets as the ones they have are quite run down.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.875)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.875) out of 10 for Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 18 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 18 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 4.875 for Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley is calculated as follows: ( (191 Excellents x 5) + (23 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 216 Ratings = 4.875
  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 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Busy Little Bees Nursery - Shirley is based on 18 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 53 number of registered child places is 10.6, which has been reached with 18 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  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 (0)

Meet the Team (3)

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Gemma Morton

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2025
Lisa

Lisa Poole

Job Title: Deputy Manager Joined: 2016

I joined the team at Busy Little Bee's Hall Green branch in May 2016 and moved to the Shirley branch in 2022 when I was promoted to Deputy Manager. As well as supporting Helena as part of the management team, I lead my team in the baby room too.

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Lucy Barrett

Job Title: Deputy manager Joined: 2024

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