Busy Bees Derby Oakwood

29 Smalley Drive, Oakwood, Derby DE21 2SF
Review Us
9.5 40 Reviews
  • Busy Bees Derby Oakwood, Derby
Busy Bees at Derby Oakwood, Smalley Drive is a friendly setting offering every child the opportunity to learn, play and have fun as they develop through their early years. With so much to love about the nursery, your little one is sure to enjoy every moment.

The highly qualified team carefully curate a wide range of engaging activities and learning resources in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework to ensure that there is something for every child to enjoy whilst also promoting positive development at every age and stage.   

The nursery benefits from a spacious, refurbished garden which has been divided into three areas for each age group and offers opportunities for children to play and explore whilst enjoying the fresh air. Toddlers and Pre-schoolers can even get involved in football sessions every Tuesday with ‘Super Star Sports’!

Vibrant early years education is complemented by home-cooked meals, which can be catered to suit allergies or dietary requirements. All meals, drinks and snacks are prepared on-site by the chef and are NHS accredited.

If you’d like to keep up to date with your child’s time at the nursery, the ‘ParentZone’ app offers regular updates provided by the team to keep you in the loop with what your little one is getting up to, along with any milestones they reach.

If you'd like to find out more about Busy Bees at Derby Oakwood, please contact the team.
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Type of Service

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

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Sam Pickering (Centre Director)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 22

Total Places for Children

  • 110

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, Christmas Day, Boxing Day & New Years Day

Parking

  • The Cente offers ample parking on-site for your safety and convenience.

Busy Bees Derby Oakwood Reviews (40)

9.5

Busy Bees Derby Oakwood has a Review Score of 9.5 (9.469) out of 10, based on 12 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Busy Bees Derby Oakwood has 40 reviews.

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Total of 40, showing 1-20
Review from L R (Mother of Child) published on 10 September 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has just graduated from this Nursery and I can't thank the team here enough for truly giving her the best start - preparing her for the big world. Throughout her journey at Busy Bees the staff turn over has been next to none, each with long lengths of service. This is reassuring that the
staff are treated well and happy in their role which then reflects on the care they're providing. This also means that the faces are familiar with each drop off/collection, allowing a positive relationship to be had and making those sometimes challenging drop offs a little easier. The app allowed us to check in each day and look back on her progress like a journal and her key worker provided a more personal incite, as well as annual parent evenings. The skills and confidence that she has is invaluable and I thank you all so very much for playing a huge part.
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Review from Alastair P (Father of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has had a great time at this nursery. She's been here 4 years and has loved every second. The staff are great and have helped her develop no end. She will miss it immensely when she starts school shortly.
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Review from Maggie H (Mother of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A lovely nursery with amazing staff!! All three of my children have been here and they have all loved it. They're brilliant!
Theyve made lots of lovely friends, the rooms are set up really well with lots of activities. My middle daughter has just had her graduation from pre school which was fantastic
too! Thank you all at Busy Bees!
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Review from Stephanie N (Mother of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son has been at this nursery for a few years, after moving into the area when he was 2. They made him feel very welcome and comfortable. The daily updates and photos you get are great and all of the staff are so friendly and you can tell they really enjoy their work. I chose this nursery over closer
ones due to the outside area being big and the children are outside everyday which is great. Would definitely recommend this nursery.
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Review from A O (Father of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter had a wonderful experience at busy bees. The staff are great, and showed great care toward my daughter. My daughter made new friends, and she learnt a lot from her time at busy bees. She picked up a lot of skills, like painting, writing, and spelling.
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Review from L G (Mother of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Excellent nursery both my girls love coming here, staff always go above to make the girls happy. There always talking about the staff at home. They have made some lovely friends. My daughter is really going to miss coming to nursery when she starts school.
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Review from T W (Mother of Child) published on 12 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
The nursery have made both my children come on so much with their talking which is amazing.
The staff in baby room and pre school room are amazing.
Overall I love the nursery and certain staff are lovely and really take the time to interact with my children.
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Review from A J (Mother of Child) published on 9 July 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Absolutely amazing service. The staff are so attentive to the needs of my child and have helped her to come out of her shell. They've been fully supportive to any difficult time she has had both inside and outside of nursery.
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Review from Greg D (Father of Child) published on 4 April 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Staff are polite and very helpful with any questions. My son loves being around the staff and loves being outside in the play areas. The staff have been great at accommodating activities that relate to my son's interests for example they will use certain toys that my son likes and incorporate them
into some table top activities.
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Review from Nick J (Father of Child) published on 21 March 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My Child has not been at nursery for long but in that time he has developed amazingly, the staff are so welcoming and he has a real bond with them that is brilliant to see. Couldn't be happier with the staff, nursery and how my child has settled in since he started.
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Review from D S (Mother of Child) published on 21 March 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both my sons have attended this nursery over the last 3 years, they also both have autism and the team at busy bees have been amazing at keeping the boys safe, entertained and embracing them as individuals. They have supported development of them socially and with communication, working well with speech
and language therapy and keeping us up to date along the way. They have seen the areas that the boys excel in and continued to develop these areas and supported my eldest to be as ready for school as he could be. Most importantly the boys are/were aways happy when going to nursery.
Reply from Sam Pickering, Centre Director at Busy Bees Derby Oakwood
Thanks for your lovely feedback, it is lovely to see how much they have both grown and embraced their time at nursery.
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Review from T S (Father of Child) published on 21 March 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Remarkable Nursery.
As first time parents, we had our fair share of apprehensions about choosing the right nursery to enable our daughter to thrive and feeling confident leaving her with others to look after her, and we are so glad we chose Busy Bees Oakwood.
Right from the start with the initial
visit to settling in sessions to now, the staff are nothing short of fantastic and you can tell that they truly care about every child's welfare, development and safety.
My daughter was reluctant to be left at nursery initially, as most children are, but within a very short space of time she was so excited to go because of how much fun she has there.
Every day the staff take the time to break down my daughter's day explaining what activities they've been doing and what they've been working on. My daughter's social skills and communication has come on leaps and bounds since being at nursery and you can tell it's because of the well thought out approaches to their development.
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Review from David P (Father of Child) published on 5 October 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Wonderful place. All staff have consistently given exceptional care to my daughter; she enjoys going and loves the staff.
The staff make an effort to include children and engage in their interests and are proactive about this - for example, when my daughter was moving up to the next room, the staff
made sure to have certain toys and activities that she enjoys ready for when she moved there.
Reply from Emily Graves, Digital Content Assistant at Busy Bees Derby Oakwood
Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such a wonderful review! We’re glad you’re giving your little one the best start in life with us. Best wishes, Busy Bees
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Review from L H (Mother of Child) published on 17 December 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My child has recently started this nursery and loves all of the staff, happily going to each of them who cares for him. He enjoys all the activities and the photographs we recieve are lovely to see what he is up to. I'm updated online about how much he has eaten which is helpful to know. I'm just so
pleased we managed to find you, my child's behaviour can be challenging at times but I have had so much support, as has he and we have seen such a positive change. Highly recommend this nursery to anyone.
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Review from Sally N (Mother of Child) published on 30 July 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My daughter started at 8 months old and left when she was 4 years old. She really enjoyed her time at nursery and the staff were very welcoming. When I picked up she was always happy and she was always bringing artwork home.
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Review from Katie D (Mother of Child) published on 23 July 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
I have both of my children in this nursery and I think even though there have been a lot of changes over the years its definitely gotten a lot better and the right staff are now there. The staff care for your children and really do put your mind at ease whilst at work. They communicate very well with
you and will always do as you ask with your child. Highly recommend.
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Review from Lucy (Mother of Child) published on 16 July 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The staff are all extremely welcoming and friendly and take a genuine interest in my son. I send in observations to share what he loves at home and they will extend that into the nursery for him to explore there too.
Menu's are NHS accredited and very balanced and cater to all dietary requirements
which is fantastic.
Thank you for all you have done during the pandemic and supporting the children in the best way you can.
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Review from Natalie S (Mother of Child) published on 17 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been going to Busy Bees for almost 2 years and she loves it. The staff are very caring and attentive and keep me up to date with news and events. My little one has made some great friendships and always looks forward to going. The food choices are great and I enjoy hearing about what
new things she has learnt.
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Review from Michael S (Father of Child) published on 16 December 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our 2-year-old has come home tonight and has been role-playing "nursery" today with Mummy and Daddy being the children­.
Her language and responses to the slightly silly mummy and daddy show what an excellent provision Busy Bees in Oakwood has to offer - she modelled positive play and interaction,
kindness and learning.
She is clearly surrounded by staff members who really care for her (and the other children) using kind and consistent language that our little girl could model to those around her.
As parents, we want to know that our children are safe, looked after and happy and Busy Bees offers that.
If the phrase, "out of the mouths of babes" means anything, then our little girl rates Busy Bees highly.
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Review from Sarah S (Mother of Child) published on 30 November 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
This Nursery is extremely, welcoming, friendly, professional and they adore the children. My son has developed so much in their care and loves all his friends and the key workers he has had. During the pandemic, I have felt assured that he is clean and safe and within his bubble and that the nursery
have kept their promise in sticking by the government guidelines in keeping our children as safe as possible. I have recommended this nursery to many of my friends. Thank you.
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Current Review Score: 9.5 (9.469)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.5 (9.469) out of 10 for Busy Bees Derby Oakwood 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 12 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.5 out of 5 from 12 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 4.924 for Busy Bees Derby Oakwood is calculated as follows: ( (133 Excellents x 5) + (11 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 144 Ratings = 4.924
  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 4.545 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Busy Bees Derby Oakwood is based on 12 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 110 number of registered child places is 22. 12 Positive Reviews ÷ 22 = 0.545
  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 (1)

Sam

Sam Pickering

Job Title: Centre Director Joined: 2004

Hi my name is Sam and I am the Nursery Manager here at Busy Bees in Derby Oakwood I have worked for Busy Bees since 2004 and I have been very fortunate to have had lots of experience and managerial experience in several nurseries. I completed my NNEB at college when I left school and I have since attended University part time and completed the Foundation degree in Children and Young people’s Services and also my BA (HONS) in Early Childhood studies.


Over the last 14 years I have also attended lots of other training courses such as Safeguarding, customer service Behaviour Management and many more. This training has not only enabled me to gain a wealth of knowledge and experience but to be able to put this into practice and share with my staff team.


I am very committed to ensuring that myself and the team deliver high standards of care and education to the children who attend our nursery. We work hard as a team to ensure that the children have a variety of learning opportunities that are planned to individual children’s needs and interests.


I have two children myself both of which have been into nursery full time and now both have gone to school so I am fully aware how important it is to choose the right nursery for your children to have the best start in life.


I really look forward to meeting you and welcoming you into our nursery.

Frequently Asked Questions about Busy Bees Derby Oakwood

What is the Age Range of Children that Busy Bees Derby Oakwood accepts?

Busy Bees Derby Oakwood accepts Children aged from 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Busy Bees Derby Oakwood Open?

Busy Bees Derby Oakwood is open: 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.

How many Children does Busy Bees Derby Oakwood have capacity for?

Busy Bees Derby Oakwood has capacity for a total of 110 Children.

How far is Busy Bees Derby Oakwood to the centre of Derby?

3.1 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

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