Busy Bears Day Nursery Durham

Ice Cream Van Visit! 🍦🚐

What better way to enjoy a sunny Friday afternoon than with a very special visit from the ice cream van! ☀️

Throughout the day, to get us excited for the ice cream van visit, we had lots of lovely ice cream-themed activities, including sponge painting, and ice cream playdough creations! 🫟🎨

The children also worked together to make special thank-you signs and pictures for the ice cream man to show our appreciation for providing such a delicious treat. 👏🤗

All of the children received a lovely summer treat — an ice cream with sprinkles! The children were so excited to see the ice cream van arrive and, with support from the adults, collect their delicious ice creams. We then all sat together in the garden and enjoyed our treats. 🍦☀️

There were lots of sticky fingers, messy faces and very happy children but it was definitely worth it for a Friday afternoon! 😀

Thank you, Mr Whippy North! 🍦💗🐻

✨ Environmental Health Inspection - Food Hygiene ✨

We would like to share that we were recently inspected by Durham County Council’s Environmental Health team for our annual inspection and we are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a 5 star rating for Food Hygiene once again.

We would like to say a huge thank you & congratulations to our wonderful kitchen team for their continuous hard work and commitment towards the nursery and helping us to retain our rating.

Busy Bears 🐻

Water Safety 💦🌊

As part of the National Water Safety Education Pathway, we’ll be introducing water safety learning in nursery for our children from the age of 3.

The National Water Education Pathway provides age-appropriate guidance to help children develop the knowledge, skills and awareness they need to stay safe around water.

🏊‍♀️ What will we be learning?
Throughout the year, we’ll be building children’s foundational water safety awareness through fun, age-appropriate activities, stories, discussions, role play and practical learning.

We’ll explore things such as:
🏊 How to float and what to do if we find ourselves in water
🩱 What to wear in and around water and why appropriate swimwear and buoyancy aids are important
⚠️ Recognising dangers and understanding that water can be unpredictable
🌊 Different types of water – swimming pools, paddling pool, hot tubs, baths, beaches, rivers, canals, lakes and ponds
👀 How to behave safely around water and why we need to listen to our grown-ups
🤝 Staying close to a trusted adult when we are near water

Our aim is to help children enjoy water safely, recognise potential risks and develop good habits from an early age.

☀️ A little reminder for families this summer ☀️

With holidays, trips to the beach and days out near rivers, canals and lakes, summer is a particularly important time to talk about water safety at home too.

For young children, close adult supervision is essential around water. When you’re near canals, rivers or other waterways, talk to your child about staying away from the edge and hold their hand.

Remember:
👋 Always stay close and hold your child’s hand near open water.
🚶 Keep children well away from the water’s edge
🏖️ At the beach, follow local safety advice and stay within designated areas.
🏊Use appropriate flotation and safety equipment and remember that buoyancy aids do not replace adult supervision.
👀 Talk about water safety regularly so children become familiar with simple safety rules.
📍 Make sure you know where you are if you need to call for help. Around waterways, useful location information can include road names, bridge numbers, landmarks or what3words.

If a child falls into open water, do not enter the water yourself. Call for help and dial 999, asking for the Fire and Rescue Service or Coastguard if near the beach. If it is safe to do so, lie down and reach towards the child using something that can extend your reach, such as a branch or item of clothing.

Water safety is something we can all teach together. By starting these conversations early and reinforcing them regularly, we can help our children develop the knowledge and confidence to enjoy being around water safely.

We’ll be sharing some of our water safety learning with you throughout the year, so you can continue the conversations and activities at home too!

📚 Useful resources for parents:

https://nationalwatersafety.org.uk/water-safety-england/water-safety-and-swimming-competency-framework

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/support-us/our-campaigns/safety-on-our-waterways/water-safety-tips-for-parents

https://www.rlss.org.uk/listing/category/parentsresources

Busy Bears 🐻

Parents Resources We have created new and exciting materials, exclusively for parents and guardians to take charge of their family's water safety education. Water can provide so much joy but at the same time has the potential to cause unimaginable tragedy. Spending a short time providing a sound water safety educatio...

🎓Nursery Leavers - Graduation Party 2026🎓

What an unforgettable day we had celebrating our Big Bumbles as they graduate nursery!

We had a special visit from Crazy Creatures, who brought along their amazing bugs for us to meet — from creepy crawlies to slithery friends, the children were so brave!

Then it was time to dance, laugh, and get our groove on with the fabulous Nikki Noo Noo at our disco! The children loved every moment, and there were smiles all around!

And of course, no party is complete without a party tea – full of tasty treats, yummy snacks, and plenty of cake!

We’re so proud of our Big Bumbles and can’t wait to see all the amazing things they’ll do next as they head off to reception.

⭐️🐻 Length of Service Awards ⭐️🐻

Here at Busy Bears we pride ourselves on having a highly committed staff team and find it not only rewarding but also highly beneficial to celebrate staff achievements through Length of Service Awards each year.

✨ We are delighted to share that we have recently celebrated Claire’s 10 years of service with us. Claire joined nursery as part of our Domestic Team before moving to work within the nursery kitchen. Most recently, Claire expressed an interest in gaining her qualification in childcare and now working within our Honey Room, is progressing through her Early Years Educator course to gain her Level 3 qualification. We would like to take this opportunity to offer a big thank you to Claire for all of her hard work over the years. We are sure you will all join with us in celebrating her achievement.

Many Thanks
Busy Bears 🐻

🩹⛑️ Paediatric First Aid 🩹⛑️

Our amazing teams at Busy Bears and Busy Bees have spent the weekend completing/renewing their First Aid qualifications, retaining our 100% in training all of our staff in Paediatric First Aid.

Children’s safety is at the heart of everything we do within nursery. We believe that by having just one trained first aider at any one time, this would limit the opportunities we could provide to children. We are passionate about ensuring all of our practitioners are trained, confident and capable. We are confident that 100% of our childcare practitioners know what to do in a paediatric first aid situation should the need arise. We also ensure that all practitioners have a refresher every 3 years to ensure that knowledge and skills are kept up to date.

Busy Bears 🐻

⭐️🐻 Length of Service Awards ⭐️🐻

Here at Busy Bears we pride ourselves on having a highly committed staff team and find it not only rewarding but also highly beneficial to celebrate staff achievements through Length of Service Awards each year.

✨ We are delighted to share that we have recently celebrated Susan’s 15 years of service with us. We would like to take this opportunity to offer a big thank you to Susan for her commitment and for all of her hard work over the last 15 years across nursery. As Deputy Manager, Susan works with all children, families & staff teams within her role offering support, guidance & nurturing in all that she does. We are sure you will all join with us in celebrating her achievement.

Many Thanks
Busy Bears 🐻

🐻 We are recruiting for a Kitchen Assistant 🐻

Location: Busy Bears, Bearpark
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Type: Bank / Casual (Flexible Hours)

We are looking for a reliable and enthusiastic Kitchen Assistant to join our nursery team on a bank staff basis. This role offers flexible working hours, depending on the needs of the nursery each week. You will play an important role in supporting the preparation and delivery of nutritious meals and maintaining a clean, safe kitchen environment for young children.

🌟 Key Responsibilities:

• Assist with the preparation and serving of meals and snacks
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in the kitchen
• Support with washing up and general kitchen duties
• Follow food safety and health & hygiene regulations at all times
• Work as part of a team to ensure smooth daily operations

✅ Requirements:

• Previous kitchen or food preparation experience is desirable but not essential
• A positive attitude and willingness to learn
• Ability to work flexibly and at short notice
• Understanding of food hygiene practices (training can be provided)

👶🏼 Safeguarding:

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory reference checks, in line with safeguarding requirements for working with children.

🐻 What We Offer:

• Flexible working hours to suit your availability
• Supportive and friendly working environment
• Opportunity to gain experience in a childcare setting

If you are dependable, hardworking, and enjoy working in a team, we would love to hear from you.

🖊️ To Apply:

Please contact us on 0191 3735500 or via email on [email protected] for more information or to request an application form.

Thank you
Busy Bears