Busy Bees at Ely

Merry Christmas to all our little bees and their families! 🐝

And just like that... the tree in Busy Bees Edwalton's reception area has been beautifully decorated by their staff and little ones! 🎄🎄🎄

We love their result! What are your thoughts?

Christmas activities are in full swing at Busy Bees Milton Keynes Oldbrook and the children in the pre-school room have created their own reindeer representations out of playdough! 🎅

They are such creative little artists! Like this post if you agree. ✨

Look, it's Santa! 🎅

Busy Bees at Swindon Peatmoor had a fantastic Christmas Fete, where they raised lots of money for their charity, Child Bereavement UK.

We would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who attended the Christmas Fete and contributed to making this a success. 🎄

The children at Busy Bees Greenwich have been out in their garden exploring the snow. ❄️❄️❄️

They played with snowballs and built snowmen using objects from the rooms for their faces and arms.

Children and staff at Busy Bees Pudsey Littlemoor Road are celebrating after receiving their second ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating. 🤍🤍🤍

The staff at the nursery were recognised for creating an “exceptional learning environment in which children are highly motivated and remain engaged in activities for long periods”. The team was also praised for providing exciting activities that are “stimulating” and as a result, “all children make excellent progress and are well prepared for their next stage of learning, including school”.

Vicky Ogden, Centre Director at Busy Bees Pudsey Littlemoor Road, said: “We are so thrilled to receive our second ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted. The team is committed to building positive relationships with parents and working together to ensure we can offer each child the best start in life. I am so proud of the whole team and every single one of them plays a key role in making our nursery a wonderful place for children to learn and grow.”

Read more about this amazing news here: https://bit.ly/3uQjFY6

Since learning about the World Cup, the Buzz room at Busy Bees Edingburgh Port Hamilton has been very interested in knowing more about what countries we're all originally from.

The staff have further created a multicultural area celebrating all of our cultures, religions, and traditions. 🌍

We love it!

Happy Christmas Jumper Day! 🎅

Look how cute the children at Busy Bees are! They picked their favourite Christmas jumpers to wear throughout the day at the nursery. 😍🥺

The children and educators at Busy Bees enjoyed a magical Christmas walk around Salisbury. 🎄

They loved getting out and about in the community and being able to explore different occasions in Salisbury. They even bumped into the giant toy soldiers! ⛄

December starts with some wholesome news coming from Busy Bees 🤍

After hearing about the passing of our beloved Queen, there was a lot of discussion throughout the nursery, especially with the preschool children. So much so that the children asked if they could send a little something to the Queen's family.

The preschool children created a friendship wreath to show their support to the Queen's family, which was sent alongside a letter addressed to King Charles.

Everyone was extremely amazed to receive a card from King Charles himself with thanks for the kind thoughts and wonderful messages! 🙏🏻

Last week, Busy Bees had a 'Welly Walk' fundraising week to raise money for Myton Hospice. 💕

The children had so much fun stamping and jumping in all of the different tuff trays.

It's time to share some amazing news ✨ our Busy Bees team at Kettering Venture Park is celebrating after receiving their OUTSTANDING Ofsted rating ✨

The inspector commented that:
🐝 'Children thoroughly enjoy a stimulating range of interesting resources and thoughtfully planned activities.'
🐝 'Children build exceptional bonds with staff and flourish in their care.'
🐝 'Staff help children become independent thinkers and encourage them to solve problems.'
🐝 'Staff are warm and responsive towards the children's needs and help them to feel safe and secure in their environment.'

Manisha Patel, Centre Director at Busy Bees Kettering Venture Park, said: 'We are over the moon to receive an ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted. Our team strives to deliver exceptional nursery care to all our children and our latest Ofsted result is a testament to the passion and commitment of our staff. We’re looking forward to building on our parent partnerships to ensure children flourish during their time at Busy Bees.'

Read more about this here: https://bit.ly/3Vwa2sH

This is how we're celebrating the with our favourite little people! ⚽

Children have been enjoying their very own indoor game of football and have been taking part in a penalty shootout while wearing their football kits. They have also made some creative flags.

We can't wait for more football fun!

Last week, our children and staff members had a lot of fun dressing up in fancy dress or spots for Children in Need. 💛🧸

Some of our activities included: Pudsey picking, Pudsey colouring, making our own Pudsey ears, gluing and sticking Pudsey's eye patch and finger, painting Pudsey's eye patch and more.

Thank you to everyone for all the support to raise money for this wonderful charity!

Let's all use this as a reminder to keep our inner child alive. ✨

At Busy Bees, we are grateful to be surrounded by such joyful and energetic little ones and the memories we share with them will always live in our hearts. ❤️

Children teach us every day about acceptance, love for one another, the beauty of living in the present moment and we're humbled by their inner wisdom.

Happy ! 🤍

We're proudly supporting this important celebration and we also asked our colleagues one simple question:

'Who is your male role model?'
Their answers speak for themselves. ✨

🚦 At Busy Bees, children have been learning about road safety this week.

Together with Safety Buzz, children:
🐝 discussed about all the different things that keep them safe whilst driving or walking to nursery.
🐝 learned how to cross the road safely.
🐝 learned what the traffic light signs mean.

Lovely bakers in the making! ✨

Children at Busy Bees helped the staff bake flap jacks for the whole nursery to enjoy and learnt new skills such as:

🐝 Using scales to measure the ingredients
🐝 Counting how many eggs were needed
🐝 Counting how many scoops it took to fill the bowl

Life at Busy Bees is always entertaining!

Busy Bees had a great time organising a disco party for the toddlers. The day was full of laughter and we also saw some fantastic moves amongst the children and staff members alike. 🕺💃

Lest We Forget 🌹

This week, the children have been very busy creating wonderful poppies, wreaths and taking part in lots of activities to remember all of the soldiers who fought for our country.

Early learners may not grasp the full weight of Remembrance Day yet but introducing them to the story and concept of the poppy is a meaningful way of immersing them in the cultural significance of this day.

Our Busy Bees team in Wirral Irby is celebrating their second OUTSTANDING Ofsted Rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The nursery gained an ‘Outstanding’ in all areas, where it was also commented that children are “incredibly imaginative and creative” and “develop independence skills from a very early age”.

The staff at the nursery were recognised for creating a “language-rich environment that ignites children’s curiosity, creativity and imagination” and that “staff are highly skilled at adapting their teaching to meet the children’s interest”. 🐝

Kate Morse, Centre Director at Busy Bees Wirral Irby, said: “I can't express enough how incredibly proud I am of my team. They work hard every day to provide the children with quality activities in an environment where they feel safe and secure. The team build wonderful partnerships with our parents allowing us to support the whole family.'

Read more about this amazing achievement here: https://bit.ly/3hpxQQA

This , Busy Bees Childcare and Magic Cat Publishing are on a mission to help you create a calming bedtime routine for you and your toddler through the power of reading.

📚 We're gifting this lovely book 'Goodnight, Little Bunny' to 5 lucky winners. 📚 The book tells Little Bunny's story on the day that she ventures out of the burrow for the first time and learns she has everything she needs to be a big bunny in the big outdoors.

To enter simply:
🐰 Follow Busy Bees Childcare and Magic Cat Publishing – this will be checked
🐰 TAG a friend in the comments who will love this book
🐰 Share this post to your story for an EXTRA chance to win and tag us

The winners will be announced on our stories and contacted via DM on 16 November. Please be wary of fake accounts. UK entries only.

👀 Tasty recipe incoming 👀

Few ingredients ✔️
Easy-to-make ✔️
Delicious? EXTREMELY. ✔️

We now understand why Jess, our Chef Mentor at Milton Keynes Browns Wood, loves cooking a Mediterranean Frittata.

If you'd like to take her lead on tonight's dinner dish, click https://bit.ly/3FAY5O1.

We have been celebrating 🎆 Bonfire Night 🎆 with some lovely firework-related activities and areas to explore.

Children were encouraged to create some colourful firework pictures and we also talked about their experiences with fireworks and what sounds they make or what they might smell like. 🧡

❗ Kind reminder: even though Bonfire Night is extremely exciting, remember to put safety first. Find our top tips to help keep everyone safe during Bonfire Night below:

🎆 Make sure you and your child stay back when the bonfire is being lit, or the fireworks are being set off.
🎆 Supervise your child at all times.
🎆 Wrap up warm with coats, hats, scarves and gloves.
🎆 Don't touch firework debris.
🎆 If you're lighting a bonfire at home, make sure you do it in a place away from fences, sheds and other objects that could catch fire.
🎆 Consider the well-being of pets.

The first five years of a child's life are crucial to their development! ❤️ With the right guidance, care and love, they will build healthy foundations, which will have long-lasting effects in their adulthood too.

We're proudly supporting NDNA - National Day Nurseries Association campaign, which aims to encourage everyone to understand how early years education impacts the first five years of a child’s future.

NDNA's campaign aims to:

🐝 Increase understanding of the importance of early childhood education.
🐝 Better the perception of the early years workforce as educators of young children 0-5
🐝 Address the recruitment and retention crisis.
🐝 Boost the positive feedback the workforce receives about their work.
🐝 Support the uptake of early years places within settings.

Sign up to be a supporter here: https://bit.ly/3WfTCWV

Children and staff at Busy Bees Chelmsford are celebrating after receiving an ‘Outstanding’ rating. 🤩🤩🤩

The Ofsted Inspector highlighted that:
🐝 Children 'feel welcome and valued at this nurturing and exciting nursery'.
🐝 Children 'form strong bonds with the warm and friendly staff'.
🐝 'Staff act as incredible role models for respecting others and accepting differences'.
🐝 'Partnerships with parents are incredibly effective. The parent ambassador
group meets termly with the manager to share ideas and feedback.'

Amy Barnham, Centre Director at Busy Bees Chelmsford, said: 'It is so wonderful to receive our fourth ‘Outstanding’ rating. Our team is committed to providing nurturing learning environments for children and giving them space to play and grow. Our garden refurbishment only adds to our wonderful nursery, offering a beautiful space to extend our learning opportunities for our children.'

Read more about this amazing achievement here: https://bit.ly/3NkimZM

Happy Halloween, everyone! Here are some spooktacular activities that our nurseries have set up for our little ones. 🎃

Children had a lot of fun playing with spiders and skeletons, colouring cupcakes with icing sugar, painting their own pumpkins and more. ❤️ They also learned what they'll need to think about when trick or treating, with the help of Safety Buzz.

What words did your child use to describe our Halloween activities when you picked them up from nursery? 😁 Let us know in the comments below.

This Black History Month, our nurseries have been celebrating the important contributions and great personalities of black people from around the world. 🖤🌍

Children learned about the inspiring story of Rosa Parks, read the book 'What If We Were all the Same' by C.M. Harris, became fascinated by Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' public speech and more.

We loved seeing the spark in their curiosity and we believe that learning about other cultures is what brings us all together.

Children and staff at Busy Bees Shrewsbury are celebrating after receiving an ‘Outstanding’ rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ofsted inspector commented that:
🐝 'Children thrive in this outstanding nursery and have excellent social skills and play together harmoniously'.
🐝 'Staff keep parents very well-informed of their child’s progress and offer valuable guidance to support continued learning at home.'
🐝 'Staff members provide extensive opportunities for children to learn about cultures different to their own.'

Jill Beckett, Centre Director at Busy Bees Shrewsbury, said: 'It is incredibly rewarding to receive this acknowledgement which recognises the quality of the care and education that we provide. Our team are so passionate about providing children with wonderful stimulating learning experiences and I am so proud of all of the team. We’re looking forward to building on our success even further'.

Read more about this here: https://bit.ly/3UanHW3

Who else is in the mood to eat something really tasty? 🤤✌️

Sharon, our chef at Edwalton has got your back with this delicious Chicken Tikka Fritters recipe.

Ingredients ✨
500g cooked chicken breast
1 tbsp Tikka powder
1 tsp garlic, pureed
3 eggs
1 tbsp sour cream
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp plain flour
40g spring onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon juice

Find Sharon's cooking method here 👉 https://bit.ly/3FeqY2m

Happy Diwali! 🪔

We're having an amazing time celebrating the Festival of Light at Busy Bees, with lots of learning and creative artwork done by our little ones. 💗

May this special day bring you peace, joy and great moments with your loved ones and always remember to shine your light wherever you go! 🪔

Some parents within the shared with us how they're teaching their children about recycling ♻️

What else would you add to the list?

Our little 🐝 have been quite busy learning about recycling through play and fun activities. ♻️

We loved seeing them so engaged!

Reducing energy usage by turning off the lights when you're not in the room is a great way to lower your carbon footprint. ♻️

Alexander and Sarah helped us put our new light stickers up in the centres across Scotland so that everyone could remember to 'turn off the lights when they are not needed'.

We're making planet Earth a little happier one step at a time. 🌎

Weekend food menu sorted 📖🍽️

Kyle, our Chef Mentor at Liverpool Childwall, recommends trying this delicious Smash Cheeseburger this weekend 🍔

Recipe available here: https://bit.ly/3Vm7G0n

Children in preschool have been developing their fine motor skills through threading and creating pasta necklaces. ❤️

Fine motor skills contribute to supporting children's handwriting, which consists of many other skills, such as:
🐝 Eye-hand coordination
🐝 Muscle memory
🐝 Posture
🐝 Body control

Find our 'busy hands' section in our UP App for activities to support your child at home.

As parents and carers, we understand how important it is to take care of our family’s mental health & wellbeing. 🧠

Let's all use this day as a reminder that:
❤️ It's ok to talk about our mental health.
❤️ It's ok to embrace all our feelings with kindness.
❤️ It's ok to feel like we need a break.

Read more about how you can support your family's mental health here 👉 https://bit.ly/3yv75Q6

Looking to introduce a tasty and quick treat in your child's meal plan? You can never go wrong with strawberry ice cream! 🍨

Sandra, our Chef Mentor at Sunderland Fulwell, recommends trying our ice cream recipe at home. This is not only a delicious recipe, but it's also a fun activity you can do with your children.

Find the recipe here: https://bit.ly/3MdTl1Q

We are delighted to have received an ’Outstanding' rating following a recent Ofsted inspection. 🥰🥰🥰

Our nursery has been rated outstanding in all key areas of quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Alyson Parker, Centre Director at Busy Bees Ely, said: “We are so thrilled to have received ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted and it’s even more rewarding to receive ‘Outstanding’ for the third time. This result is a testament to the hard work of our passionate and dedicated team who are committed to giving every child the best start in life. I am so proud of them all and we look forward to building on our success even further.”

To view the full report, visit: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50192290