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Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere

Ofsted: Good
(May 2025)
·
4.3(11 parent reviews) ·Whitelands Way, Bicester, OX26 1EG · Oxfordshire
Number of places
110 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
May 2025
Local authority
Oxfordshire

About this day nursery

Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere, established in 2019, is a childcare setting on non-domestic premises in Bicester, Oxfordshire, offering care for children aged 0-4 years. 30am until 6pm.

Rated 'Good' by Ofsted on 20th May 2025, the nursery has made significant improvements since its last inspection, raising the overall quality of experiences for children. The provider has introduced a cohesive curriculum focusing on prime areas for younger children, with each room centring on a storybook, song, and learning concept relevant to the children's age and stage of development.

This approach fosters a love of books and a rich repertoire of rhymes and songs, supporting children in becoming confident talkers. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress, with staff effectively collaborating with professionals and parents to provide individualised care.

The curriculum is designed with a logical order, building on children's existing knowledge through a "rehearse and retrieve" approach. The dedicated staff team prioritises children's safety and wellbeing, treating them kindly and respectfully, and are adept at supporting children's behaviour, providing creative ways for them to regulate their emotions.

The nursery is inclusive, welcoming children and families from diverse backgrounds, and offers both indoor and outdoor learning activities as part of its curriculum implementation.

What it's like

Since the last inspection, the provider has instigated significant improvements that have raised the quality for children. Staff now support children's behaviour effectively, and children are, overall, settled and ready for learning. The provider has introduced a cohesive curriculum, and staff all understand what the intentions are for children's learning.

Well-organised curriculumSelf-motivated childrenEffective behaviour supportKind and respectful staffInclusive environmentStrong safeguarding

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)

Key facts

Opening hours

Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm.

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere

Last inspected 20 May 2025

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Since the last inspection, the provider has instigated significant improvements that have raised the quality for children. Staff now support children's behaviour effectively, and children are, overall, settled and ready for learning. The provider has introduced a cohesive curriculum, and staff all understand what the intentions are for children's learning.

Inspector highlights

  • The provider has developed a well-organised curriculum with a good focus on the prime areas for younger children.
  • Children are self-motivated and able to lead their own play. Staff provide creative ways for children to regulate their own behaviour.
  • Staff treat children kindly and handle babies respectfully, explaining care routines to them.
  • The setting is inclusive and supports children and families from diverse backgrounds, providing an environment where everyone feels welcome.
  • All staff have a very good awareness about their role and responsibilities in keeping children safe, and understand how to identify and report concerns.

Areas to develop

  • 1embed the curriculum so that all staff are confident in implementing it effectively
  • 2encourage opportunities for children to be more purposefully involved in activities that are led by adults.
Inspection #10404038 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress in their development. Staff are ambitious for all children and work effectively with other professionals and parents to ensure that children have the individual care and attention that they need to thrive.

Outdoor space

The inspectors observed the implementation of the curriculum during activities indoors and outdoors.

Parent Reviews of Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere

4.3
(11)
Amanda Acevedo-Jake
11 months ago

Before enrolling our child in this location we had a very positive Busy Bees experience. I wish I had more positive things to say for this location as we were hopeful going in. My child attended for not quite 6 months and our primary carer was changed 3-4 times in this period. There is a lot of staff turn over, and seems like sometimes more supply staff than regular carers in the room. Big emphasis placed on policy, which might be good for your family or might not. There are a few regular staff in the rooms who do seem to care deeply about the children though they seem overwhelmed. Because there ended up being so many temporary workers towards the end of our time, each regular member of staff served as primary carer for about 8 or 10 kids. Big settings, maybe 30+ kids in toddlers altogether (counting full time kids, half time kids together etc). I wish I had more good things to say about this location. I strongly recommend families thoroughly check it out beforehand to see if this is a good fit. Before this we had only good things to say about Busy Bees.

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Ceri Bateman
10 months ago

Busy Bees Kingsmere has faced ongoing issues with staff and management turnover, making it difficult to provide consistency for the children. Key workers often changed every few months, and there was limited structure or educational development in place. There were also concerns around the handling of allergies, which raises questions about safeguarding practices. While some team members were genuinely caring and engaged, the overall environment lacked stability. I’d recommend visiting and forming your own view - but based on our experience, it didn’t meet the standard we expected. Reply to Busy Bees response below- feedback and complaint already given with no reply or response from centre manager and headquarters. Happy to email again but doubt a reply will be given.

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Iain Macrae
3 years ago

Wonderful team of great carers, fun manager too. Staff have been amazing with our children and they have grown so much and so well under the care of Busy Bees. Thank you Busy Bees Kingsmere, you are awesome!

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Tracie Davies
5 years ago

Wonderful team here! My boy Reggie moved here from another Busy Bees when we relocated to Kingsmere and it's the best thing we did. He was happy and progressed in his learning and made memories and friends he will keep forever. Highly recommended.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history
Improved from Requires improvement → Good in 2025

Date: November 2021

  • May 2025Good
  • September 2024Requires improvement
  • November 2021Good

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