Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00
Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes
Ofsted: Expected standard·
4.1(9 parent reviews)
·St James Street, Lewes, BN7 1HR · East Sussex
Number of places
51 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Dec 2025
Local authority
East Sussex
About this day nursery
Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes is a childcare setting for children aged 1 to 4 years, operating since 2015. Located in Lewes, BN7 1HR, the nursery has an overall "Good" Ofsted rating from its latest inspection on 12th December 2025.
The nursery prides itself on its child-centred curriculum, which covers all seven areas of learning of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Staff are highly skilled in tailoring activities to support each child's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
The setting also excels in fostering positive relationships and ensuring children's emotional well-being, with strong bonds formed between staff and children. The daily routine ensures regular access to outdoor areas for all children, including babies.
The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and has a capacity for 51 children.
What it's like
Staff ensure that children feel welcomed and provide a variety of well-planned activities and learning opportunities that help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to thrive. Children's emotional wellbeing is very well supported, and staff form strong, meaningful bonds with children, helping them develop positive relationships with each other. Staff are kind and gentle and encourage children to express their opinions, positively impacting their behaviour and interactions with others.
Strong bonds with childrenRich vocabulary modellingChild-centred curriculumEffective SEND supportHigh expectations for behaviour
Key facts
Term time / All Year
All_year
Established
2015
Ofsted Inspection — new report card
Expected standard
Last inspected Dec 2025
Grade summary
Exceptional
—
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
—
Urgent improvement
—
Each dot represents one of the six inspection categories. Headline is the average of the six grades, rounded up.
Category grades
AchievementExpected standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routinesStrong standard
Children's welfare and wellbeingStrong standard
Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
InclusionExpected standard
Leadership and governanceExpected standard
Age range
1 to 4
Registers
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes
Last inspected 12 December 2025
What it's like to attend
Staff ensure that children feel welcomed and provide a variety of well-planned activities and learning opportunities that help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to thrive. Children's emotional wellbeing is very well supported, and staff form strong, meaningful bonds with children, helping them develop positive relationships with each other. Staff are kind and gentle and encourage children to express their opinions, positively impacting their behaviour and interactions with others.
Inspector highlights
- Staff set high expectations for children's behaviour and model this very well, fostering meaningful bonds with children.
- Children show they are very happy, safe and secure, with staff effectively implementing the key-person approach.
- Staff have responsive interactions with children, modelling rich vocabulary and encouraging communication.
- Leaders provide a child-centred curriculum that covers all 7 areas of learning and thoughtfully consider adaptations for children with SEND.
- Leaders identify areas for improvement and highlight the setting's strengths, implementing changes to support children with SEND and offering a comprehensive training programme for staff.
Areas to develop
- 1Leaders should strengthen strategies to enable staff to more precisely support children's learning and development.
Inspection #10128642 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
Staff are responsive to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), adapting provision thoughtfully and inviting outside professionals like speech and language therapists to provide targeted strategies. This contributes to the progress made by children with SEND.
Outdoor space
Children, including babies, have regular access to the outside areas where they can run around in the fresh air, climb, dig and negotiate obstacles.
Parent Reviews of Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes
4.1
(9)
Holly Berndsen
10 months ago
My boy started here in March and has loved it. The staff are lovely and it’s so reassuring dropping my son off to a kind and compassionate team who give him cuddles. Faith knows that breakfast always cheers my son up! The food they cook is brilliant. I was chatting to the chef who was explaining the guides they follow and she knew all about the sugar & salt intake per child and how they plan the home cooked meals. You can log on and get updates on sleep, meals & photos of them happily playing. The manager Jack has also been very accommodating booking my son into last minute slots when needed.
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Daniel & Molly Hanley & MacCourt
a year ago
Our little one recently started here and we are so happy with the care he receives. His transition has been supported each step of the way and as a result he has settled really quickly. He loves his key worker Faith who has put every effort into making him feel at home. We love the updates through the app and couldn’t be happier with the care he is receiving from Jack and his lovely team :) thank you!
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Howard Kingston
5 years ago
A really friendly and warm nursery, we have been very happy here, having moved from busy bees in Dorking which is also great. Our move has coincided with a global pandemic, as it happens, but be that as it may Clare has never been anything but cheerful, sunny and supportive in what must be obviously pretty difficult circumstances. A big thanks to everyone there.
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Lizzie Maulkin
3 years ago
Such a lovely nurturing environment with great staff. Activities are planned daily and the meals are really good quality. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Busy Bees in Lewes.
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Prudence Stamp
4 years ago
A lovely nursery - fantastic, caring key workers and good communication with parents. Highly recommended.
Read on GoogleReviews from Google for Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Date: May 2016
The most recent inspection point has been hidden because the parsed entry didn't match the headline Ofsted rating (Good). We're re-checking it against the original report.
- February 2020Good
- May 2016Outstanding
Frequently asked about Busy Bees Day Nursery at Lewes
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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more