Busy Bees Nurseries Explained

Busy Bees Nurseries ^[1] is the UK's largest nursery group, with over 390 nurseries across England, Scotland and Wales.

Busy Bees was founded in 1983 and subsequently acquired nursery chains including, Bush Babies,^[2] Leapfrog,^[3] Kids 1st,^[4] Just Learning,^[5] Kindercare,^[6] Tibbitots ^[7] and Caring Day Care.^[8]

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan ^[9] acquired Busy Bees Nursery Group in October 2013, with Busy Bees management maintaining a significant minority share in the company. Busy Bees completed its first international acquisition ^[10] in South East Asia with the purchase of 48 nurseries and Asia International College in Singapore along with a further 12 nurseries in Malaysia, the number of nurseries has now increased further to 52 in Singapore. Busy Bees also founded a childcare voucher company in 1998, which they later sold in 2008.

The Busy Bees Nurseries in the UK is supported by learning programmes in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework. In 2015 two of the founders of Busy Bees Nurseries were awarded an OBE for their longstanding service to the childcare sector.^[11] Margaret Randles is both the Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer. ^[12]

In 2023, Gill Jones MBE^[13] - former deputy director for early years education at Ofsted - joined the group as Group Chief Quality Officer.

In 2022 Boots has partnered with Busy Bees, to offer its team members access to discounted childcare fees.^[14] In 2023, Sky partnered with Busy Bees to offer a workplace childcare solution to its working parents.^[15]

In 2023 Busy Bees expanded further internationally with the acquisition of New Zealand-based Provincial Education Group and completed the acquisition of Australian childcare provider Think Childcare Group.^[16] It also acquired the Malvern Group in the USA, a network of 27 childcare centres in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.^[17] In 2024, the Group operates nearly 1,000 centres in 10 markets across the globe.

Notes and References

1. News: Child Care and Nursery provision at Busy Bees Childrens Nurseries. Busy Bees Childcare. 2018-08-10. en-GB.
2. http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/nursery-sector-buzzing-busy-bees-buys-county/story-29249813-detail/story.html Bush Babies
3. Web site: Busy Bees Group acquires Leapfrog Day Nurseries and Childcare Vouchers. www.employeebenefits.co.uk. en-GB. 2018-08-10.
4. News: Kids 1st Nurseries acquired by national childcare provider Busy Bees. Ford. Coreena. 2015-12-18. nechronicle. 2018-08-10.
5. http://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1557784/nursery-chain-just-learning-acquired-by-busy-bees Just Learning
6. Web site: Acquisition brings Busy Bees settings up to 214. www.nurseryworld.co.uk. 2018-08-10.
7. Web site: Busy Bees buys northern light. www.nurseryworld.co.uk. 2018-08-10.
8. Web site: Busy Bees acquires Surrey nursery group. www.nurseryworld.co.uk. 2018-08-10.
9. Web site: Home - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. www.otpp.com. en-CA. 2018-08-10.
10. Web site: Totally Devoted to Childcare. www.busybeesasia.com. en. 2018-08-10.
11. http://www.lichfieldmercury.co.uk/8203-lichfield-burntwood-nursery-founders-obe/story-26687332-detail/story.html Lichfield Mercury
12. Web site: Beauhurst . 2022-03-10 . 50 Female Entrepreneurs To Watch 2022 . 2023-07-11 . Beauhurst . en-GB.
13. Web site: Ofsted’s former deputy director of early education Gill Jones joins Busy Bees . 2024-06-25 . Nursery World . en.
14. Web site: Boots partners with UK’s largest nursery group to support its working parents . 2023-07-11 . www.boots-uk.com.
15. Web site: Cumming . Alice . 2023-01-20 . Sky partners with Busy Bees to offer workplace childcare solution - Business Leader News . 2023-07-11 . Business Leader.
16. Web site: Media . Insider . 2023-02-13 . Further international expansion for Busy Bees Midlands Deals News . 2023-07-12 . Insider Media Ltd . en.
17. Web site: Busy Bees buys group of settings in North America . 2024-06-25 . Nursery World . en.