Bouncing Bees

A six-baby room, regular park outings and play-led learning give Bouncing Bees a recognisable character. This Cheshunt nursery has capacity for 40 children in total, aged 3 to 60 months. Baby Bees, Bumble Bees and Busy Bees organise the early-years offer by stage. The youngest room’s published limit gives parents something concrete to weigh alongside the whole-setting size.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Bouncing Bees Good and judged safeguarding effective. The detail beneath that judgement matters: babies formed close connections with practitioners, language development ran through songs and conversation, and children practised doing things for themselves. There were also specific weaknesses in activities for two-year-olds and support for managing emotions.

Full-day nursery sessions sit alongside breakfast and after-school care for older children.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Bees caters for infants from 0 to 22 months, with a stated maximum of six babies and an emphasis on early development. The setting’s accepted age range starts at 3 months, so the room description should be read alongside that overall entry age.

Bumble Bees serves children aged 2 to 3 years, with a maximum of 10 and learning centred on play. For children aged 3 to 5, Busy Bees has a stated maximum of 24, with creativity and social development shaping its activities. These are room limits, rather than a count of children attending on any particular day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday routines become opportunities to build skills. Bouncing Bees uses child-centred play as its teaching approach, giving children’s interests a place in the nursery day.

In March 2024, songs and rhymes introduced vocabulary, while conversations about family life gave children familiar subjects to talk about. A book club let children select reading material to borrow and share with parents. That connected nursery storytelling with home reading through a practical borrowing arrangement.

Storytelling also involved movement. In March 2024, older children acted out We're Going on a Bear Hunt, joined in with missing parts of the story and responded to questions about what happened next. Language practice extended into other play, including washing dolls; babies encountered new words during exploration and singing.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor playground offers toys and activities, and regular outings take children to local parks. This gives outdoor play both a nursery base and experiences beyond it. The frequency remains regular rather than a fixed weekly timetable.

Relationships were a clear part of the nursery day in March 2024: babies connected with practitioners and other children, while parents exchanged information with their child’s key person and the wider team. Families had several ways to hear about time spent at nursery. That made communication an ongoing part of care rather than a single handover conversation.

Independence was practised through meals in March 2024, with babies and younger children encouraged to feed themselves and preschool children serving their food with staff support. Meals were prepared fresh on the premises each day. These are dated examples of how ordinary routines supported children’s participation.

Operation Encompass adds a specific support mechanism: the nursery works with police to support children affected by domestic abuse, with a Designated Safeguarding Lead as the contact role. This describes the arrangement rather than making a separate assurance about its effectiveness.

The March 2024 inspection identified two priorities: adapting adult-led activities more closely to two-year-olds’ interests and needs, and giving younger children clearer, more consistent explanations about behaviour and its effects on others. Both matter to families weighing the toddler experience, where adult direction and emotional support can shape how children participate in play.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day Sessions run from 7am to 7pm. Opening hours are also 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, giving a clear weekday window for nursery care.

For children aged 5 to 11, Afterschool & Breakfast Club provides breakfast care from 8am to 10am and after-school care from 3pm to 7pm. Breakfast and after-school care can include drop-off and pickup at surrounding schools in Cheshunt, Waltham Cross and Theobalds Grove. These arrangements serve a different family need from the nursery’s full-day pattern.

Getting There

The address is 1 Russells Ride, Cheshunt, EN8 8TS. Enquiries and show-around bookings can be made by telephone on 01992 632555, alongside the appointment enquiry route.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Treat that as a dated participation fact when planning childcare costs, rather than a promise about a particular child’s entitlement or booking.

• The toddler experience. The March 2024 priorities concerned two-year-olds’ activities and younger children’s emotional regulation. On a visit, ask how practitioners now adapt play and explain boundaries.
• The youngest room. Baby Bees has a maximum of six babies and a room age band of 0 to 22 months, while the setting accepts children from 3 months. Discuss how the room’s routines would accommodate your baby’s stage.
• Funding and everyday costs. Funded provision for two-, three- and four-year-olds was recorded in March 2024. Request a current written quotation covering the funding pattern, meals and non-food consumables before comparing total costs.

Bouncing Bees suits families seeking full-day nursery sessions and those needing breakfast club or after-school club sessions for older children. Its small published baby-room cap and regular park outings give parents concrete features to assess. The Good judgement from March 2024 provides a dated quality reference; the toddler teaching and behaviour priorities deserve equal weight in a visit discussion.