Busy Bees Wellington Road, Cheltenham

Blocks, balancing and imaginative garden play give Wellington Road's March 2022 nursery day its character: babies rebuilt towers, toddlers tackled physical challenges and preschool children invented stories about cutting down trees. These are concrete examples of learning through play, with different experiences for different stages of childhood.

Busy Bees Wellington Road, Cheltenham accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. At its 29 March 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective, while identifying the need to involve quieter children more consistently and make better use of children's interests when planning their next learning.

There is an important later qualification to that judgement. Supervision incidents were notified in October 2022 and March 2024, with corrective action documented after each. Those repeated incidents deserve weight alongside the earlier educational strengths.

In March 2022, the nursery occupied three floors and had outdoor space for play and learning. Babies could both rest and play in their room, using furniture at a low height to practise pulling themselves upright. Building and rebuilding wooden towers gave them opportunities to persevere, listen and respond to adults.

Toddlers had an indoor climbing frame, slide and balance blocks that month. Parachute games brought movement into shared activities, while calmer exercises offered a change of pace. Preschool children used branches in garden role play, discussing imagined work on trees and receiving reminders about taking care. Physical activity and conversation were linked through the children's play.

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, its practical meaning can be seen in the March 2022 activities: counting during construction, talking through matching games and exploring shapes with scissors. These are everyday play experiences with learning woven into them.

Mathematics took different forms across the ages in March 2022. Babies heard adults count as they built; toddlers matched bee pictures using clues about their features; preschool children compared toy dinosaurs and discussed the shapes they had cut out. Fruit and vegetable exploration also connected sensory experiences with conversation and painting. Children considered taste, smell and texture, then experimented with colour.

The limitation was engagement. In March 2022, some activities did not offer enough interest or challenge to draw children in. That matters alongside the attractive examples: a planned activity only helps if the child participates, and a quieter child needs deliberate attention as well as an invitation.

Relationships were part of the settling process in March 2022. Key persons helped new children adjust, and staff sent photographs during the day so parents could follow their experiences. Conversations with families covered home languages, celebrations and relatives; staff also used familiar words from children's home languages during routines.

Independence was practised in small, useful steps that month. Children were encouraged to manage coats, pour drinks and use cutlery. Staff used signs alongside speech when explaining changes, and worked with parents and other professionals on moves between rooms and on to school, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The emphasis was on preparation for change and everyday self-care.

In later compliance outcomes, Ofsted recorded notifications from the provider on 6 October 2022 about a brief lapse in a child's supervision, and on 6 March 2024 about a child remaining alone in the room used for sleep while children were moved elsewhere. The provider had taken corrective action following the regulatory calls. The November 2022 response involved further supervision training, coaching and staff support. In March 2024, the response included an investigation, reissuing supervision and safeguarding policies, more routine headcounts, manager ratio checks and observation of practice within rooms.

Those measures explain the documented response. They do not erase the recurrence, and families should weigh the supervision history separately from the March 2022 assessment of learning and relationships.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Sligo House, 2 Wellington Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 2DY. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year except bank holidays. That opening window gives families the operating hours; the attendance choices also include morning and afternoon sessions alongside full-time childcare.

New-parent enquiries can be made through the branch contact form or the central enrolments team on 0330 333 8133. Visits can be booked using the Wellington Road booking form, which allows families to select a date and time and describe their child's interests and childcare requirements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare options include 30 Hours working families funding, 15 Hours universal funding for children aged 3 and 4, and 15 hours for 2-year-olds receiving support. Eligibility determines which entitlement a family can use. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, so the attendance pattern and any additional paid hours should be considered together when budgeting.

• Repeated supervision incidents. The incidents notified in October 2022 and March 2024 both prompted corrective measures. During a visit, ask how room moves, sleep-room checks and headcounts now work in practice, and how managers monitor them.
• Quieter children's participation. In March 2022, staff sometimes concentrated on the children already taking part and missed chances to involve quieter children. Ask how practitioners now bring a reluctant child into an activity and adapt it to their interests.
• Funding and the total package. The booking choices include funded entitlements alongside different attendance patterns. Request a written breakdown covering the delivery of funded hours, additional hours, meals and consumables before choosing a pattern.

Wellington Road merits consideration for families seeking either full-time childcare or morning and afternoon sessions, with children accepted from babyhood through to 5 years. Its March 2022 activities offer useful examples of age-related play, physical development and growing independence. The repeated supervision incidents are the decisive caution. A family's decision should give substantial weight to the nursery's explanation of current supervision practice, alongside the learning opportunities and attendance arrangements.