Beehive Day Nursery

A greenhouse built from recycled bottles, a garden shared by siblings and a Baby Room capped at six children give Beehive Day Nursery a clear character. This Bungay nursery combines substantial outdoor space with smaller beginnings for its youngest children. The separate sleep room is another useful detail: rest has its own space alongside the baby accommodation.

Beehive cares for children aged 3 to 60 months and has 44 places in total. Its overall judgement in January 2023 was Good. That judgement provides a useful quality marker, but the practical appeal is more specific: age-based rooms, play-led learning and a key person who helps connect care at nursery with life at home.

Daily care and flexible attendance patterns sit alongside funded childcare, which can be spread across the year.

Rooms and Ages

The former sheepskin store is divided into age-based rooms. Moves depend on development as well as age; the garden brings children together.

The Baby Room has space for six children, with treasure baskets, singing and exploratory play alongside garden time and local walks, giving babies opportunities to investigate objects and sounds as well as spend time outdoors.

For children aged two, the Toddler Room has a capacity of 12, with a messy-play area, dressing-up and construction activities, while short story sessions and supported self-care give growing independence a practical outlet.

In the Pre-school Room, independently accessible play areas include mark-making, construction and finger gym activities that develop small hand movements, while letters and numbers are explored through children's interests rather than worksheets.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides learning through play, including communication, physical development and relationships. At Beehive, this means stories and conversation, movement and practical exploration, with observations used to follow each child's development. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery.

Counting through cooking or pretend play, drawing and using tools, and singing rhymes build number, hand-control and communication skills through familiar experiences.

In January 2023, weekly staff reflection sessions tracked development and changing interests. Melting ice with warm water and pipettes to release toy animals gave children opportunities to test ideas together.

In January 2023, quieter children received less sustained staff interaction. Adult attention needs to reach children who are less likely to seek it out.

Outdoor and Community Life

A mud kitchen, sandpit and digging pit support messy exploration. The vegetable garden's recycled-bottle greenhouse brings growing plants into play, while reused tyres, timber and pallets provide materials to investigate.

Pre-school children can choose between indoor and outdoor play; younger children go out together when possible. Different ages mix in the garden, giving siblings time together during the nursery day. Waterproof clothing supports outdoor play across changing weather.

Lottie, the nursery dog, spends part of each day at Beehive. In January 2023, children also met a Pets as Therapy dog, stroking it and talking with its owner, and took outings to nearby parks and shops. Those dated examples show how experiences extended beyond the playroom into contact with animals and the surrounding community.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person learns their interests and routines, supports settling and gives parents a familiar contact. They also coordinate room changes and work with school staff during transition.

Free settling sessions have no fixed limit, allowing a pace suited to the child. Staff discuss home routines, preferences and dislikes before booked sessions begin.

Tapestry, the online learning-journal system, lets families view achievements and contribute. Printed journals are offered to parents who cannot or prefer not to use the technology, alongside direct conversations.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Individual Education Plans, review meetings and contributions to professional reports form part of the support for children with additional needs. Where circumstances allow, the nursery can seek Inclusion Funding from Suffolk County Council to adapt its provision. A SENCo role and links with speech and language therapists provide further routes for coordinating support.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support through referrals and signing, and judged safeguarding arrangements effective. Current staff arrangements include safeguarding training and additional training for the manager and deputy, alongside first aid and food-safety training. These are practical systems; the dated inspection judgement remains the assessment of their effectiveness.

Sleep is planned around individual needs. Beside the Baby Room, the sleep room has cots, mats, softened lighting and a blackout blind; adults help children settle in their preferred way and check sleeping children frequently. Staff aim to follow babies' home feeding and sleeping routines until they are ready for nursery routines.

In January 2023, children were encouraged to wash their hands before meals, but teaching about covering coughs and sneezes needed more attention. Explaining the reason for a habit matters as well as prompting the action.

Lunch comes from St Edmund’s Primary School during term time, following a three-week menu cycle, with a local cook supplying it during school holidays; parents can instead send lunch or tea. The allergy policy involves collecting information from families, sharing it with staff and displaying menu allergen information.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Rose Lane, Bungay, Suffolk, NR35 1DQ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, for 51 weeks each year. Closures cover bank holidays and five working days around Christmas and New Year, with no childcare charge when the nursery is closed.

Daily care, hourly charging and flexible attendance patterns give families different booking options. Places are offered in registration order, with siblings already attending potentially considered.

Telephone and email enquiries go to the office. Before care begins, families complete forms covering medical details and collection permissions, sign a contract and provide proof of birth date.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal funding for three- and four-year-olds starts in the term after their third birthday. Extended hours are offered to eligible families, while means- or status-tested funding for eligible two-year-olds starts in the term after their second birthday. Funding can be used during term time or stretched into smaller weekly allocations across the year. Extended funding requires an application before the term in which it starts; the attendance plan and eligibility need to fit together.

The daily fee includes nursery meals, while meals are separately priced alongside hourly care; snacks and drinks are free, and families may provide lunch or tea. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the charge structure explained on the fees and funding page.

A non-refundable registration charge and a returnable deposit apply except when a child attends only funded sessions. The deposit is refunded after written notice and payment of outstanding fees, but is retained if the place is cancelled before the child starts. Ending a place requires one month's written notice.

Fees generally continue during absence. Holidays booked a month ahead receive a reduced charge, while illness is charged fully for the first three days, including weekend days, and at a reduced rate thereafter. These terms matter when comparing the cost of booked care with the days a child actually attends.

• Quiet children. January 2023 findings called for more sustained interaction with less confident children. During a visit, ask how practitioners involve a child who watches rather than volunteering.
• Food and animal contact. Lunch is supplied externally during term time, and Lottie spends part of each day at nursery. Families managing allergies or concerns about dogs should discuss current food-handling and animal-contact arrangements.
• The written cost plan. Daily and hourly care have different meal charging structures, and solely funded attendance is exempt from the registration charge and deposit. Ask for a quotation showing the funded hours, paid hours, food and non-food consumables for the intended pattern.
• Room changes and rest. Moves depend on development as well as age, and the sleep room also serves older children who need naps. A visit is a useful opportunity to discuss how a particular child's routines would carry across a room move.

Beehive suits families seeking full days or flexible hours, especially those who value outdoor play, a small Baby Room and continuity through a key person. The garden's growing spaces and recycled materials give children concrete things to explore; Tapestry gives parents a way to share in that learning.

The Good judgement from January 2023 supports the choice, while the findings about quieter children and hygiene teaching give parents specific points to explore. The strongest fit is with families who want play-led learning and individually paced settling, and who are comfortable with the meal arrangements, animal contact and contractual terms.