Chatter Bees Day Nursery

A weekly meal with parents gives Chatter Bees Day Nursery a clear family emphasis: adults can share food, join activities and take part in their child's play. Daily feedback keeps that relationship going between shared occasions. For families who want involvement in nursery life, this is a concrete invitation rather than a general promise.

At its 17 July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, while identifying a need for clearer learning aims within activities and further staff development to strengthen teaching. The balance matters: there was positive practice, but also a specific educational improvement agenda.

Based at 55 Charterhouse Road in Hackney, London E8 2RE, the nursery accepts children aged one to five and has 27 places in total. Honey Room and Bumblebee Room provide the two named stages of its offer.

Rooms and Ages

Honey Room is the younger children's base, with a key person supporting settling and play that encourages imagination, creativity and exploration of everyday materials. That gives parents a useful picture of the room's emphasis: discovering what familiar objects can do, rather than rushing towards formal tasks.

Bumblebee Room emphasises sustained exploration, relationships with other children and participation in learning. Its preschool activities prepare children for their next educational stage. The practical distinction is between the younger room's early exploration and the older room's growing participation and independence.

Learning and Activities

EYFS, the Early Years Foundation Stage, guides children's progress across seven areas of learning, with play and exploration helping them develop their skills. It is the educational framework here, rather than an additional branded programme. The room descriptions connect it to curiosity, relationships and children's increasing ability to stay with activities that interest them.

In July 2024, younger children explored water and sand, with adults encouraging attention to what they could feel and see. Older children experimented with marks and connected sounds with letters. These were different stages of learning, rather than the same activity offered to every age.

Communication also took several forms that July: adults paired speech with signs, used clear language and brought stories to life with props. Songs and words in different languages added further opportunities to listen and speak. Children brought books to adults for shared reading, making stories part of their chosen activity as well as adult-led time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor physical activity formed part of the day in July 2024. Within the nursery, adults also drew on festivals celebrated by children's families when planning activities. That connected learning with home experiences and gave children opportunities to encounter one another's customs.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is the familiar staff member who follows a child's development; in Honey Room, that relationship also supports settling. Combined with daily feedback and the weekly invitation to eat and play together, this gives parents several ways to stay involved, rather than relying on a single occasional conversation.

In July 2024, adults responded to children needing reassurance and used consistent boundaries around behaviour. Everyday independence included putting toys away, handling cutlery and managing personal tasks. Staff also sought children's permission before helping them with toileting, giving respectful care a practical expression.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities that included responsive help during activities, coordinated staff training and guidance from the special educational needs coordinator. This is a dated assessment of practice, with concrete mechanisms behind it.

Food is freshly cooked each day by a chef, following a three-week menu that caters for allergies and dietary requirements. EAT BETTER START BETTER, a Hackney scheme assessing menus, mealtimes and food policy, has assessed the nursery through stage three. For parents, the useful detail is the attention to both what children eat and how meals are organised.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens on weekdays, starting at 8am. Registration uses a form that can be completed electronically or on paper, while enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. Tours can also be booked.

The address is 55 Charterhouse Road, London E8 2RE. Children are accepted from age one to five. Honey Room's advertised age band begins at six months.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged two to four, with 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements. Meals are free for children under three, and funded children receive snacks and hot meals free of charge. Nappies and wipes are also supplied without an additional charge during children's attendance, reducing the everyday supplies families need to organise.

Paid childcare is offered alongside funding, with different payment options. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Families should distinguish their funded entitlement from any additional paid attendance when considering their overall arrangement.

• Closing time. Opening information gives both 5.30pm and 6pm as the weekday finish. Which closing time would apply to your child's attendance? That difference matters for families arranging work and collection.
• Teaching consistency. In July 2024, some activities needed clearer connections between their intended learning and what staff actually delivered. During a tour, ask how practitioners now explain an activity's purpose and how targeted training supports that work.
• Dietary needs. The menu caters for allergies and dietary requirements. Families affected by allergies should confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before agreeing care.
• Minimum age. Honey Room's advertised band begins at six months, while the nursery's accepted age range starts at one year. For a younger child, ask which minimum age applies before arranging attendance.

Chatter Bees suits families seeking active involvement in their child's nursery life, especially those who value shared meals, daily feedback and a familiar key person. Honey Room's younger-child emphasis and Bumblebee Room's preschool preparation provide a clear progression in the offer.

The July 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, tempered by the need to make teaching more consistent. Free food for funded children and nappies and wipes supplied without extra charge add practical value. The conflicting closing times deserve resolution before a family builds its working day around attendance.