Busy Bee Nursery School

Two gardens and bright and airy classrooms give Busy Bee Nursery School a practical foundation for learning through play. This Lytton Grove nursery in Putney takes children aged 2 to 5 and has 33 places in total. Outdoor movement, creative materials and growing independence feature in its day, alongside specialist teaching in activities such as drama and karate.

At its 5 July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children made good progress towards skills useful for school. That judgement provides a positive assessment of the provision at that date; the specific improvement point concerned helping children understand why eating well matters.

Attendance can be mornings, afternoons or both sessions together, during school terms. That gives families a choice between a shorter nursery session and a day spanning both parts of the timetable.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning: children develop language, relationships, physical skills and understanding through play and supported activities. At Busy Bee, activities combine children's own choices with adult guidance, indoors and outside. The practical implication is a day with opportunities both to pursue an interest and to try something introduced by staff.

Books, rhymes and games introduce letter sounds and shapes, while activities requiring careful hand movements prepare children for using a pen. Number work grows out of play and everyday situations, with opportunities to explore patterns, shape and problem solving. These are concrete ways of connecting early literacy and mathematics to experiences children can understand.

Creative play includes drawing, construction and making models, with resources that children can use in different ways. Music, movement and acting provide other means of expression. Specialist teachers add yoga and music alongside dance, karate and drama. These additions broaden the activities children encounter beyond the regular staff-led day.

In July 2023, children used fabric, mesh and pine cones for collage, made models from dough and shared objects brought from home. Story props helped them revisit narratives. Those examples show how handling materials and talking about familiar things could support both imagination and communication.

Outdoor and Community Life

The two gardens provide space for movement as well as investigation. Current activities develop balance, coordination and awareness of space, connecting outdoor play with physical development rather than treating it solely as a break between indoor activities.

In July 2023, children searched for worms and snails in the garden and discussed their names and ways of living. Wheeled toys and numbered parking spaces brought counting into outdoor play, while climbing equipment, ball play and races gave children different physical challenges. The examples make the connection between active play and learning unusually clear: movement, number recognition and curiosity shared the same outdoor setting.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who builds a relationship with the family and takes responsibility for observing, planning and reviewing the child's learning. Before starting, children are invited to a play session to meet staff, giving parents an opportunity to discuss settling and share their child's interests and needs.

In July 2023, staff exchanged information with parents daily and supplied progress reports. Parents and staff also worked together on children's development, including behaviour. This connected conversations about the nursery day with support at home.

Preparation for moving on includes conversations about children's next school and welcoming visits from its teachers. Children practise handling their shoes, coats and packed lunches, giving school preparation a practical emphasis on everyday independence.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

For children with SEND, Individual Educational Plans set targets and review dates with parental involvement. Outside agencies can contribute to support. Admission is considered individually: limits on space, facilities and specialist staff training may prevent the nursery from admitting children with certain physical disabilities or serious long-term emotional or behavioural disabilities.

In July 2023, staff used home-language words and visual schedules to help children learning English understand routines. Children also practised serving drinks and helping prepare snack time. However, the July 2023 improvement point was to strengthen children's understanding of healthy eating, a useful distinction between providing healthy routines and teaching children why they matter.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 19 Lytton Grove, Putney, London, SW15 2EZ. Morning sessions run from 9.05am to 12.15pm; afternoons run from 1pm to 3.20pm. Children can attend both. The combined arrangement is explicitly offered, while the shorter sessions give families separate morning and afternoon options.

Busy Bee operates during school terms, with a Holiday Club at each term's end for additional childcare. The holiday provision is worth considering separately from the regular term-time pattern when planning care across the year. Enquiries can be made using the contact form, by email or on 020 8789 0132.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding options are offered, and additional contributions towards the enriched curriculum are voluntary. Families obtain current prices directly from the nursery by telephone. Withdrawal requires a term's notice, or payment covering a term instead, so the leaving arrangements deserve attention before committing.

• Term-time attendance. Morning and afternoon sessions can be combined, and the Holiday Club operates at term ends. At a visit, ask how that holiday pattern fits the weeks your family needs covered.
• Specialist activities. Dance, drama, karate, music and yoga supplement the regular staff-led activities. At a visit, ask how these sessions fit your child's morning or afternoon attendance.
• Healthy-eating teaching. In July 2023, children needed more help understanding the value of eating well. Ask how this is now built into activities and snack-time conversations.
• The complete charge structure. Curriculum contributions are voluntary and withdrawal requires a term's notice. Request a written quotation distinguishing funded hours, additional attendance, food and non-food consumables.

Busy Bee suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or a day combining both, within a term-time routine. Two gardens and specialist activities give it a clear practical character. The July 2023 Good judgement adds a dated quality assessment, while the healthy-eating improvement point remains a useful consideration. For parents who value play and outdoor activity, the combination of creative materials, physical activities and shorter attendance options gives this nursery a clear appeal.