Busy Bees Pre-School

A schoolroom surrounded by fields and woodland gives Busy Bees Pre-School its character: children can build, paint, garden and take their play outdoors, with Pannal Primary School sharing the grounds. This is a village pre-school with opportunities for parents to contribute through its trustee committee, fundraising and activities with the children.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Busy Bees Good and found safeguarding effective, while asking for more consistent behaviour strategies and deeper staff understanding of wider safeguarding issues. Those improvement points belong alongside the positive judgement.

Busy Bees accepts children aged 2 to 5 and has 26 places in total. Attendance is during school term time, with a choice between a morning including lunch and a full day.

Learning and Activities

Play shapes the curriculum. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together children's communication, physical and social development with early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding of their surroundings. Here, staff follow children's interests, observe their play and introduce language or learning opportunities as those interests develop. The emphasis is on children experimenting and becoming more independent.

The large schoolroom has resources within children's reach, allowing them to choose what to use. Daily play choices include construction, role play, water, painting and opportunities to make marks.

Cosy carpet provides a place for shared stories and singing as well as quieter reading alone or with other children. Books can also go home from the pre-school's library. At the Creative table, cutting, drawing and model-making connect small hand movements with talking about ideas and creations.

In January 2023, counting was woven into group activities: children counted those present, matched that number with claps and sang counting songs, while older children wrote the number on a whiteboard.

Previous visiting sessions have included Boogie Babes, combining singing with movement to music. Occasional excursions have taken children to Harlow Carr Gardens, the local library, a duck pond and woodland. The annual Harvest Collection gathers donations for local causes, including food banks or projects supporting homeless people, giving families a practical way to contribute beyond the pre-school.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can move between the indoor space and outdoor play during both morning and afternoon attendance. The outdoor provision includes a climbing frame, ride-on vehicles, a mud kitchen and a digging area, alongside grass and playground space. Those details matter: outdoor play can involve movement, imaginative cooking or investigating soil, rather than relying on one type of equipment.

Covered areas help extend the possibilities in different weather, and children grow vegetables, flowers and herbs. Wellies and waterproofs can be supplied. Woodland nearby also supports occasional walks and play, so exploration extends beyond the main outdoor area without implying that every session includes a woodland visit.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who supports their play, develops vocabulary and plans learning around their interests. This practitioner is also the family's main contact. Busy Bees also tries to arrange key-person support for siblings attending the setting.

In January 2023, staff gathered information from parents when children first started, and families received day-to-day updates through an online app. Children sought physical comfort from staff, including cuddles during play. These observations describe care at that time; the current key-person arrangement supplies the continuing structure for contact with families.

Parents can take an active part once their child has settled, whether by sharing a skill, reading a story or helping with a trip. The trustee committee consists mainly of parents whose children attend. Fundraising also helps pay for resources and additional experiences. For families who enjoy contributing to their child's setting, involvement can extend beyond attending occasional events.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator role provides a named responsibility for SEND within the staff structure. At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that knowledge of local referral routes helped families access additional support and that assessments helped address learning gaps, supporting good progress.

In January 2023, children practised putting on coats and washing hands, and staff used a sand timer to support turn-taking. The weakness was consistency: instructions and behaviour strategies were not always applied clearly enough for children to understand expectations. The safeguarding improvement concerned staff confidence and understanding of wider issues, together with the planning of further training. Neither point should disappear behind the overall Good grade.

Families supply a healthy packed lunch, while the Snack time cafe offers daily snacks and drinks with a picture menu for children's choices. Dietary requirements and allergies are taken into account in the snack arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Busy Bees opens Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 3pm during school term time. The morning including lunch runs from 8.45am to 1pm; the full day runs from 8.45am to 3pm. Both patterns operate Monday to Friday and require a packed lunch. The afternoon extension therefore gives families a longer day within the same setting, while the shorter pattern still includes lunch.

Children must attend at least 2 separate sessions each week, and a full day counts as one session. September and January are the main intake points. Families seeking an alternative starting date may be able to join the waiting list, but a place cannot be held without payment beyond one full term. These rules make regular attendance an important part of choosing a pattern.

Enquiries and application-form requests can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01423 870351. Withdrawal requires 4 weeks' written notice; otherwise, the corresponding fees are charged. Weather-related changes are communicated by email, and Busy Bees closes if Pannal School closes.

Getting There

The address is Pannal Green, Pannal, Harrogate, HG3 1LH, behind Pannal Primary School beside its Early Years Reception building. Sharing the grounds does not guarantee admission to Reception: families still need to apply through the local authority's primary-school admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time. Universal Funding provides 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday; eligible working families may qualify for up to 30 hours, while eligible families receiving additional support may qualify for 15 hours of Two Year Old Support Funding from the term after their child's second birthday. Funding eligibility does not change Busy Bees' own starting age of 2.

For privately paid sessions, the usual fee includes snacks, non-food consumables and enhancements, with packed lunches supplied by families. Funded sessions have additional-services charges covering snacks, consumables such as wipes and sun cream, and enhancements including visiting activities and trips; lunches remain parent-provided. The contribution is voluntary: parents opting out must notify Busy Bees before each term and supply the items specified for sessions and events.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The sessions and fees page explains the charge structure, and payment through Tax-Free Childcare is accepted.

• Term-time attendance. Both the morning including lunch and the full day finish within the school-day window, and attendance requires at least 2 separate weekly sessions. This suits a regular term-time pattern; families needing holiday care should plan that separately.
• Funded extras. Funded sessions carry a voluntary additional-services contribution, with an advance opt-out and parent-supplied items as the alternative. Packed lunches also come from home.
• Behaviour and staff development. January 2023 brought requests for clearer, consistent behaviour strategies and stronger development around wider safeguarding issues. At a visit, ask how those changes now work in everyday practice.
• Food requirements. Lunch comes from home and snacks are chosen through the cafe's picture menu. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling arrangements and how individual requirements are communicated to staff.

Busy Bees suits families seeking either a morning with lunch or a full term-time day for a child aged 2 to 5. Its strongest practical attractions are the shared schoolroom's accessible resources, outdoor freedom, woodland surroundings and opportunities for parents to contribute. The key-person structure gives family contact a clear place in that offer.

The January 2023 Good judgement came with specific behaviour and safeguarding-training improvement points. For parents comfortable with term-time attendance, packed lunches and the funded-extras arrangement, this is a pre-school with a recognisable village setting and plenty of scope for learning through play.