Herefordshire nursery receives outstanding Ofsted report

Busy Bees Nursery and Pre-School in Clifford, near Hay-on-Wye, was opened 20 years ago, with Hayley Manns being its manager for the past 10 years. 

It is the first time it has been granted outstanding status by Ofsted, with inspectors saying that children are welcomed by kind and attentive staff who know them and their families well.

"The manager and staff demonstrate a genuine passion for ensuring children are provided with an ambitious and meaningful curriculum that is structured around the individual needs of the children," they said. 

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"The quality of teaching is excellent. Staff working with children of all ages use a range of different teaching styles and adapt their interactions to ensure the experiences on offer are exciting, challenging, and well-sequenced."

The report added that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive excellent support, while the arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 

"We have been waiting for this inspection for a long time, it has been six years since our last inspection and so much has changed, and we have been desperate to show them," said Mrs Manns.

The nursery and pre-school is also celebrating its 20th birthday (Image: Rob Davies)

"When I took over the setting, our building was falling apart, we had very limited resources, limited staff and the government introduced lots of changes to the way in which we were funded and this meant we have had to continually review our business model.

"Fast forward to today, we have succeeded in creating not one new building but two, the most amazing garden I have ever seen, we survived a pandemic and we have built the most incredible workforce.

"All of this has been made possible by the wonderful families who have supported us during this time. I said to the Ofsted inspector, we have the most amazing location, with the most amazing children and families and the most amazing staff, it’s a recipe for success, therefore I am proud to announce for the first time in Busy Bees’ 20 year history we can finally say we are outstanding."