Busy Bees QE

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 160 Metchley Lane, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TX
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8.6 53 Reviews
  • Busy Bees QE, Birmingham
Busy Bees at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has a highly-qualified team, a wide range of play resources and a transformed large outdoor area highly-suited to inspiring children at this crucial age of their development.

The provider believes in making sure that staff experience good professional development, including in health and security matters, at the same time as building positive and constructive relationships with parents.

Children are respected as individuals and all decisions made have their happiness and well-being in mind.

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Care Provided by Busy Bees QE

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Privately Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Sharon O'Toole (Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 47
  • Total Places for Children
  • 133
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 2 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:00-18:00
    Tuesday 07:00-18:00
    Wednesday 07:00-18:00
    Thursday 07:00-18:00
    Friday 07:00-18:00
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays & Christmas
  • Parking

  • Parking for parents and visitors of the nursery only, please park in the drop of bay outside the nursery.


Busy Bees QE Reviews (53)

Total of 53, showing 1-20
8.6

Busy Bees QE has a Review Score of 8.6 (8.632) out of 10, based on 6 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Busy Bees QE has 53 reviews.

Overall Experience

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Date Published

53
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47

Review from S G (Mother of Child) published on 18 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I was hesitant about putting my daughter in a chain nursery and wanted to put her in a more forest-school-type thing, but I couldn't find something that worked around my work schedule. The team at Busy Bees QE is amazing. Being a single mum, my daughter has struggled with separation anxiety and all
the staff have really helped her as well as me. Although there have been little bits that haven't been perfect, I've always felt able to voice this. The staff are fabulous, there were a few funding issues and they made sure this got sorted. Everybody is so invaluable (honestly cannot name all of them as there's a limited word count but they are all worth their weight in gold). There is an app parents can access to stay updated and staff print out photos of my daughter for me which is lovely. I'm really grateful for the team here and hope they get recognised for their above and beyond hard work. I couldn't imagine her being anywhere else.

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Review from Lizetta P (Mother of Child) published on 17 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Highly recommend Busy Bees at the QE. My daughter loves the many themes and play stations that are set out. I have watched my toddler grow confident in articulating how she feels and develop her skills to make friends too. She has a great relationship with her key worker! By Sunday evening she is asking
if she can please go to Busy Bees. A testament to the warm and vibrant environment!

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Review from Nicola M (Mother of Child) published on 27 January 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Fantastic nursery. All the staff go above and beyond their role and tailor the needs of children to their interests. Our child loves nursery and has developed bonds with numerous staff members. The communication of staff about progress is great, overall management of the nursery is excellent. I would
highly recommend this nursery to others.

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Review from H K (Mother of Child) published on 24 January 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son started in May 2024 as a 9-month-old, he has achieved so much within this time. His key worker helped me alongside management who have helped in every way they can of any learning to do at home.
I made the right choice in choosing Busy Bees QE.

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Review from Coralie G (Mother of Child) published on 24 January 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

I love all the activities that they do in there, paintings, playing in the garden, singing etc.
My son is really excited to go to nursery every day, he has a lot of fun.
The staff there are really friendly helpful and patient which is important.

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Review from A K (Mother of Child) published on 29 March 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son attended this nursery from the age of five months, and I was impressed with how friendly and caring all the staff were. He settled in quickly, and as he progressed through the rooms, he enjoyed his time spent with the different caregivers. They have spacious open rooms, and all the staff get
to know the kids very well, so I was always comfortable leaving him knowing he was in good hands. Good updates on the app and parking outside, which can occasionally get busy with the hospital traffic, but overall, a great experience for a first-time mum, so thank you, Busy Bees! Thank you to two members of staff especially!

Reply from Emily Graves, Digital Content Assistant at Busy Bees QE

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such a wonderful review! We’re glad you’re giving your little one the best start in life with us.
40 years of Busy Bees – 40 years of best beginnings. We’re celebrating our milestone year and we invite you to join us! Visit our Busy Bees website or search for ’40 years Busy Bees’ and find out more and how to take part. We’re grateful for your trust and the opportunity to provide your child with the best start in life. Best wishes, Busy Bees.


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Review from S P (Mother of Child) published on 19 April 2021
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

It's very difficult to give an accurate evaluation of the nursery during these times as the face-to-face communication is minimal. We are happy with it. They have strictly followed the Covid-19 rules and we felt safe for the last year. Also reassured as we see and feel that our child is learning but
we don't really know how, what and when. The workers are helpful and friendly but we are mirroring the feedback from a progress report or a minute chat about our son's behaviour and progress. We don't know activities and facilities so it is difficult to answer those boxes. Very happy it remained open for NHS workers. Thank you for that.

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Review from Z H (Mother of Child) published on 25 March 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The staff have been warm, welcoming and helped my son settle in quickly. He had never really been to a nursery full-time and had spent the prior year at home and in a different country too! They have provided a caring, nurturing place and I can see that my son feels safe and happy. Additionally, his
meals seem delicious!

Reply from Sharon O'Toole, Manager at Busy Bees QE

Thank you so much for your kind words.
Our Chef prepares all meals fresh each day, and have new menus coming out in the next couple of weeks.


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Review from Amanda H (Mother of Child) published on 25 March 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has attended Busy Bees QE since 2018 and they have supported my son with his SENCO targets. His key worker is fantastic and I have seen such a change in him over the last six months during this difficult time. I'm kept up to date and we work alongside nursery.

Reply from Sharon O'Toole, Manager at Busy Bees QE

What a lovely review - thank you so much!
It is so lovely to hear that our team's hard work and dedication is being recognised.


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Review from Anna S (Mother of Child) published on 11 March 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

My daughter who is nearly two loves going to that nursery. She started when she was one and she attended half days. If I tell her in the morning we are going to nursery she is gets excited. She walks into nursery without even looking back at me, she is already too interested of what is going to happen.
I also think she really likes the ladies who care for her. The introduction of the app was great, especially in this pandemic time when there is limited opportunity to talk to the staff about your child's day. Now, I can follow it on my mobile phone! I know if there are new activities she is engaging into and what she is learning. I can link to it and follow it when she is back at home. I even know what and how much she eats and her nappy changes. The management has been very accommodating and understanding. I had to change the booking pattern almost every month recently because of the pandemic affecting my family situation.

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Review from Samantha H (Mother of Child) published on 8 March 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My child has attended this nursery for the past two years and has learnt so much during her time spent there. All activities are appropriately age-related, engaging and varied, my child especially enjoys reading and activities have been related to the current favourite story. Outdoors playtime is incorporated
into the day and there is a large garden to play in. The previous year has been a roller coaster for everyone but the nursery has been fantastic with their response, adapting at short notice and helping the children adjust to this new normal. The centre is always clean, tidy and the staff are friendly and often greet all the children by name, even ones I haven't met before. My family has grown and the staff have been brilliant with helping to prepare my child for the arrival of a new sibling and made the process much easier for all of us. I am extremely happy with the care and attention my child receives and the new sibling is already signed up to join when I return to work.

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Review from Stacey L (Mother of Child) published on 5 March 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has attended Busy Bees QE for the past 12 months and I couldn’t be happier sending her there. We can tell when collecting her int the evening that she has an amazing time while there. She’s loves attending there. There is always a varied diet offered at the nursery and the girls are great
at making sure the kids are drinking enough during the day also.
We get updates constantly of how she is progressing and photos are often uploaded to the nursery app which is a lovely thing for us to see during the day at work. The indoor and outdoor play facilities seem really good depending on the weather.
They have had a lot of changes over the past few months due to Covid and seem to have adapted to these very well, and communication of these changes have been passed to parents promptly with any queries being answered. The protocol of temperature checking on arrival and the way they have handled covid puts me at ease sending my daughter there during this time.

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Review from Lindsay (Mother of Child) published on 30 November 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Excellent communication from all staff with regular updates. Always a wide variety of food offered. Always clean and well organised with appropriate age-related equipment for learning. The staff have adapted extremely well throughout covid, making changes sometimes at short notice that reflect the changing
needs of children, parents and staff and have always kept parents updated via written, email and verbal communication.
You do receive value for money but fees are high which is similar in all nurseries in the surrounding area.

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Review from Sophie (Mother of Child) published on 2 November 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter joined the nursery in 2018 at 10 months and is now 3.5 and in the preschool room. I feel happy when I drop her off that she is safe, cared for and will be happy. Staff do their best to get to know each child and even the office staff greet her by name. Activities are varied regularly, so
she never gets bored, and are appropriate at each age stage. Staff record the progress of each child and tailor activities to help them develop at their rate. The building is purpose-built, so absolutely suited to a nursery setting. The garden has a good-sized soft tarmac type area and a separate grassy area. The food sounds amazing. The menu is balanced and refreshed with the change in seasons. Covid adaptions are not intrusive to the kids' day. Temperatures are checked throughout the day, certain toys have been removed and they wash their hands regularly. The removed toys haven't been noticed by my daughter because there are other things to play with. Definitely recommend them.

Reply from Sharon O'Toole, Manager at Busy Bees QE

Hi Sophie,
What a lovely review - thank you so much!
It is so lovely to hear that our team's hard work and dedication is coming to fruition!


Many thanks,


Busy Bees QE


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Review from Kirsty S (Mother of Child) published on 26 October 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Throughout unprecedented times the staff at Busy Bees have been outstanding. Not only a friendly and smiley face to welcome us in but also encouraging, professional and regimented in the rules. They have faced very uncertain times but their priority has always been the safety of the children and those
associated with the children. I just can't speak more highly of them. Thank you so much for the incredible hard work and time you give to my little boy. He is really coming out of his shell outside of the home and I put a lot of that down to the fabulous people looking after him. Thank you each and every one of you.

Reply from Sharon O'Toole, Manager at Busy Bees QE

Hi Kirsty,
Thank you so much for your review! Your kind words are appreciated by everyone in the team.


Many thanks,


Busy Bees QE


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Review from Alice W (Mother of Child) published on 11 November 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 3.0 out of 5

My son has been at Busy Bees between age 1-2 and a half and I have only moved him because I changed jobs. The baby room is lovely and spacious with separate sleeping area with cots in, so really nice if your baby is quite difficult to settle for daytime naps. Lovely arrangement and an assortment of
toys to stimulate learning and help develop their hand-eye coordination. Also a good garden area for the crawlers. The toddler room has further their important development and it’s where he learnt to walk and talk! The staff are so engaging and interactive and they help encourage all the children to participate. The nursery always has activities and lots of fancy dress opportunities which is fun for the kids. The food is of a high standard and good portion sizes too and they really encourage them to use spoons/forks to help develop their table manners. Very sensible staff when the kids are poorly and will give medicine and not always expect them to be picked up which is good if it’s difficult to leave work.

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Review from Melanie S (Mother of Child) published on 14 October 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have entrusted the staff at this outstanding nursery with both of my children full time since they were eight months old. My boys have benefitted from the kindness, respect, patience, knowledge and fun of each and every member of the team at Busy Bees QE; from the cleaner to the manager, everyone
knows my boys’ names and their personalities and takes delight in talking about them as much as I do. They are kept safe, stimulated and developed by a great site and great individuals and I would never want my children to go anywhere else. Even though it is a large percentage of our joint income to put them in nursery-we haven’t ever regretted the decision to send them to this one of a kind facility.

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Review from Vinothini V (Mother of Child) published on 6 September 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Nice people. Kids are well received and taken care. Hygienic environment and food quality. There are a variety of activities for kids, indoor and outdoor. My daughter always goes with a smile and returns in the same way.

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Review from Saba S (Mother of Child) published on 27 August 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A massive thank you to all at Busy Bees QE. What an amazing farewell party for the nursery graduates.
Our daughter had an amazing time with her Busy Bees family and we had a fabulous time too. The party was a complete surprise and really fun for all involved. Well done to the whole organising team
and a special thanks to the class teachers for looking after our baby girl. Her first graduation and all she did was have fun to achieve it


Have and will definitely continue to recommend the nursery. Luckily baby number two is still there to enjoy it all.


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Review from Mark (Father of Child) published on 27 March 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The staff here consistently display great warmth, empathy and a fun-loving nature as well as being consummate professionals. All have cared for both my daughters as if they were their own. They act, at all times, to create an environment in which children can thrive. Indeed, the team go above and beyond
the call of duty to ensure the inclusion of all children no matter what the circumstances. Entrust your precious little ones to Busy Bees QE without hesitation.

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Current Review Score: 8.6 (8.632)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 8.6 (8.632) out of 10 for Busy Bees QE is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 6 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 3.8 out of 5 from 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.806 for Busy Bees QE is calculated as follows: ( (58 Excellents x 5) + (14 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 72 Ratings = 4.806

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 3.826 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Busy Bees QE is based on 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 = 3.6

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 133 number of registered child places is 26.6. 6 Positive Reviews ÷ 26.6 = 0.226

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

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Meet the Team (1)

Sharon

Sharon O Toole

Job Title: Centre Director

Joined: 2008

Hi, I am Sharon; Manager at Birmingham QE Nursery...


I started at Busy Bees QE in 2008 and was based in the Dragonflies room. I'm NVQ level 3 qualified and have worked in childcare since 1994. I became Deputy Manager in October 2013 and the Nursery Training Mentor. In 2015 I then became the Manager. I am the named lead for Safeguarding.


I am looking forward to welcoming you to our dynamic and spacious nursery to show you the outstanding opportunities we can offer your children.


Frequently Asked Questions about Busy Bees QE

What is the Age Range of Children that Busy Bees QE accepts?

Busy Bees QE accepts Children aged from 0 years 2 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Busy Bees QE Open?

Busy Bees QE is open: Monday 07:00-18:00, Tuesday 07:00-18:00, Wednesday 07:00-18:00, Thursday 07:00-18:00, Friday 07:00-18:00.

How many Children does Busy Bees QE have capacity for?

Busy Bees QE has capacity for a total of 133 Children.

How far is Busy Bees QE to the centre of Birmingham?

2.7 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Busy Bees QE to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Busy Bees QE has an Enhanced Service – more info.