Busy Bees Nurseries

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Busy Bees Nurseries is a nursery group with 390 nurseries worldwide.[1]

History

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Busy Bees was founded by Marg Randles in 1983 in Lichfield in England.[1] It has subsequently acquired nursery chains such as Bush Babies,[2] Leapfrog,[3] Kids 1st,[4] Just Learning,[5] Kindercare,[6] Tibbitots,[7] and Caring Day Care.[8]

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan[9] acquired Busy Bees Nursery Group in October 2013, with Busy Bees management maintaining a significant minority share in the company. Busy Bees completed its first international acquisition[10] in Southeast Asia with the purchase of 48 nurseries and Asia International College in Singapore along with a further 12 nurseries in Malaysia, the number of nurseries has now increased further to 52 in Singapore. Busy Bees also founded a childcare voucher company in 1998, which they later sold in 2008.[citation needed]

In 2017, Busy Bees acquired BrightPath Early Learning Inc. a Canadian early child care and educational facility provider.[11]

In 2022 Boots partnered with Busy Bees, to offer its team members access to discounted childcare fees.[12] In 2023, Sky partnered with Busy Bees to offer a workplace childcare solution to its working parents.[13]

In 2023 Busy Bees expanded internationally with the acquisition of New Zealand-based Provincial Education Group and completed the acquisition of Australian childcare provider Think Childcare Group.[14] It also acquired the Malvern Group in the United States, a network of 27 childcare centres in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.[15]

Education

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Busy Bees nurseries in the United Kingdom are supported by learning programmes in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework.[citation needed]

Staff

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In 2015 two of the founders of Busy Bees Nurseries were awarded an OBE for their longstanding service to the childcare sector.[16] Margaret Randles is both the co-founder and chief academic officer.[17]

In 2023, Gill Jones MBE[18] — former deputy director for early years education at Ofsted — joined the group as group chief quality officer.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Our Story". www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  2. ^ Bush Babies[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Busy Bees Group acquires Leapfrog Day Nurseries and Childcare Vouchers". www.employeebenefits.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  4. ^ Ford, Coreena (18 December 2015). "Kids 1st Nurseries acquired by national childcare provider Busy Bees". nechronicle. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  5. ^ Just Learning
  6. ^ "Acquisition brings Busy Bees settings up to 214". www.nurseryworld.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Busy Bees buys northern light". www.nurseryworld.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Busy Bees acquires Surrey nursery group". www.nurseryworld.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Home - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan". www.otpp.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Totally Devoted to Childcare". www.busybeesasia.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Brightpath completes arrangement with Busy Bees". www.otpp.com. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Boots partners with UK's largest nursery group to support its working parents". www.boots-uk.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. ^ Cumming, Alice (20 January 2023). "Sky partners with Busy Bees to offer workplace childcare solution - Business Leader News". Business Leader. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  14. ^ Media, Insider (13 February 2023). "Further international expansion for Busy Bees | Midlands Deals News". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Busy Bees buys group of settings in North America". Nursery World. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  16. ^ Lichfield Mercury[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Beauhurst (10 March 2022). "50 Female Entrepreneurs To Watch | 2022". Beauhurst. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Ofsted's former deputy director of early education Gill Jones joins Busy Bees". Nursery World. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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