Busy Bees actual cost

[JennyKPet]

Hi! My baby will be starting nursery soon at just over 1yo. She will be eligible for the 30 funded hours and we have signed her up at Busy Bees.

I would be grateful if anyone that uses their services can share their actual costs?

i know there is a fee calculator but when i read their pricing if seems to me that it will come up to more than it gives me there (~£226 per week for 5 days) and i’d like to be prepared.

Thanks in advance!

It’s usual that there will be an extra cost at a nursery so you are probably right that there is going to be.

Depends on the branch

The calculator on Busy Bees website is quite accurate, I’m not sure when you would’ve checked it but they now have the calculator that takes into account the 30 hours finding, I do stretched funding there so the calculator gives you a weekly payment cost and then multiply it by four or five depending on how many weeks there are that month. Alternatively the office staff at my Busy Bees are great so if you’re still not sure I’d just call them and ask them to talk it through with you. I basically had them on speed dial during the lead up to my son starting!

Thank you!

My oldest was at a Busy Bees before we moved. They take the hours as if you use every available hour in a day (so 11 per day as they're open 7:30 - 6:30), even if you drop off at say 9 and pick
up at 5. I think they also charge top ups but not sure.

By contrast, I now have a childminder who is a total angel, amazing with the kids, and charges £6.50 ph for the hours my children are actually with her and no top ups. My childcare bill is dramatically different!

£226 per week sounds about right for term time only with 30 hours. If you need the care across the whole year then they stretch the funding so we only get 22 hours per week "funded" (plus top up on those funded hours).

My DS goes to a Busy Bees nursery full time and we use the 30 hours per week working families funding, stretched across the whole year. Due to it being stretched across the whole year, it actually works out as 22.8 funded childcare hours per week. Our Busy Bees applies this as Tues and Weds each having 10 fully funded childcare hours (the £11 being the food / nappies / materials "extras") and then 2.8 funded childcare hours on a Thursday.

M: £75.10
T: £11.00
W: £11.00
T: £57.15
F: £75.10

Total: £229.35pw

This works out as around £1,000 per month. Without the funded childcare hours it would be around £1,600 per month. We pay via the tax free childcare account, which reduces the monthly bill to £800 on some but not all months.

Just to add - we are really happy with the lovely staff at our local Busy Bees and DS seems to have a great time there. Nursery bugs are the worst though - DS has missed weeks of nursery since starting due to temperatures etc. Hoping it will settle down as his immune system builds up as it's a nightmare to juggle alongside work when he gets sent home.

Good luck! Xx