Busy Bees at Colton Mill

Reviews

• BW

  Beth Williams

  Sep 10, 2026
  1.0
  The only reason this nursery is getting a 1 star is because 0 stars isn’t an option. My daughter was bitten on 3 occasions, 2 weren’t even witnessed. Congratulations for someone actually watching my child to witness the third incident. I raised this with management instantly when I noticed the bruising from the first incident. I called and was told this would be investigated immediately. The next day, I dropped my daughter off and the staff in her room had no clue that an incident even occurred. I didn’t have time to speak to management on drop off so I spoke to them on pick up to be told ‘I completely forgot’ EXCUSE ME? This is my child you completely forgot about. I was really upset but I let it slide as I thought maybe I was overreacting , checking my daughter for marks daily until I noticed she had a bite mark again a couple of weeks later. Again, no one witnessed it. I called again, spoke with management, explained how the first incident was handled poorly so I want it doing correctly this time. I was reassured it would be. It was not. Again it was brushed under the rug. I wrote an email to complain, a meeting was arranged. My partner and I took time out of work for it. Sat waiting for another member of staff to come over and say ‘sorry your meeting isn’t happening, you should have had an email’ are you joking? An email? I checked and the excuse was that there was kitchen issue? A kitchen issue that an assistant manager could surely deal with? What a load of BS. During this time my child was bitten a third time. This incident was witnessed. I asked if the child’s parents had been notified and I was hesitantly told yes. When the first closure happened, I visited the nursery, had a meeting with higher management and raised my concerns, they completely agreed my situation had been handled terribly and that it would be investigated. I emailed all details and photos across to receive NO RESPONSE. Shocker. Nursery reopened and my daughter was settling back in, although cried every morning when I left her which she had never done before. Skipping to July, received an email whilst on holiday advising there was another closure. Was offered a temp placement at Headingly which was too far for us to travel every morning and afternoon as my daughter is only part time. I’ve had to have family help and take unpaid days from work. I tried to find another permanent placement for her elsewhere but there were no spaces so I’m stuck, the reopening is supposed to be TOMORROW 11/09 have we heard anything? OFCOURSE NOT! Emails and calls completely unanswered. The only reason my child is even returning is because I have no other option. It’s such a shame, generations of my family members, sisters, nieces and now my own child has attended this nursery over the years. And NEVER did I think I would experience this absolute nightmare. Been handled so poorly from the beginning and no consideration for parents AT ALL. I’m absolutely appalled *UPDATE* after several emails I finally got a response confirming nursery isn’t opening. To be told ‘confirmation of this will go out to parents this afternoon’ this afternoon? You’re supposed to reopen tomorrow. How you find that acceptable is absolutely mind blowing
• MK

  Matthew King

  Aug 14, 2026
  1.0
  Our experience over recent months has left us with a real loss of confidence in this nursery. The two separate closures have caused significant disruption to our family, financial loss and a great deal of uncertainty. Both closures were communicated at around 4pm — one on a Monday and the other on a Friday — leaving very little time to arrange alternative childcare. Communication around billing has also generally been poor, with significant time spent chasing corrections and trying to resolve issues. Prior to the closures, pick-up arrangements had also felt disorganised, and we had concerns about the level of management oversight. The timing and handling of the closures, combined with the lack of meaningful communication and acknowledgement of the impact on families, has been extremely frustrating. Ultimately, it has left us with no confidence in the provider going forward, and we've opted to take our childcare elsewhere.
• EA

  Emma Adamson

  Aug 3, 2026
  2.0
  Caveat - Many of the team are amazing! Georgia (literal angel), Chu, Macey, Laura, Katie, Maddie (and likely more). So caring, and genuinely cared for the children. From mid-year 2025 the nursery went downhill. - From pre-school my child never had a key worker - Toilets were disgusting. Basic hygiene standards not met - Child was sent home for 'being sick' at lunch time, which was blatantly a case of choking on food - Preschool was choas. Too many rooms, too many room changes. I never knew where my child would be, or where his belongings would be. - The new management team were unapproachable and came across very corporate. The nursery has now closed twice, with zero notice. A real lack of respect for the parents/carers who trusted the nursery. What's heart-breaking, is children won't be able to say Goodbye to their nursery teachers due to leaving to go to Primary School, or being forced to leave as the nursery is incompetent.
• CD

  C D

  Jul 26, 2026
  1.0
  Very disappointing experience – unfortunately, the nursery has become a shambles. Our son attended from the age of 1 until he left at 4. Our experience over this time has been extremely disappointing: - *Children's needs*: Provision has been removed despite clear need, with staffing issues seemingly based around the nursery’s inability to keep staff or have contingency plans in place for sickness or otherwise. This has had a direct negative impact children's individual needs. The constant changes and lack of consistency have contributed to an increase in our son's anxiety, which has been incredibly upsetting to witness as parents. - *Management*: In our experience, senior management are dismissive and patronising, often speaking to parents as though we are children rather than people, and more importantly customers, raising legitimate concerns about our own children. We repeatedly heard "we're recruiting" and "we'll look into it", but little meaningfully changed. - *Communication*: There has been a lack of transparency around wider concerns, Ofsted updates and management changes, with information often shared late and vaguely. Despite promises that communication would improve, we feel it has actually become worse. - *Staffing*: There is a high reliance on agency staff and significant staff turnover, resulting in a lack of consistency. This is particularly concerning for young children and those with additional needs. - *Financial* priorities: Invoicing and charges have often been confusing, while it has felt as though financial priorities, such as additional charges for early drop-off, have received more attention than the serious issues affecting the children. The biggest frustration is that there are some genuinely exceptional staff. The new SENCO is great, and many permanent staff genuinely care about and advocate for the children. They are the reason we sent our son back after the nursery reopened. Sadly, in our experience, these staff are continually undermined by senior management and wider organisational decisions. As parents, it has been exhausting to constantly advocate for our son and fight for what we believe should be reasonable support. We are incredibly grateful to the staff who genuinely cared for our son, but based on our overall experience, we would not recommend this nursery. Our son deserved better, and so did the dedicated staff who worked so hard to support him.
• SH

  Shushu Hui

  Jul 8, 2026
  1.0
  I am very disappointed with our recent experience at this nursery. The nursery was temporarily closed following an Ofsted visit, which caused significant disruption to families. Although parents were told that a 30% discount would apply to privately paid elements for temporary spaces arranged during the closure period, the invoicing has not been clear and my queries about food and consumables charges have not been properly answered. Instead, I received payment chasing while the invoice dispute was still unresolved. Communication has been poor throughout. I have had to chase for clarification about invoices, closure arrangements, and termination of the nursery place, but responses have been slow or unclear. More concerningly, my son was bitten last week and was left with a noticeable bruise. I understand that incidents between young children can happen, but the extent of the bruise made me seriously question whether he had been properly supervised at the time. In my view, it should not have become so serious if adequate attention and intervention had been in place. Overall, I no longer feel confident in the nursery’s communication, billing transparency, or supervision. Because of these concerns, I have decided to terminate the nursery place.

Frequently Asked Questions About Busy Bees at Colton Mill