It was 40 years ago when three families began a search for the right nursery to provide our own children with the best start in life. For us, this meant more than just babysitting. We wanted a nursery offering nurturing care, stimulating environments, and lots of opportunities for play, interaction, and development, at a child's own pace and in their own space.
When we couldn't find a nursery that offered everything we were hoping for, we decided to set up our own and established Rocklands in Lichfield, Staffordshire in November 1983, welcoming our first families through the door on March 19, 1984.
For the past 40 years, we've remained true to the values of that first nursery, striving to create safe and enriching environments filled with opportunities to learn and develop. Supported by our passionate nursery teams, we work hard to respect the individuality of every child and to respond to every child's emotional needs. We're committed to supporting and developing their imagination and their interests, just as it was in our first venture all those years ago.
In our milestone year, it's a time to reflect on the amazing work of our dedicated Busy Bees team, past and present, in providing truly exceptional care and the best beginnings for hundreds of thousands of children across the world. It's also a time to look to the future, and to reaffirm our commitment to giving children the best start in life, making brilliant childcare accessible, developing future generations to be curious and responsible citizens of the world, and being a fantastic place to work for those who are truly passionate about caring for children.
We would like to thank our colleagues past and present without whom Busy Bees would not be the leading early years childcare and education provider.
Throughout the year, we'll be coming together as a Busy Bees family to celebrate the amazing journey we've been on. We hope that you can join us.
Marg Randles, Co-Founder
Whilst we consider where we came from 40 years ago, we're also looking ahead at how we can continue to improve and develop our support for the next generation of budding astronauts, adventurers, and artists. This March, we're opening a brand-new state-of-the-art nursery in Lichfield, returning to the place where the very first Busy Bees nursery was established in 1983.
It will be a poignant moment to open a new centre in Lichfield 40 years after the Busy Bees story began in the city.
While our values and ideals haven't changed over the last four decades, technology has moved on at pace, and the new nursery will be a state-of-the-art centre, specially designed with the latest equipment and facilities to deliver high-quality care, with the smallest possible impact on the planet.
With 40 years of experience guiding our understanding of what children and families want, we remain committed to providing children with the best start in life and look forward to welcoming children and parents to experience the Busy Bees difference with a nurturing and supportive environment fit for generations to come.
Chris McCandless, European Chief Executive Officer
Find out more hereWe want to invite Busy Bees alumni and their parents to join in the celebrations by sharing their Busy Bees best beginnings with us.
We'll be collating all the memories from Busy Bees around the world through our website to celebrate the incredible families and children we have had the pleasure to care for over the years.
Share your Busy Bees memories
Hollie enjoyed walking along the stepping stones with her friends at Busy Bees Burton.
Hollie has been exploring the bugs today at Busy Bees Burton.
Lottie with mum Roberta and our bee at Busy Bees Telford.
Lottie at Busy Bees Telford holding the 2012 Olympic torch.