Full-day nursery in Cherry Orchard, Kent
Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood
Queens Road, Maidstone, ME16 0JN · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Requires improvement
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
- Personal developmentRequires improvement
- Leadership and managementRequires improvement
- SafeguardingEffective
What does this mean?
This grade is from before November 2025, when Ofsted replaced single grades with report cards. The nursery's next inspection will give a report card, with a separate grade for each area instead of one overall grade.
Official records
- Ofsted registrationRegistered since January 2025Reference 2823439Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Inspections on record1 inspectionlatest 1 September 2025Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Registered places65 placesthe most children it may care for at onceOfsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Food hygiene rating5 (Very good)inspected 10 August 2026Food Standards Agency · checked 13 November 2026
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
Thanks. We count every request and show the nursery how many parents are asking.
Estimate a monthly cost with the council area's typical day rate
Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
Queens Road, Maidstone, ME16 0JN · More nurseries in ME16
Stations
- Maidstone Barracks16 min walk · 0.6 miles
- Maidstone West19 min walk · 0.8 miles
- Maidstone East23 min walk · 0.9 miles
Buses
8 bus stops within 400 m, including Warden Close, Shaftesbury Drive and Court Drive.
Parks and playgrounds
- Poplar Park8 min walk
- Cornwallis Park9 min walk
- Clare Park11 min walk
- Allington (Millennium Green)12 min walk
- Playground9 min walk
- Playground10 min walk
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026 · © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 13 November 2026. Walking times are rough, from straight-line distance.
Places and next steps
Spaces: not published yet. Nurseries often fill months ahead, so ask early.
In Kent there are about 3.2 children under 5 for every registered nursery place. Places are how many children nurseries may care for, not free spaces, so this is a guide to demand. Source: ONS Census 2021.
What parents say
Reviews on Toddly
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Write a reviewAbout Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood
Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood is a full-day nursery at Queens Road, Maidstone, ME16 0JN, in Cherry Orchard, Kent. It is registered for 65 children. Ofsted rated it Requires improvement at its inspection in September 2025, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 4.8 from 9 reviews (October 2026). It is run by Busy Bees Nurseries Limited.
Run by Busy Bees Nurseries Limited (company), which runs 300 nurseries.
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busy Bees at Maidstone OakwoodThis nursery | Requires improvement | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Poplar Pre-School (CIO)Sessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.4 miles |
| Hemsley House Nursery SchoolFull-day nursery | Outstanding | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.4 miles |
| The Wendy House At St MichaelsFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Blue Sky Day Nursery And Pre SchoolFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Hemsley House Nursery SchoolFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
| The Nursery at St Peter's ChurchFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.7 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- St Francis' Catholic Primary School, Maidstone Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Goodinspected March 2024 0.2 miles
- Brunswick House Primary School Primaryages 5–11Ofsted: School remains Goodinspected July 2023 0.5 miles
- West Borough Primary School Primaryages 3–11has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Goodinspected October 2022 0.6 miles
- Palace Wood Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: School remains Goodinspected September 2022 0.6 miles
- Maidstone, St Michael's Church of England Junior School Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: School remains Goodinspected November 2023 0.7 miles
- St Michael's Church of England Infant School Maidstone Primaryages 5–7Ofsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected December 2024 0.7 miles
- Bower Grove School ages 4–16Ofsted: Standards maintainedinspected November 2024 0.8 miles
- Allington Primary School Primaryages 5–11Ofsted: Outstandinginspected July 2022 0.9 miles
Straight-line distances. Places depend on each school's admissions rules. From the Department for Education and Ofsted.
Questions parents ask
Got a question? Ask and get an answer straight away.
What is Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood Requires improvement at its inspection on 1 September 2025, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood take?
Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood is registered with Ofsted for up to 65 children at any one time.
Who runs Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood?
Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood is run by Busy Bees Nurseries Limited, which runs 300 nurseries.
What is the nearest station to Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood?
Maidstone Barracks is the nearest station we know of, 0.6 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact Busy Bees at Maidstone Oakwood?
You can call 01622 756667 and visit www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk.
Tools for parents in Kent
- Childcare cost calculatorMonthly cost with funded hours
- Funded hours checkerWhich schemes you qualify for
- Funded hours start dateWhen your child's hours begin
- Tax-Free Childcare calculatorThe 20% top-up on your bill
- Visit checklist for this nurseryPrintable questions, pre-filled
- Cost of nursery in KentFees by age in Kent
About this information
- Registration and inspections: Ofsted · 30 June 2026
- Rating and review themes: Google · 30 October 2026
- Schools: DfE Get Information about Schools · 4 November 2026
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Department for Education data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Contains Department for Transport NaPTAN data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Food hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Read reviews on Google
Last checked 30 October 2026 · Ofsted URN 2823439 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
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