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Busy Bees nurseries in Derby (Heatherton), Solihull (Blythe), St Albans (Hospital) and Mardley Hill are the first nurseries in the UK to welcome visiting childcare professionals from our Busy Bees nurseries in Singapore and Malaysia.

Seven qualified childcare practitioners from Singapore and two from Malaysia have been selected primarily for their exemplary practice and willingness to share their high quality standards in all aspects of nursery life. They will be staying in the UK for a month so that they can get to know more about their Busy Bees peers overseas as well as share best practice.

After a weekend of introductions, socialising and respite, our visiting group of Teachers, Principals and Curriculum Specialists are now spending the first part of the week at Busy Bees Latchford House where they are learning more about Early Years Foundation Stage, UK Compliance, Policies and Procedures and our fundamental understanding of how in the UK, we encourage our children to ‘learn through play’.

Yvonne Smillie, Busy Bees International Project Co-ordinator, has been instrumental in developing the first of many international projects and has worked alongside pivotal colleagues within Busy Bees Singapore Head Office. Of the experience Yvonne said

“Busy Bees was founded by six teachers, 34 years ago, who wanted to make a positive difference to young children and working families in their community. As we’ve grown, we have taken great care to ensure we are a National Network of local nurseries rather than a generic chain, where each and every nursery operates on the basis of serving its immediate community. We are now an International company and our ethos remains exactly the same. It’s vital as we continue to grow that this core message is at the heart of every nursery whether it be in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia or wherever we progress across the globe.

“Going forwards, our International Teachers Programme will be available to many more of our staff across the globe. We believe that sharing ideas and practice methods, and creating opportunities for thought provoking discussions are vital in providing a well-rounded training experience. We also want it to be a culturally immersive experience.”

Each practitioner is also undertaking a project while they are in the UK, which will focus on raising standards and sharing practice, not just in their own nursery but also across their region. The projects cover essential aspects of childcare including Forms of Imaginative Play, Exploration of Outdoor Learning, Child Development Analysis and Education and Care for Children Under two years of age.

This exchange programme was ultimately the brainchild of June Rusdon, CEO Busy Bees Asia, whose vision stemmed from a desire to create opportunities for her dedicated staff teams. June said:

“We’re a progressive company that believes, passionately, we will only ever be as good as our people. We know that if we want to continue to attract the best childcare practitioners we have to offer rich and rewarding career choices.”

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our special visitors well and we hope they enjoy every aspect of their working and social time in the UK.