Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps has virtual tour of Busy Bees Nursery in Shire Park, WGC.
Busy Bees Nurseries, the UKs largest nursery group, recently hosted Mr Shapps for a ‘virtual tour’ of their nursery in Welwyn Garden City.
Busy Bees, founded 37 years ago, operate 357 nurseries in the UK and 231 nurseries overseas including Singapore, Australia, Canada, Italy Ireland and the USA.
Founder Marg Randles led the meeting as they discussed the business and their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Shapps had been invited to tour the nursery in person. However, due to the new strain of the virus and national lockdown, it was decided that the tour should take place virtually.
Mr Shapps was shown the nursery’s facilities with a video which highlighted how the staff get children prepared for learning at school.
As part of their efforts to make their environment COVID-secure during lockdown, parents have to drop their children off at the front door. However, they can receive regular updates about their child throughout the day via an app called ParentZone.
In addition, the Busy Bees use a digital learning programme which parents can use with their children at home.
Remarking on his virtual tour, Grant Shapps said: “I was given a really polished virtual tour of the nursery. The facilities look great for the kids and are a testament to the interest that Marg and all the team have in the children’s positive development.
“The nursery looked incredibly welcoming- lots of rooms for different activities and age groups, with plenty of outdoor space. It’s great to see how well they’ve managed to adapt to the disruptive effect that COVID has had…It’s no wonder that they won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise a few years ago.
“I look forward to visiting in-person someday in the reasonably near future!”