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If you look at parents generally in China, they give more money to children’s education than the UK, US or Europe. The UK can learn a lot from China. We seem to have a fear of China – that they are copying everything we do. I think Asia has a respectful business environment.” John Woodward, Busy Bees’ co-founder and managing director, oversaw the Singapore and Malaysia nurseries for Knowledge Universe in 2013.
HS1, the UK's only high-speed rail link, linking London and the Channel Tunnel (owned jointly with fellow Canadian pension fund OMERS) Between 2007 and 2019, there was a 128% increase in Asian honey exports worldwide even though the number of hives has only risen slightly and honey yields have fallen due to threats to bees from pesticides, poor nutrition and parasitic mites. Glass Jars are sent at the consignees own risk. We regret neither ourselves or the carrier will take responsibility for breakages.
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Woodward, a former teacher, founded Busy Bees in 1983 with some friends after bemoaning the state of British childcare over a pub lunch in Staffordshire. The group now has 237 nurseries looking after about 30,000 children in the UK. NSF International said: “We are confident our team has performed its services to True Source Honey in full accordance with the law and with the True Source certified standards.” Due to the nature of some of our products, certain items are collection only. These include Acetic acid and six frame nuclei.
Mr Woodward says before setting up a Chinese nursery, he got together with Oriental Cambridge Education Group (OCEG). Busy Bees could not operate in China without a local business partner and Mr Woodward confesses: “In my opinion, you need a local management team wherever you go in the world.” Following the launch of Busy Bees’ first nursery in the city of Harbin, North-East China (pictured above and below), in September last year, the nursery group’s co-founder and president John Woodward was invited by the Department of International Trade (DIT) to the Prime Minister’s first trade mission to China, also attended by delegates from 49 other British businesses and commercial organisations. During the trip last week, Theresa May announced an expansion of education programmes with China, highlighting Busy Bees’ success in the country. The ‘international pre-schools’ will be based in locations including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Xiamen. The setting in Shanghai will provide 230 places for children from three months to six years old.
The new Busy Bees International Pre School:
Teaching styles in the two countries differ - with rote learning popular in China. Far from the child-led education in the UK, learning in China can mean all children will either eat, read, sleep or play at the same time. Gordon Marks, executive director of True Source Honey, said its certification programme was designed to “help prevent illegal trade in honey that circumvents US law and that has the potential to harm the reputation of all honey sold in North America”. He added: “True Source Honey is committed to ensuring that honey is sourced in a transparent and traceable manner and is authentic.”
John Woodward received an OBE in 2015 for his service to childcare. Considering what British nurseries could learn from other countries, he says: “Provision in the UK should be more affordable. I think that the UK does a pretty good job with our early years provision – that’s across the sector.” Activities like messy play take place in Harbin with gloop (a cornflour and water mixture) explained to parents and staff as a tool to improve children’s fine motor skills. Making the mixture from scratch is also an opportunity to introduce mathematics. But Ms Smillie says just parents in the UK, parents in China ask similar questions. “One parent asked ‘Do the children like him? Does he have friends?’” Spacious building offers foyer spaces and courtyards as break off spaces to support small group work Better outcomes for young children is at the heart of all we do, whether those children are in my home town in the UK or overseas, we’re completely committed to our mission. Woodward is chief executive and works on business developments such as the group's reborn voucher arm, Busy Bees Benefits. Randles as managing director runs the nursery network and keeps a constant eye on training and standards.The Teachers' private equity arm wanted to buy a childcare business and, after scouring Europe and North America, decided Busy Bees had the most exportable brand and the best processes and management team. But having nurseries in other parts of Asia helped prepare the group to expand in China. In 2015, Busy Bees bought 70 nurseries in Singapore and Malaysia. It also owns Singapore’s Asian International College. Mr Woodward says: “When we bought the UK, Malaysian and Singapore business we gained essential knowledge. We wouldn’t have gone to China without that”.
And although China’s employers had well-qualified staff on paper, they were not creative thinkers. Busy Bees’ business partner OCEG knew that in relation to education in China - the creativity just wasn’t there.children's dinning rooms with cooking space, staff lounge, staff canteen, staff study room, 2 foyers for break off learning spaces,1 parents room. On the subject of early years opportunities for others in China, he says: “If you look at the numbers in China, no one company can dominate because there is so much demand. The more we work together the better it is for everyone.” On Busy Bees’ global expansion, he says: “Sometime in the future we’ll do an acquisition in the US. We’re also looking to expand in Australia, the rest of South East Asia, Vietnam, Philippines”.
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