The UK’s largest nursery group has acquired the two Scallywags' settings, both in Cambridgeshire.
The sale, brokered by Redwoods Dowling Kerr, sees Busy Bees acquire both Scallywags sites, based in Westwick and Girton, with Outstanding and Good ratings from Ofsted respectively.
Scallywags, which was established in 1994, provides 174 places to children aged between three months and five years.
Scallywags Westwick is an accredited Forest School with learning sessions run by its own in-house Forest School leaders.
Children from both nurseries use the outdoor facilities at Westwick, including four acres of countryside with animals including chickens, sheep, goats, ducks and rabbits.
The acquisition means that Busy Bees now offers places to 35,000 children across 375 nurseries in the UK and Ireland.
Recent expansions overseas have brought the total number of places provided by the country's largest nursery group to 50,000 across more than 500 nurseries in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Ireland, Vietnam and Australia.
Chief academic officer and co-founder of Busy Bees, Marg Randles, said, ‘We’re delighted to welcome Scallywags to the Busy Bees family. The settings are truly remarkable environments for children, and we look forward to working with their wonderful team to continue providing outstanding outcomes for children.
‘We will ensure that our parents are kept up to date throughout the transition process as we continue to improve the excellent care, resources and services that Scallywags currently provides. We will be working very closely with the management team at Scallywags to ensure this transition is as seamless as possible for everyone involved.’
Former owners of Scallyways, Alison and Ian Bradley, added, ‘Based on Busy Bees’ outstanding reputation, we’re confident that they’re the right partner. We feel they’ll carry on the legacy of the Scallywags ethos: a loving, healthy and safe environment, with special focus on nurturing an understanding and respect for the natural world and teaching children important life skills through outdoor play.’
