London nursery shuts down without warning after string of Ofsted complaints

A London nursery has unexpectedly closed for two weeks following a series of complaints to Ofsted.

Parents were given just two days’ notice to organise alternative childcare, with the provider apologising for the disruption.

This comes shortly after an Ofsted complaint was lodged against Busy Bees nursery in Kilburn, resulting in the watchdog issuing a number of actions for the childcare provider.

The Victoria Avenue-based nursery has “apologised” for the temporary closure and has said that they are working hard to ensure “we have the right arrangements in place to provide the high quality care and early education that our children and families expect”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that a series of complaints were lodged on October 15, 26 and 27 raising concerns that the provider was not meeting requirements about “children’s safety and welfare which include child ratios, accident or injury, safety of premises, risk assessment and information for parents and carers”.

Concerns were raised by Busy Bees parents over risk assessment and the safety of the premises (stock image)

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On October 29, 2026, the education watchdog conducted a regulatory phone call, which found that the provider was not meeting certain requirements and issued a series of actions to be completed before November 13.

Seven actions were issued to the nursery, including keeping a written record of accidents or injuries, informing parents of any accidents or injuries sustained by their child, and ensuring that risk assessments were carried out to identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked and how risk will be removed or minimised to protect children and staff from harm.

The closure, however, was, according to Ofsted and Brent Council, the nursery’s own decision, with the council stating that it needed to make some “improvements” to the premises. Ofsted also confirmed that the childcare provider has not been suspended.

A spokesperson for the nursery said: “We are very sorry for the disruption the temporary closure at Busy Bees Kilburn is causing families.

“We are working hard to ensure we have the right arrangements in place to provide the high-quality care and early years education that our children and families expect, and we are keeping parents updated as our reopening plans are confirmed.”

Ofsted said they cannot comment on individual providers but will monitor the nursery’s compliance after it reopens.