Here at Busy Bees, we share one collective global vision - to give every child the best possible start in life.
To do that well, we need to understand how children learn – how they build connections and retain information which will prepare them for school and beyond.
That's why we created Bee Curious, our expertly-designed, research-informed curriculum that fosters children's natural curiosity and develops a lifelong love of learning.
Bee Curious now runs across England, Wales, Scotland, and our Montessori centres, and is currently being trialled in Australia, while Canada and the US follow their own distinct version of the programme. It supports our teams to collaborate and use global best practice so that we can ensure every child in our care benefits from high-quality early years education, wherever they start their Busy Bees journey.
Jenny Shaw, Academic Lead at Busy Bees, explains the research-informed approach behind our Bee Curious curriculum and how this comes to life for children and educators across our centres.
“Our curriculum is founded in the latest scientific research and understanding of children’s behaviour.”
Here are the key themes that we bring to life through everything we do:
Strong language skills are the building blocks for future success
A rich vocabulary is a strong predictor of later language development. Exposure to real conversation creates the foundations for reading, writing and problem-solving.
In Bee Curious, children hear stories, encounter meaningful words repeatedly, and practice using language through play. Our educators model language, weave it into everyday activities, and revisit key words until children feel confident using them independently.
In practice, this means children not only repeat new vocabulary but start to use it spontaneously. One centre described how children were confidently able to name artists months after an activity, recalling both the artist’s name and the style of painting they used. Parents often tell us they see a real change at home as their children start using new words and phrases during everyday routines.
Supporting long-term memory through repetition
Cognitive science tells us that children learn best when they revisit ideas over time. Bee Curious builds this in through songs that are weaved into everyday learning, familiar stories retold with new angles, and hands-on activities that return to the same concepts again and again.
This gentle repetition strengthens understanding and helps children connect new learning to what they already know.
Educators have noticed a remarkable difference in how children retain knowledge. One centre reported that children were able to recall story details, or creative techniques, four or five months after their initial learning, showing the deep, long-lasting impact the curriculum is having.
Play is where deep learning happens
Young children learn by doing. That's why play sits at the centre of Bee Curious.
Through our Areas of Discovery framework, which covers the seven areas of learning, children investigate, experiment and follow their interests. These areas are communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, mathematics, literacy, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.
Our educators guide these moments skilfully, understanding how each experience builds toward the next stage of learning.
And this approach has transformed children's engagement. At one centre, children themselves voted to learn about space because it related directly to their interests, meaning educators saw a huge increase in curiosity, independence and positive behaviour.
One step at a time: learning that builds over time
Bee Curious is based on progression, so children master one idea before moving on to the next. This approach builds confidence, stops them feeling overwhelmed, and helps retain learning for the long-term.
The Open University's independent evaluation of Bee Curious recognised this clarity, noting how it strengthens educator practice and supports consistently strong learning experiences for children.
Educators describe experiencing “lightbulb moments” as they see how progression helps children embed real understanding. Many long-standing team members have become some of the curriculum’s strongest advocates as they feel inspired by the clear impact they see on children’s learning and confidence.
Global expertise, tailored to every child
Bee Curious brings proven research into every Busy Bees centre, but it adapts to reflect each community’s stories, languages and traditions, ensuring it is culturally and contextually relevant. Even within the UK, the curriculum is tailored to align with different national frameworks, including Scotland and Wales. Learning needs to feel relevant and meaningful, while maintaining high standards across our international network.
This flexibility can be seen in how Bee Curious is applied in different countries. For example, while the UK and Australian versions share the same core principles, the Canadian version works slightly differently, taking a theme-based approach - such as construction or transport - and planning activities across maths, literacy and physical development around that shared focus.
What this means in practice
Bee Curious takes the best of what science tells us and translates that into everyday learning moments – helping children build the language, confidence and thinking skills they need to thrive, wherever in the world they start their learning journey with us.
Across our UK centres, the impact is already clear:
- Children show deeper concentration and are more motivated to join in learning activities.
- Children are more engaged in their learning, with educators noticing increased focus and positive interactions throughout the day.
- Parents feel more connected to their child’s learning, especially where centres have introduced hands-on parent sessions and shared home-learning ideas through the Busy Bees app.
- Educators themselves report growing confidence, wellbeing and pride with many saying Bee Curious has further strengthened their passion for early years education.
To find out more about our Bee Curious curriculum, visit - https://www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk/bee-curious/welcome-to-bee-curious