Nursery education provider invests £3m in app to promote offline activities

Marg Randles, managing director of Busy Bees and her grandson Louis
Marg Randles, managing director of Busy Bees, with her grandson Louis

Nursery giant Busy Bees Childcare has launched an app that promotes time away from screens.

UP – which stands for Unleashing Potential – is the result of two years’ research and development and £3m investment.

The app claims to be the first of its kind in the sector. It is available to both parents and nursery workers and provides a programme of offline learning activities tailored to a child’s specific interests such as dinosaurs, nature, animals or space.

Marg Randles OBE, chief academic officer and co-founder at Busy Bees, said: “There are many children starting their school life without the necessary resilience, skills and understanding they need to feel secure and happy.

“As a practitioner, parent and a grandparent, I understand the term ‘school ready’ can be open to interpretation; it’s about a child’s ability to engage in early learning experiences and their capacity to perform skills that demonstrate independence and emotional development. Without these skills, children can fall behind and find it extremely difficult to catch up.”

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