Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
On the international stage, British education is perceived as one of the best. With rising demand for quality early years provision across the globe, and with our learnings from the UK and South East Asia, we have developed a ground-breaking offering in care and education for children aged from three months to six years that blends British care and teaching methods with traditional care in China, to provide a better start in life for every child in our care. 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. Mike’s behind it [the deal],” Woodward said. “You probably know Mike’s recent history, but I’m a big Mike Milken fan.”
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.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. The nursery group, which already has a 200-place setting in the country, will open a further five settings in China this year, followed by another 27 by 2023, in partnership with its Chinese stakeholder - Oriental Cambridge Education Group (OCEG).
Now the plan is to expand Busy Bees outside the UK with Europe, the Americas and Asia in Woodward's sights. At the same time he is still looking for opportunities in Britain. On her first trade mission to China, Prime Minister Theresa May held up Busy Bees Nursery Group as the poster child for Britain, with early years provision that has led China to embrace education for children under two. 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”. But she warns: “We have a responsibility to be careful. There is more structure in Harbin than in an English nursery. We have to be mindful that they will go on to very structured schools. If we don’t prepare them for that, we will have failed them.” That deal also saw Michael Milken, the US junk bond king who served nearly two years in prison for securities violations, become Busy Bees' majority owner through his Knowledge Universe firm.
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”. John Woodward, Busy Bees’ co-founder and managing director, oversaw the Singapore and Malaysia nurseries for Knowledge Universe in 2013. We want them to reflect the local community and to be responsive and respond at a local level. They favour Montessori more in China. Harbin has, as a result, some Montessori influences.”
The beekeepers have also accused Intertek Testing Services, in whose laboratory the honey is tested, and the certification scheme auditors NSF International of colluding in the million-dollar crime by using and approving outdated methods to detect fake honey. Milken served 22 months in prison for securities violations in the early 1990s but has since revived his reputation, funding cancer research and education projects. 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.” 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.While children may see and paint Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’, their work is less about art, more about imitation, with all children creating identical pictures. Being able to respond to local needs and be international has led to the group helping children to talk in English with native English speakers as well as with teachers from other countries outside China. Chinese teachers speak in Mandarin, while an international teacher, typically from England or Singapore, speaks in English to the children. Harbin is linked to the Asian International College. Yes, we will look to open more training colleges.Teachers should be what most parents want for their child. Staff should be personable, have empathy, smile, have character and energy.” children's dinning rooms with cooking space, staff lounge, staff canteen, staff study room, 2 foyers for break off learning spaces,1 parents room. This year, Busy Bees wants to open five more pre-schools in China. It intends to have 33 nurseries by 2023, with 200-place nurseries in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Xiamen.
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