Big Blue Marble Academy Inverness

"We love BBMA (formerly Odyssey) and cannot say enough great things about the childcare they provide for my 2.5 year old. We pulled our daughter from her first daycare and have been so grateful to BBMA, her teachers and the front staff - they are all amazing! Kids learn through child led play and centers. They have ample outdoor time and the best part is having a camera I can check in to see how happy my baby is! It’s wonderful and my heart is so happy to have found BBMA. Highly recommend!"

"my son has attended this school since we moved to birmingham almost two years ago and we love it so much! he gets so much attention and care from the teachers and staff; he truly *enjoys* going to school here. there was a seamless transition when the school became Big Blue Marble a few months ago and we remain very happy here."

"3 stars because I believe the children at Odyssey receive overall great care. I would be glad to be a parent with kids at Odyssey. On the other hand, I would never recommend working here. It can be extremely unprofessional between teachers, and the administration has little to no empathy for sickness, normal life situations, etc. Some of the front office staff behavior is truly appalling. One situation that sticks out to me was that I suspected that I had contracted Hand Foot and Mouth from a baby. I brought my suspicions to the admin, and they brushed it off saying it was probably bug bites. I told them the bumps seemed to be spreading and I had a sore throat- still didn't budge. On my lunch break I went to the urgent care, and sure enough, hand foot and mouth. The doc said I had huge lesions in my throat and that's why it hurt. This truly angered me- any mention of HFM should be taken very seriously; I could've spread it to my entire room of babies. The admin doesn't trust employees, even though many are full adults. They run off the good ones and re-hire the terrible ones. It's a very twisted system and so unfortunate because we love the babies so much. I wish things would change for the good."

"We sent our kiddo here when she was 15 month old and our experience with Odyssey is exceptional. It is very well run daycare/learning center and teachers are organized, affectionate towards the children. Always makes the child welcome. After the initial jitters and rash of ear infections and fevers my daughter adjusted and then thoroughly enjoyed going here. Most important thing is place is super clean and all the teachers we have had experience with are genuinely caring and affectionate towards our kiddo and communicative towards parents. Especially last 2 years (k3 and k4) were a blast. From the administration point of view, they are not defensive and open to dialogue and suggestions from parents. One of the times, we were struck at the center for overnight due to a snow situation in Birmingham. The way teachers and the director Ms Annie handled the situation was superb. I almost feel lucky to have discovered this center. I have to mention especially about the assistant director Miss Jennifer. I don't know how she remembers all the children by their names etc. :) she would always greet kids with their name and a big smile. Other than running the operations smoothly, she is understanding and supportive of all the situations that parents go through as we deal with job transfers etc. can't thank her for enough. I highly recommend this place."