Noahs Ark Pre School

A daily garden session, storytelling with signs and shared activities with older neighbours give Noahs Ark Pre School a character that extends beyond preparation for school. Its base is the Garden Room at the All Saints Centre in Weston, Bath. The preschool has 22 places in total. This is a preschool setting with a clear emphasis on children doing things for themselves, sharing their achievements and taking part in village life.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good overall, judged behaviour and attitudes Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The important qualification concerns challenge: activities and adult conversations needed to stretch each child's learning more precisely.

Families can book mornings, afternoons or combined full days.

Rooms and Ages

The Garden Room sits behind the All Saints Centre, on the opposite side from the High Street. Children have a garden used daily, with both shared outdoor activities and periods when they can choose to move outside. Wet weather brings wellies and raincoats; when the ground is too muddy, obstacle courses and parachute games can move indoors. Outdoor play is part of the routine rather than an occasional treat.

The preschool caters for children aged three to five. Its 22 places are a whole-setting capacity, rather than a session headcount.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the learning framework, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and early literacy and mathematics through play. Noahs Ark adds Jolly Phonics, a scheme used here to develop early reading skills. It is one concrete strand of school preparation, alongside the practical independence woven into the day.

Children choose between activities such as painting, puzzles, bead threading and play dough. Circle Time brings the group together for news and the week's topic. Makaton Signs are used during stories, singing and group time, adding signs to these shared language activities. These routines combine opportunities to make choices with times to listen and contribute alongside others.

One child becomes the daily Special Helper, arranging names, setting out snack cups and sounding the tidy-up bells: useful responsibilities for the group.

In July 2025, children experimented with toy cars and guttering, drew faces using shapes, counted beads up to 15 and compared sizes. Science, mathematics and mark-making had practical expression.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2025, children used a net to climb a hill and discussed the flowers they explored. Outdoor activity combined physical movement with opportunities to build vocabulary.

Beyond preschool, children visit the library, shops and church, while local visitors talk about their work. The connections make community roles something children can explore through people and places. Beekeepers were among the visitors described in July 2025.

All Saints Church hosts the Christmas concert and Summer Graduation, and children take a leading part in its Sunday morning Family Service twice a year. The All Saints 3TL group, a monthly gathering for people over 65, also invites children to small-group activities twice a term, including stories read by its members. These are specific intergenerational connections, with a rhythm families can recognise across the preschool year.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key person, while the wider staff team also shares responsibility for care and learning. Regular time with that adult includes attention to individual skills. For families, the arrangement creates a particular person who follows their child's development within the group.

Settling is treated as a joint task for parents and staff, with recognition that children take different lengths of time to become comfortable. The emphasis is on helping a child feel secure enough to play and learn.

Learning diaries contain observations, photographs, work, achievements and next steps. Through the WOW system, families use slips to contribute home achievements to the diary, which are celebrated at group time with a song. Learning at home gets recognition here too.

Three free Parenting Evenings each year address the pleasures and difficulties of raising three- and four-year-olds. In July 2025, families also received developmental updates and could join stay-and-play sessions. Together, these offer both individual information and opportunities to take part in preschool life.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used assessments, targeted support and work with parents and outside professionals to address learning gaps, with children making good progress. Information sharing with other settings was part of that support. The practical significance is continuity: adults could work towards the same learning aims across the places a child attended.

In July 2025, staff helped children talk about emotions and find ways to manage them. Children offered comfort to others and practised resolving disagreements by negotiating turns. Independence also featured in self-care, including handwashing and toileting. These were everyday skills, connected to how children managed themselves and their relationships.

The team employed nine staff in July 2025. Current safeguarding arrangements include recruitment checks and following up references before appointments. Those procedures are separate from the dated judgement on safeguarding effectiveness.

Families supply fruit or vegetables for the morning snack, a water bottle and, for afternoon or full-day attendance, a packed lunch and drink. Parents are asked to disclose allergies, and the preschool's birthday policy excludes cakes and sweets because of food-allergy concerns.

Sessions and Attendance

Bookings are made in three-hour blocks: mornings run from 9am to noon and afternoons from noon to 3pm, with a full day combining both. These patterns can be booked Monday to Friday. In July 2025, the preschool operated during school term time only. The distinction matters for family routines: a morning booking ends at lunchtime, while an afternoon booking includes a packed lunch.

The main intake is in the autumn, with a smaller January intake. Families apply by completing and returning the application form. Telephone and email provide contact routes, and sessions can be used for a booked visit with a child.

Getting There

The address is All Saints Centre, High Street, Weston, Bath, BA1 4BX, with the Garden Room reached most easily along the path from All Saints Church. Church-car-park access is from Trafalgar Road at the end of Lynfield Park; disabled spaces outside the church are reached from Church Road.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded preschool education includes 15 hours for 38 weeks from the term after a child's third birthday, with 30 hours also offered for children who meet the eligibility conditions. In July 2025, provision operated during school term time only. Private sessions are charged, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Food follows the parent-supplied arrangement described above, including during funded attendance. Fees are reviewed in July, with changes taking effect in the autumn term, and absence or holidays do not attract a reduction. These terms matter when comparing a booking with the family's likely attendance.

Moving on to School

The preschool describes itself as having strong links with Weston All Saints Primary school and St Marys RC School. Those relationships do not guarantee a school place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. School preparation and school admission are separate decisions.

• Individual challenge. The July 2025 improvement priority concerned extending each child's learning more precisely. During a visit, ask how staff now choose the next challenge for a child who has mastered an activity.
• Food and allergies. Snacks and lunches come from home, and birthday cakes and sweets are excluded under the food-allergy policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm how their child's requirements will be managed in practice.
• Intake timing. The application arrangements centre on autumn and January starts, while the prospectus also mentions April. Confirm the intended start term before planning the booking.
• Community and church involvement. Family Services at All Saints Church take place twice yearly, alongside concerts and graduation there. Consider how this element fits your family's preferences.

Noahs Ark suits families seeking morning preschool, afternoon sessions or a combined day. Its appeal lies in the substance of the routine: garden play, useful responsibilities, shared home achievements and relationships with people beyond the preschool.

The July 2025 findings support its emphasis on behaviour and emotional development, qualified by the need for more precise individual challenge. Parent-supplied food is another practical consideration.