The Ark Day Nursery & Pre-School

An indoor soft play room, a garden with different surfaces and three bird-named nursery rooms give The Ark a clear character: movement and exploration have space here, alongside quieter reading and imaginative play. Based at Capital House in Watton, it accepts nursery children from six months to five years. The baby space is downstairs; older children have upstairs rooms.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children were making good progress. That assessment also came with practical improvements: less waiting during routines and more conversation woven into everyday care. Those details matter as much as the grade.

Flexible sessions run across 51 weeks, with funded childcare offered through term-time or stretched arrangements. School-age provision adds another useful dimension for families with older siblings, through before-school, after-school and holiday care.

Rooms and Ages

The Penguins, the room for children aged zero to two, has sensory baskets, a ball pit and equipment for soft play climbing, with quieter spaces for books and interaction. For a baby learning to move, that combination offers opportunities to explore physically and then retreat to calmer play; the nursery's overall starting age remains six months.

For two- to three-year-olds, The Peacocks combines sensory trays and pretend-play space with a reading nook and an area devoted to recognising emotions. These are practical resources for a stage when children are developing both their language and their ability to express feelings.

The Pelicans, for ages three to five, has a long art table, construction resources, small-world play and a reading area in its upstairs room. Drawing, building and shared imaginative play give preschool children different ways to work independently and alongside friends.

Indoor soft play supports balancing, climbing and sliding. The garden combines wooden climbing structures and grass with shaded places for resting or reading.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years foundation: children learn through play and direct experiences, with activities shaped around their development. Alongside it, The Ark uses a Curiosity approach Ethos, encouraging discussion as children investigate materials and pursue interests of their own. Its planning responds to those interests, using natural materials as part of exploration.

Free flow connects rooms and outdoor space, while each age group keeps its own indoor play area. Familiarity with these spaces supports later room changes. Staff monitor development and plan activities around individual needs.

In March 2023, babies filled containers with sand and toddlers made painted tracks with vehicles. Preschool children predicted which toy cars would travel fastest, then tested them on slides: an idea became an experiment.

That March, everyday routines also developed independence: toddlers served themselves food, babies washed their hands before snacks, and preschool children managed coats and zips.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play includes bikes, sand and water, vegetable growing and climbing equipment. Frequent walks reach local woods; park visits and further outings use the nursery's minibuses, subject to parental consent.

In March 2023, outdoor play included preschool children steering scooters and tricycles around obstacles, toddlers using slides and babies practising standing. Younger and older children also played together, with preschool children helping younger ones on ladders. Movement and social interaction overlapped in the same activity.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person observes development and plans around nursery and home interests. During settling, parents share routines, abilities and needs, informing an initial development plan that connects those conversations to subsequent care.

Parents can contribute to assessments and learning journals and are invited to regular progress meetings. An online app carries learning updates, parental comments and meal and nap information; weekly email newsletters show photographs and activities across nursery life.

Room changes involve information being passed between key people and coordinated settling sessions in the next room. That makes the handover about familiar interests and routines as well as a birthday. For children moving on to school, teachers are invited to meet the key person, transition documents are shared and a supported school visit with parents can be arranged where suitable.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO works with the key person and family on personal plans, adapting experiences and resources around the child's abilities and interests. With parental consent, the SENCO can involve speech and language therapists, health visitors and early-years inclusion officers. Plans are reviewed with parents, giving support a defined process rather than leaving it as a general promise.

Families using another language at home are encouraged to share key words with the key person, giving staff a starting point for communication with the child.

In March 2023, babies sought cuddles from staff when tired, and children drew adults into their play. Close supervision included blocking access to slippery grass and encouraging scooter riders to wear helmets. These are dated examples of the relationships and everyday safety practice seen at that time.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Capital House, Norwich Road, Watton, IP25 6JX. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; flexible nursery sessions run over 51 weeks, with closures for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The enquiry form, telephone 01953 881829 and email theark@goldenapples.co.uk provide the joining routes.

Before- and after-school care includes staff taking children to school and collecting them. The holiday club opens from 8am to 6pm on weekdays during school holidays, excluding bank holidays. This is a separate offer for school-age children, rather than an extension of the nursery rooms' age bands.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours per week term time. Under the group-wide funding arrangements used here, term-time delivery spans 38 weeks and stretched delivery spans 51 weeks. Switching between those arrangements is restricted to September, so the choice affects the year's attendance planning.

Funded sessions start at 8am, 9am or 1pm, with lengths of three, four and a half, five, six, seven and a half or ten hours. Sessions cannot be combined, and collecting early does not reduce the funded session claimed. Extra hours are privately charged. Flexible attendance therefore sits alongside specific rules for using funding.

Food is prepared on site, with fruit or vegetable snacks and milk or water, and the nursery operates a no-nuts policy. For funded attendance, food is separately charged if families opt in, or families may send food from home under the food policy; packed lunches must be labelled, carry allergen information and meet healthy-eating rules, with shop-bought or pre-prepared lunches excluded.

Parents supply nappies, wipes, nappy bags, cream and sun cream daily; a replacement charge applies if required items are missing. Optional enrichment is separately charged for funded sessions, with families choosing whether to participate for the term; opting out retains the full EYFS offer.

An enrolment deposit is refunded once the child starts. Families buying private hours also pay a non-refundable administration charge, which supports settling visits and a meeting about the child's needs and routines. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page is the starting point for the charge structure.

• Everyday routines. In March 2023, waits for food disrupted children's concentration, and nappy changes sometimes passed without enough conversation. On a visit, ask how mealtimes are organised and how staff use care routines to develop babies' language.
• Funding fit. Fixed funded sessions cannot be combined, and changing between term-time and stretched delivery is restricted to September. Compare the proposed pattern with your working week before committing.
• Food and allergies. Funded families can choose charged food provision or food from home under specific lunch rules. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements and how the no-nuts policy works in practice.

The Ark suits families seeking flexible nursery attendance, either term-time funded sessions or stretched funded care, and those wanting school-age wraparound alongside it. Its strongest practical assets are tangible: separate age-group spaces, indoor soft play, a varied garden and a key-person system with planned room and school transitions.

The March 2023 Good judgement gives a positive assessment of that period, while its routine and language-development improvements remain useful questions for a visit. The funding model deserves equal attention: start times, fixed sessions and separate extras will shape how well the nursery fits family life.