Noahs Ark Pre-School

Padlocks, garlic presses and trips to Leigh Woods give Noahs Ark Pre-School a character that is easy to recognise. Everyday objects become invitations to investigate, while woodland sessions bring physical challenge and exploration beyond the preschool building. In Bristol's Westbury Park, this Christian preschool forms part of the ministry of Cairns Road Baptist Church. Its church connection is part of its identity.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Outstanding, finding that children made rapid, sustained progress through carefully planned learning. The current offer is for children aged two to four, with capacity for 40 children across the setting. That whole-setting figure should be kept separate from the number sharing any particular activity or room.

Morning and afternoon sessions can be extended through breakfast, lunch and tea clubs, within a term-time calendar. For parents, the combination to weigh is practical learning, mixed-age play and an explicitly Christian ethos, alongside a timetable that changes across the week.

Rooms and Ages

Choice shapes the main play spaces. Children belong to mixed-age groups in the Yellow Room or Orange room, but can move between the main rooms during their session, so their base does not determine every activity they join.

The Green Room supports smaller-group activities and has an outdoor space of its own; the Blue Room provides a quieter setting for some children with additional needs. A large outdoor play area adds room for activity beyond the indoor spaces. These arrangements give families something concrete to consider: opportunities to join shared play, take part in a smaller group or use a quieter space according to the child's needs.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the curriculum: children learn through play, developing communication, movement and relationships alongside early mathematical, literacy and creative experiences. Here, children initiate much of that play, with adults extending interests and leading group activities. The balance matters because choosing an activity and following a shared discussion call for different skills.

Black Mats sessions put ordinary objects to work. An adult supports children as they explore items such as weighing scales, keys and garlic presses, using investigation to practise persistence and solve problems. The appeal is tangible: a child can test an idea against an object, change their approach and try again.

Woodwork and cooking also take place with small groups. Children share resources, take turns and refine their ideas, giving practical tasks a social dimension as well as an opportunity to experiment. In February 2024, children prepared vegetable noodle salads using safety knives and tongs. Handling tools, talking about food and learning new words came together in one activity.

Language support has its own daily rhythm. Talk and Play provides sessions for children learning English as an additional language, alongside small-group work on communication. WellComm is used to assess communication when children join, helping staff plan support from the start. These are concrete arrangements rather than a general promise to encourage speech.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School means exploring and learning in a natural setting, with preschool-year trips to Leigh Woods. Small groups travel by minibus for woodland experiences that can include natural artwork, investigating seasonal changes and balancing along logs. The children's interests help shape each session, so a puddle or a heavy log can become the starting point for an investigation.

The current finance policy sets out two blocks of five weeks during the preschool year. These sessions carry a separate charge and families can choose for their child not to participate. That makes the woodland programme a meaningful addition to consider when comparing both the experience and the cost of attendance.

Christian life also shapes the learning calendar. The curriculum includes Bible stories and seasonal themes around Harvest, Christmas and Easter, alongside opportunities to recognise celebrations important to the children's families. Parents choosing Noahs Ark should understand how comfortably this combination fits their own expectations of preschool life.

Relationships and Communication

A home visit begins the relationship with the family before a child starts. Settling is flexible and planned with parents, allowing staff to understand the child's needs before expecting them to manage the preschool routine. The key person then observes learning, plans next steps and keeps in regular contact with the family.

Learning diaries are shared records that parents can access, rather than updates reserved for a formal appointment. Daily conversations sit alongside twice-yearly parent consultations and termly assessments. This gives families several ways to discuss a concern: a brief conversation, a planned meeting or a look at the observations behind the next steps.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised the close work between the special educational needs coordinator, parents and other professionals. Those dated findings sit alongside current arrangements including a designated safeguarding lead and deputies. Noahs Ark also participates in Operation Encompass, with trained staff able to support children and families when a safeguarding need arises.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support for additional needs follows a cycle of assessment, planning, action and review. Parents and staff can agree an individual education plan with specific targets, and the SENCO can refer to speech and language services, inclusion specialists or educational psychologists. The setting is wheelchair accessible, and off-site activities can be discussed with families and risk assessed around a child's needs.

Communication can be adapted too. Paper information can be translated where needed, and Punjabi-speaking staff are part of the team. Differentiated Early Years Outcome breaks developmental stages into smaller steps, helping staff track progress when broader assessment stages would give less useful detail.

Moving to another setting involves a planned transition that may include visits in either direction. For children with additional needs, transfer meetings and sharing successful strategies and paperwork help the receiving team understand the support already in place. The emphasis is on continuity of care and learning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Cairns Road Baptist Church, Cairns Road, Westbury Park, Bristol, BS6 7TH. Noahs Ark operates for 38 weeks each year, during term time. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Lunch Club bridges them from 11.45am to 12.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Breakfast Club runs from 7.45am to 8.45am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tea Club extends attendance from 3.30pm to 5pm, Monday to Thursday. Both extend the preschool day, subject to space being available. Opening hours are 8.45am to 5pm on Monday, 7.45am to 5pm Tuesday to Thursday, and 8.45am to 3.30pm on Friday.

The recommended attendance is at least four sessions weekly, rising to five in the preschool year; these are recommendations rather than compulsory minimum bookings. The waiting list normally follows application date, with possible precedence for specified additional needs, siblings and special family circumstances. Enquiries go through the office by telephone, email or contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare runs across the same 38-week term-time year. The entitlements include up to 15 weekly hours for three- and four-year-olds, working-parent funding taking eligible children's entitlement up to 30 hours, and up to 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds from low-income families. Working-parent eligibility codes must be validated by Noahs Ark before funding can be claimed.

Funding is allocated first to the core day, then to breakfast or tea attendance where funded hours remain. Additional private sessions are charged separately. Families receiving funded entitlement are asked for a termly voluntary contribution, with no obligation to pay it; this is separate from the snack charge and optional Forest School costs.

Parents supply a packed lunch for Lunch Club, while morning and afternoon snacks are charged separately, including for funded attendance. Breakfast Club provides cereal and fruit, and Tea Club provides a light snack.

Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the entitlement structure. A non-refundable registration charge applies only to fee-paying children. Withdrawal requires written notice one term ahead for privately paying children or two terms ahead for children receiving funded entitlement. Booked sessions are not refunded when a child is absent through illness or holiday.

• The weekly timetable. Early breakfast attendance runs Tuesday to Thursday, tea attendance Monday to Thursday, and Friday ends at 3.30pm. At a visit, work through the combination of sessions and clubs that would fit your working week and the term-time calendar.
• Christian preschool life. Bible stories and Christian seasonal celebrations form part of the curriculum. Ask how these themes are introduced and how celebrations from other family backgrounds are included.
• The full attendance cost. Snacks, optional Forest School sessions and voluntary contributions for funded children are separate categories. Request a written quotation for your proposed pattern, with these items distinguished, and consider the longer notice period for funded attendance.
• Your child's use of the rooms. Mixed-age play in the main rooms sits alongside smaller-group and quieter spaces. During a visit, discuss how the key person would help your child settle and how any additional support would work across these spaces.

Noahs Ark suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, including those who want to extend attendance through lunch, breakfast or tea clubs during term time. Its strongest character comes from practical investigation, woodland experiences and close communication with families: Black Mats, Leigh Woods and shared learning diaries give those ideas a concrete form.

The Christian ethos, varying daily hours and separate charge structure deserve equal weight in the decision. For parents comfortable with those arrangements, the combination of child-led play, purposeful small-group work and planned support offers a clear reason to choose this preschool.