Noah's Ark Playgroup

Church-based play, parent-packed lunches and a digital learning journal give Noah's Ark Playgroup in Kimberley a clear practical character. It operates from Holy Trinity Church and has 32 places in total. Children can enrol from age two, making this a setting to consider after the baby stage.

At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the playgroup Good and found safeguarding effective. The strengths included children's relationships with staff, opportunities to explore materials and activities that developed physical skills. Two improvements mattered to everyday care: clearer teaching about oral hygiene and better engagement for younger children waiting for lunch. Those findings belong to that visit, rather than describing today's routines.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and full-day sessions. Tapestry Journal, an online record of children's development, lets parents see observations and contribute moments from home. That gives families a practical connection between what children do at playgroup and what they do elsewhere.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning and care: children develop through play, relationships and experiences that respond to their individual needs. It is the shared framework for early-years provision, rather than an extra programme unique to Noah's Ark.

In February 2022, play included experiments with coloured water and soap, dough modelling and action songs. These offered different ways to explore: children talked about what they were making, practised movements and worked their fingers as they shaped dough. The physical detail matters. Learning involved handling materials and trying things out, alongside conversation with adults.

During that February 2022 visit, games also gave children opportunities to wait for a turn, while staff asked questions and allowed thinking time before an answer. These are useful examples of how ordinary play can build communication and participation. Children were encouraged to express their ideas, rather than simply follow an activity to its end.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2022, outdoor play included tricycles and balance bikes, with children steering around obstacles and one another. This combined movement with decisions about space and other children. The same dated account included bus journeys, visits to farm parks and outings to soft-play centres, supported through additional funding.

The church remains an important part of the setting's identity. The playgroup uses premises owned by Holy Trinity Church and maintains a working relationship with it. This is a church-based playgroup, with its own childcare offer and attendance arrangements.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2022, staff helped children manage the emotions of starting playgroup and formed close relationships through shared activities. Children sought adults out during their play. For a child making an early separation from home, that is a meaningful part of the dated account of daily life.

Current communication centres on Tapestry Journal. Parents can comment on staff observations and add their own photographs, videos or accounts of experiences outside playgroup. Access is set up with parental consent, and families who cannot use the internet at home can arrange supported access with their child's key worker. The journal therefore provides more than a stream of photographs: it allows information to move in both directions.

Group observations can include a child's photograph in another child's journal. Parents can tell the playgroup if they do not want that to happen, making image preferences a practical part of using the system.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that home visits helped staff understand children with SEND and that the special educational needs coordinator worked with families and professionals to obtain equipment for individual physical needs. Current SEND arrangements include access to a SENDCO and consideration of information about a child's learning both within and beyond playgroup when progress causes concern. These are concrete support mechanisms, rather than a blanket assurance about every child's experience.

The manager holds the designated safeguarding lead role, and the team includes practitioners with paediatric first-aid training and a level 3 qualification. Families provide snacks, lunch and nappies. Preparing food for the session is therefore part of the family's daily routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Holy Trinity Church, Church Hill, Kimberley, Nottingham, NG16 2HY. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; full-day sessions run from 9am to 3pm. The shorter option gives families a different attendance pattern from staying through lunch and the afternoon.

Breakfast Club is a separately booked session arrangement. Regular bookings cover at least a half term, are made ahead of that half term and require staff confirmation. An enquiry alone does not secure the selected days. Once confirmed, the booking is invoiced, with payment due before the first session.

General enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone. A separate holiday form lets parents notify the playgroup of an absence and the child's return.

Funding and Paid Extras

The playgroup accepts two-year funding and 30-hour working-parent funding, which can be used across its sessions. Its attendance offer is term-time. Private sessions are also offered for children who are not entitled to funding; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply snacks, lunch and nappies, including during funded attendance. Funding excludes extra hours and additional activities such as trips, with charges applied when those additions occur. Families comparing a morning with a full day should therefore consider both the attendance pattern and what they will send from home.

• Term-time attendance. Morning sessions finish at noon and full days at 3pm, with attendance during term time. Consider how each pattern fits your working day and holiday arrangements.
• Lunch and health routines. In February 2022, younger children sometimes became restless before lunch, and oral-health messages needed greater consistency. On a visit, ask how lunchtime waiting and oral-hygiene learning work now.
• Breakfast Club commitment. Regular sessions are booked for at least a half term and require confirmation before payment. Ask how the club fits alongside the morning or full-day session you intend to use.
• Tapestry photographs. Group observations may show your child in another family's journal. Discuss your image preferences when giving consent, especially if you want photographs restricted to your own child's account.

Noah's Ark suits families seeking term-time morning sessions or a full day ending at 3pm, with parent-provided food and nappies. Tapestry Journal offers a useful two-way connection with home, while the SENDCO provides a defined route for discussing additional support. The February 2022 findings give concrete examples of play and relationships, alongside specific improvements to everyday care. Its practical fit rests on the shorter day, term-time calendar and family's role in supplying everyday essentials.