Noahs Ark Pre-School
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Bristol for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 07:45 to 17:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2024. Open since 1993, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
All FEEE entitlements at Noah’s Ark are funded for 38 weeks enabling families of 3 & 4-year-olds to access up to 15 hours each week. In addition some working families will be eligible to claim Extended Entitlement increasing their claim to 30 hours a week. Universal FEEE for 3 & 4-year-olds: up to 15 hours a week. From September 2025, working families of 2-year-olds will be eligible to claim up to.
Worth knowing. If your code has not been validated, you will be liable to pay for the additional hours over the universal 15 hours. Families on a low income may be eligible to claim up to 15 hours universal free hours. To find out if you are eligible for 2-year-old FEEE, you will need to apply directly to the local authority. Parents must apply online for a place with Bristol City Council : www.bristol.gov.uk/freeplacefortwos and be checked for eligibility before a free place can be offered.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
BS6 7THWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 7 February 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children flourish in this exceptional pre-school. Extremely passionate and highly skilled staff plan a rich and effective curriculum where children make rapid and sustained progress. Children are exceptionally motivated in their learning and staff know the children exceedingly well. They make sure that activities have clear outcomes for children's learning. For example, children use safety knives to cut vegetables and use tongs to put rice noodles into their vegetable pots making themselves a noodle salad. Children learn about healthy eating and how to use a variety of tools. They also have good opportunities to increase their vocabulary, such as repeating 'twist' and 'squeeze' as they extract the juice from a lemon to add to their salad.
Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are exceptionally kind and considerate to each other and the staff. Children build very good relationships and invite others to join in their play. For example, a child waits by the door with some toys ready for their friend to arrive. Both children get excited and confidently go off to play together. Children cooperate well with each other in activities. For example, they learn about animals and their habitat and take turns to take an animal from the bag. Children know that fish live in the water and birds live in the trees, and help each other to identify that the beetle lives under the log. This helps children to learn new vocabulary such as 'habitat' and 'nocturnal'. They count the legs on the beetle, reinforcing their mathematical knowledge. In addition, they learn about the natural world.
- 7 February 2024Outstanding
- 4 May 2018Outstanding
- 10 July 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Noahs Ark Pre-School
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.