Noah’s Ark Playgroup
(Bentley Heath)
.
A play based, child-centred quality learning
environment for children
Contact: Gill Randell
Tel: 01564 732285
Staff
Our playgroup staff are professionally qualified, motivated and personally
committed to providing good quality care and education for your children.
Manager
Mrs Gill Randell B.Ed (Hons) Primary Teacher
Deputy Manager Mrs Beccy Sankar B.Tec Nursery Nurse
Assistant
Mrs Penny Allen
All staff have completed the relevant training with respect to Safeguarding
Children, Paediatric First Aid, Food Safety and Preparation and Health and
Safety. The named person for each area of training is as follows:
Gill Randell
Special Educational Needs (SENCO), Safeguarding Children,
Food Safety and Preparation
Beccy Sankar
Health and Safety, Equal opportunities, Food Safety and
Preparation
Penny Allen
First Aid, Food Safety and Preparation
Introduction
Children will be offered three sessions. These will be on a Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm. The fee per session will be £9.50, this is to
be paid half termly. We are now Early Years Education funded. A Noah’s Ark
T-shirt and sweatshirt is available upon request. We run alongside school term
times.
Noah’s Ark Pre-School Session - building blocks for their future.
Each morning the children will have a free choice of activities such as easel
painting, sand or water tray, play dough, role-play, books, puzzles and construction
toys. Staff will play along side the children during this time.
Focused play include activities linked to the week’s theme - such as cooking, craft,
growing plants, music and movement, also games to encourage numerical and
literacy that are fun, age and ability appropriate. These activities will be based
around ‘Every Child Matters’.
Before drinks and snack time, we tidy away the toys reinforcing being helpful and
working as a team. We then sit down and have a language session that reinforces
the topic of the week. An informal registration takes place that includes choosing
the weather symbol for the day, singing the weather song and dressing Noah the
bear. We discuss the days of the week, count the number of children in the group
and listen to any news the children may want to share with the group, or indeed
any object they may want to show.
Drink and snack time is a ‘family’ time and children will be encouraged to socialise
and enjoy each others company at the table. We encourage the children to say
‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when asking for food and drink and to sit nicely whilst
eating. We will endeavour to encourage each child’s independency by providing
them with the opportunity to serve their own drink. We take this opportunity to
celebrate any child’s birthday with the blowing out of candles on a birthday cake
and the blowing up of balloon!
After snack time we have a physical session which includes activities such as music
and movement, ball games, parachute games or going outside to use the Nursery
playground. There they can use the bikes and tricycles, climbing frame or balls
and hoops.
Throughout the morning whatever your child chooses to do, due to our high staff
ratio, through play and our nurturing, your child will develop his / her
communication, language and literacy skills, knowledge and understanding of the
world, mathematical development, personal, social and emotional development
and also their creative development skills.
Introductory Morning
All new children are invited along with their parents/carers to attend a session
before they start playgroup. The children will be given the opportunity to meet
the leaders and spend time playing with some of the toys and activities that they
will use at the playgroup. Parents will be able to familiarise themselves with our
Policies and Procedures which are available at all times on the table in the
entrance area and inside the hall. Parents will also have the opportunity to ask any
questions necessary.
Complaints Procedure
Should you need to make a complaint, please speak to the Manager, or in the case
of the Managers absence, the Deputy Manager, who will listen and record your
complaints in written form and respond accordingly with respect to our policy. The
address and telephone number for Ofsted, should you wish to make an official
complaint is as follows: Ofsted Early Years, Ofsted building C, Cumberland Place,
Nottingham, NG1 6HJ. Telephone: 0845 404040.
Fire Procedure
Every term a fire drill is carried out in accordance with the adjoining Bentley Heath
Primary C. of E. Primary School. The children will have the opportunity under
strict supervision and adherence to health and safety, practice the required fire
drill, which takes place on the junior playground . The children will then be safely
escorted back to the building.
Our Aims at Noah’s Ark Playgroup
We want to enhance the development and education of children through play from
the age of two and a half until they enter school nursery. We are members of the
Pre-School Learning Alliance. In our last Ofsted report we achieved a ‘Good’
status.
We aim to:
 Provide a high quality , loving, secure and stimulating pre-school environment
in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage,

Work to OFSTED standards,
 Most importantly, to provide the play experience that we believe will enable
children to learn successfully,
 Work in partnership with parents/carers and the local community to raise funds
in order to maintain a quality service.