The Ark Association

We currently have spaces available for September 2022. Please give us a call for more information on availability.

Welcome to The Ark

Nursery care for 3 months-5 years
Out of School Club for 4 - 11 years

We have been caring for children in Oakham since 1984.
Our team aims to provide the very best care for you and your child by:

Creating varied, fun learning
Spending lots of time outdoors
Capturing magic moments on the Famly app
Providing year-round and term-time only care
Providing flexible sessions to suit as many parents as possible
Having an open-door policy to enhance parent partnership which is so important to us
Having a key worker system to help your child settle and build trusting relationships with our practitioners

'My little boy leaves The Ark with a big smile every time. He can't wait to tell me all that he has done'

Outdoor Play

Teaching in the Ark does not take the form of instruction. Rather, the children are presented with a range of activities from which they can make their own choices.
Both of our Nursery sites offer large outdoor spaces for children to explore the world around them.
We also offer weekly forest school sessions which allow the pre-school children a chance to further explore their wider environment, learn to take risks in a safe environment and enhance their knowledge of people, places and things around them.

A Caring, Experienced Team

We have a range of long standing, qualified practitioners working across our settings from level 2 to Level 5 Foundation degree. We all work together as a team to give your children the best learning environment. Our practitioners are kept up to date with the mandatory training of Safeguarding and child protection, food hygiene, health and safety and paediatric first aid. Alongside this we support our practitioners to continue their learning in areas such as children's mental health, behaviour and the Early years foundation stage.
As our main parent communication tool we use the Famly app. This allows our practitioners to ensure that parents are aware of things that are going on in Nursery, reminders, events which are coming up and of your child's progress and development.

Our Aims

We aim to offer high standards of education and fun within a safe, secure and stimulating environment. Our ideas are very neatly summed up in the words of educationalist, Charlotte Mason:
“We must help them to grow at their own pace by nurturing their own talents and helping them to develop their own individual personalities”. Practitioners plan activities based on observations of children and their interests. At the end of each half term parents will receive a personalised summary of their child's progress at Nursery.

Baby Room & Outdoor Area

The Willow Room at Princess Avenue provides a welcoming, homely environment for babies. Our experienced team make this a wonderful world for our youngest to learn, sleep and smile.
We have access to a separate play area for the babies to enjoy whilst being able to see the older children. Babies routines, set by parents, are followed and all of their daily information such as sleep, nappy changes, meals and snacks are recorded.