Areas of Development

Our crèche facility enables you to leave your child with a specialist team of qualified childcare workers in a safe, stimulating environment, which covers all areas of the under 5s curriculum. The environment encourages free choice and enables your child to develop at their own pace.

At The Ark in the Park Crèche, we do our best to make sure the children attending feel secure and comfortable in their environment. Therefore we advise that all new children, regardless of age, should have a settling in period before attending the crèche before their first official session. This is to enable the child to become familiar with their new environment.

The Ark in the Park Crèche is divided into 3 rooms. The Baby Room, also known as The Rainbow Room, accommodates babies who are not yet walking. The room is specifically set up without any furniture and a lot of floor space, to enable the fledgling crawler to experiment without fear of bumping into anything! Once the babies can walk, they then move up to The Wobblers & Toddlers Room, also known as The Butterflies Room. This accommodates all walking children up to the age of three. The Owls Room, which accommodates 3 – 8 year olds, is also known as Pre-School. In the afternoon, the babies all move into the Wobblers & Toddlers Room as the Rainbow Room is turned into the Activity Room, with creative Activity Classes such as Yoga, Ballet, Cooking and Splurge.

All staff are fully trained on the Early Years Foundation Stage and we continue to meet yours and your child’s needs. The Crèche team is available to answer any questions about the EYFS. Claire the Crèche Manager is always happy to help so drop in or give a call if you have any questions.

Participation in a crèche setting will enable your child to develop social, intellectual, physical, and emotional skills in a stimulating and fun environment. Here at The Ark in the Park we value and respect all the children in our care.

The six main areas of development:

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children must be provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn. Providers must ensure support for children's emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do. We work closely with the parent’s/carers in your child’s progress; this can be from a baby starting to crawl, a toddler potty training, a little boy/girl learning to form friendships or…

• Singing
• Story reading
• One to one time

Communication, Language and Literacy

Children's learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so. We include...

• Circle time
• Weather board
• Reading stories
• Singing
• Key person/group time

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Children must be supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their experiences. They must be provided with opportunities to practice and extend their skills in these areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use. To achieve this we incorporate the following...

• Puzzles
• Sorting trays
• Cooking
• Construction

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Children must be supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘experiments’; and work with a range of materials. We use…

• Train tracks
• Cars
• Home corner
• Dressing up

Physical Development

The physical development of babies and young children must be encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement. They must be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know. They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food, for example, through the use of…

• Outside play
• Bike riding
• Slides
• Drawings
• Cutting
• Ball pool

Creative Development

Children's creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology. We achieve this through the use of...

• Collages
• Painting
• Dance and movement
• Malleable play

Other Points to Note

We offer fruit and water whilst your child is with us. If you require your child to have anything further please bring this with you and hand over to the staff on arrival. Please do not forget to label all bottles etc. We can facilitate the heating of your child’s food if required. Please label all children's clothing and bags, as we accept no responsibility for loss or damage to items. Please also bring with you any nappies, wipes, special teddies or cloths and a spare feed that your child may require during their stay and many spare changes of clothes, especially for potty training children.

The emphasis is on FUN at all times and you can feel safe in the knowledge that your child is in the capable and expert hands of our dedicated, qualified and experienced childcare staff.

On leaving and collecting your child for any session within the childcare department you must sign the in/out book to show you have handed your child into our care.

We value any feedback and comments from parents. (Comments and suggestions box located at the Ark's reception area).

We look forward to seeing you soon.

New Members

020 8740 4599