flexible childcare
day care of children for today's parents
We provide plenty of feedback both through our electronic app FAMLY and face to face so that you know your child is both receiving the highest standards of quality childcare and having fun at the same time.
about us
Welcome to Ark Childcare — a happy place in the countryside where little adventures begin!
At Ark, we love to learn through play, explore the outdoors, make new friends and try new things every day. From our Baby Room to Out of School Care, our caring grown-ups are here to help children feel safe, brave and proud of themselves.
We are open from 7am–6pm (closing only for two weeks at Christmas and New Year) and have been part of the Moray community since 2004
✨ At Ark, we grow, play and shine together. ✨
first steps
We employ Early Level Curriculum for our 3-5 aged children offering funded places on behalf of the Moray Council.
growing happy healthy children
We strive to Getting it Right for Every Child and also utilise our everyday practice to reflect upon the Health and Wellbeing indicators – Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respect, Responsible and Included.
Within our baby room we provide care for children from 6 weeks. We follow their personal plan to ensure their routine is as much and such the same as their home routine to support their development.
Each child is allocated with a key worker who document your child’s progress using focus child sheets. This is kept in a folio, along with artwork and photos, which moves through the nursery with them.
Various exploratory activities are available to make sure your baby is getting the best possible start in life. Our daily face-to-face handovers ensure we are providing the best care for your baby and keep you fully updated with what they’ve been doing.
See Baby Room Fees
Within our 2-3 Room the children have the opportunity to play and have fun as the practitioners provide a stimulating environment, which is rich in learning opportunities. Having access directly to the outdoors children can choose to play inside or out.
We care and cater for each child’s learning stage and offer a keyworker to observe their development and learning. This is documented in a personal learning journey along with artwork and photos of their time at nursery.
Daily liaising with parents allows the practitioners to ensure the quality of care we are providing to each individual child’s needs are being met.
See 2-3 Room Fees
Within our Preschool we are committed in providing a high quality and stimulating learning environment. Helping prepare your child for school through the experiences and outcomes of the early level curriculum.
Your child’s learning journey is observed by our skilled practitioners and documented by their keyworker.
The children have direct access to the outdoors offering free flow play.
The children have regular trips to the woods to participate in our Forrest School, encouraging children to risk assess their own play and experience the world around us.
We work in partnership with Alves Primary School offering your child as smooth a transition as possible in starting school.
See Early Level Fees
We collect children from all schools in Elgin including Alves and Mosstowie.
Our Out of School Care facilities provides school aged children with various indoor activities. We have an outdoor area where the children can let off some energy after tea and use their imagination. The pick up from school and light tea is included in the price.
During the holidays we provide the children with a fun filled programme to keep them occupied and entertained, you can continue to work with confidence knowing your child will be receiving the same quality of care they have always had from Ark.
See Out of School Fees
Our fully equipped kitchen leads to a large dining room where the children can enjoy freshly cooked hot meals daily and their snacks prepared by our full time chef.
Within our baby room we provide care for children from 6 weeks. We follow their care plan needs to ensure their routine is as much and such the same as their home routine to support their development.
Each child is allocated with a key worker and their learning journey is documented within the Pre-Birth to Three and Building the Ambition guidelines. This is kept in a folio, which moves through the nursery with them.
Various age and stage activities are planned weekly to ensure your baby is getting the best possible start in life. Our daily face-to-face handovers ensure we are providing the best care for your baby.
See Baby Room Fees
Within our 2-3 Room the children have the opportunity to play and have fun as the practitioners provide a stimulating environment, which is rich in learning opportunities. Having access directly to the outdoors children can choose to play inside or out.
We care and cater for each child’s learning stage and offer a keyworker to observe and track each developmental milestone within their learning journey following in the guidelines of the Pre-Birth to Three guidelines.
Daily liaising with parents allows the practitioners to ensure the quality of care we are providing to each individual child’s needs are being met.
See 2-3 Room Fees
Within our Preschool we are committed in providing a high quality and stimulating learning environment. Helping prepare your child for school through the experiences and outcomes of the early level curriculum.
Your child’s learning journey is observed by our skilled practitioners and documented by their keyworker.
The children have direct access to the outdoors offering free flow play.
The children have weekly trips to the woods to participate in our Forrest School, encouraging children to risk assess their own play and experience the world around us.
We work in partnership with Alves Primary School offering your child as smooth a transition as possible in starting school.
See Early Level Fees
We collect children from all schools in Elgin including Alves and Mosstowie.
Our Out of School Care facilities provides school aged children with a TV, Xbox and various other activities. We have an outdoor area where the children can let of some energy after tea equipped with swings, climbing frames and loose parts. The pick up from school and tea is included in the price.
During the holidays we provide the children with a fun filled programme to keep them occupied and entertained, you can continue to work with confidence knowing your child will be receiving the same quality of care they have always had from Ark.
See Out of School Fees
Our fully equipped kitchen leads to a large dining room where the children can enjoy freshly cooked hot meals daily and their snacks prepared by our full time chef.
strategic improvement plan
As a nursery, we are committed to continuous improvement in line with Scotland’s Funding Follows the Child approach and the National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare. Our Strategic Improvement Plan identifies clear priorities for each room, developed collaboratively by the practitioners who know the children best.
We actively welcome the views of parents and carers, recognising their important role in helping us identify and shape improvements that best support their own child’s learning, wellbeing and development.
what the parents and children say
Don’t take our word for it. Check what the parents and children think about our service.
for today's parents, they have said
“Communication is oustanding. It is so reassuring to receive regular updates through the app and at pick up times, particularly on days where my son is unsettled in the morning”
“The outdoor area seems to be a fantastic resource for the children to learn in. It was one of the main reasons we chose to enrol our child here”
“Absoulutely fantastic, the staff and communication with parents”
bookings
Because we know that everybody’s childcare requirements differ, we offer flexibility in the sessions and hours that your child attends.
Within our bookings framework, you can vary your requirements to suit your family life, although in order for your child to settle, we ask that they attend for at least 2 sessions a week on different days.
Please ask for more details of our booking policies. Although we aim to provide care at very short notice, you will need to register your child and make a booking before they can attend their first session.
calendar & funding
We have provided below links to Moray Council’s School Holiday. We adhere to the Elgin School Holidays. There is also a link to Moray Council’s information on funding including the latest funding forms.
fees made simple
(Effective 5 Jan 2026)
When your children are looked after by Ark, there are no hidden extras. All we ask is that you provide your preferred nappies and wipes for younger children. Everything else is included. We invoice you monthly in advance and fees are payable on the first working day of each month.
Fees Policy Funded Children:
There are no charges for funded sessions (Except One Snack for Full Days) as these sessions are free at the point of entry in compliance with the funded contract with Moray Council
0 - 2 years
Early Sessions | Morning Sessions | Afternoon Sessions | Late Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
7 am – 9am (Per Half Hour) £5.00 | 9 am – 1 pm (Lunch and Snack incl.) £35.00 | 1pm – 5pm (Light Tea and Snack incl.) £35.00 | 5pm – 6.30pm (Per Half Hour) £5.00 |
2 - 3 years
Early Sessions | Morning Sessions | Afternoon Sessions | Late Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
7am – 9am (Per Half Hour) £5.00 | 9am – 1pm (Lunch and Snack incl.) £30.60 | 1pm – 5pm (Light Tea and Snack incl.) £30.60 | 5pm – 6.30pm (Per Half Hour) £5.00 |
3 - 5 years
Early Sessions | Morning Sessions | Afternoon Sessions | Late Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
7am – 9am (Per Half Hour) £5.00 | 9am – 1pm (Lunch and Snack incl.) £34.60 Funded Place £1.50 For Snack | 1pm – 5pm (Light Tea and Snack incl.) £34.60 Funded Place £1.50 For Snack | 5pm – 6.30pm (Per Half Hour) £5.00 |
breakfast, afterschool and holiday club 5 – 14 years
Early Sessions | Morning & Afternoon Sessions | Late Sessions |
|---|---|---|
7am – 9am (Includes Breakfast and Transport to School) £17.20 Holiday Club
£5.00 (Per half hour) | 3pm – 5pm (Light Meal and School Pick-up incl.) £17.20 Holiday Club 9am – 1pm – £20.60 9am – 3pm – £30.85 1pm – 5pm – £20.60 Full Day 9am – 5 pm – £41.20 | 5pm – 6.30pm (Per Half Hour) £5.00 |
conditions of registration
To provide a care service to a maximum of 90 children aged 0 – 14 years of whom no more than 75 children are aged 2 – 14 years and 15 children are under 2 years.
The care service will operate Monday to Friday
The service will comply with the following staffing:
Age of children ratio – adults to children
0 -under 2 years 1:3
2 – under 3 years 1:5
*3 and over 1:8
*where children aged 3 and over attend facilities providing day care for a session which is less than a continuous period of 4 hours in any day, the adult: child ratio may be 1:10 providing individual children do not attend more than one session per day.
A minimum of two adults to be on duty at any one time.
notice board
next steps
We know that choosing the right care for your child is of the upmost importance to you. We find that parents want to visit us to view our facilities first hand, chat to us and get a feel for our environment. Please phone to make an appointment, or you can email us, just fill in your details and enquiry opposite.
Phone
Email Address
email@arkchildcare.net
Location
Ark Childcare Woodside Steading Mosstowie Elgin - IV30 8UW
