Friends Forest Nursery, Ash

Woodland exploration starts in babyhood at Friends Forest Nursery, Ash. Children from three months take regular outings into the surrounding countryside, while gardening and cooking bring the natural world into everyday learning. The appeal is concrete: children can investigate wildlife, grow ingredients and help prepare food, rather than encounter nature only through pictures.

At its 29 September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. That judgement provides a strong assessment of the nursery at that point; the current offer combines Forest School, an approach to learning through practical outdoor experiences, with activities that develop communication, independence and understanding of feelings.

The nursery cares for children aged three months to five years on Manor Road, Aldershot, GU12 6QH.

Rooms and Ages

In the Baby Room, Family Boxes hold photographs of familiar people or treasured objects on items babies can handle, with a sound-making object alongside; a contrasting black, white and red area keeps these resources within reach of mobile babies. Babies who are not yet moving explore their box with their key person. Familiarity becomes something a baby can touch and investigate, connecting home life with nursery play.

In September 2023, babies explored animal-themed sensory resources connected to Dear Zoo and attempted the corresponding sounds. This gave a familiar story a practical extension: children could investigate an object and practise language together. During the same month, preschool children used a garden play bus, timetables and pretend tickets to explore writing, time and money. These were everyday ideas made playable, with a reason to count or make a mark.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the shared framework for learning and care: children develop language, movement, relationships and early literacy and mathematics through play and adult support. Activities are shaped around children's interests and development, with observations informing what comes next. The additions here give that framework a recognisable daily form.

Wake Up and Shake Up brings children over two together for five minutes of daily movement at around 9am; younger children can join if they wish. Songs make physical activity part of the morning routine.

Cooking Stations combine practitioner-planned activities with children's own choices. Weighing ingredients introduces mathematical language; mixing prompts discussion, alongside handwashing and safe utensil use. A child might cook daily or once a week.

Chatter Box Session starts at home. Older children decorate a box with their family and fill it with favourite objects, then share the contents in a small group with their key person. Other children can ask questions. This gives speaking and listening a personal subject, while the small-group arrangement makes room for each child to contribute.

Emotions Boxes develop from identifying feelings to thinking about how actions affect other people and relationships. Resources for younger children introduce emotions such as sadness or excitement; older children use stories and supported discussion to work through frustration and anger. The emphasis is on recognising feelings and choosing a response, rather than simply being told to behave.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School activities include den building, identifying wildlife, following tracks and using simple tools. Outings take children into meadows and woodland throughout the seasons. Babies may watch rabbits or feed ducks; toddlers investigate leaves and puddles. Outdoor learning therefore extends across the age range, with experiences adapted to different stages of development.

Weather Boxes Play adds portable resources for outdoor stories, investigations and mark making, including mobile mud kitchens. Children choose whether to use a box in the garden or during a walk, and help return its contents afterwards. That links exploration with looking after shared equipment.

Garden Champions takes gardening through a whole process: preparing ground, sowing, tending and harvesting. Children use real tools with practitioner support, and produce they grow can be prepared with the nursery chef for that day's menu. It gives food a visible origin. The nursery also holds Royal Horticultural Society accreditation, connecting this activity with an established gardening organisation.

In September 2023, nature-area activities covered protecting bees and butterflies and campfire precautions. Parents shared professional skills at nursery events, bringing their experience into children's learning.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who observes development, responds to their needs and shares information with parents. Settling sessions introduce families to that practitioner, connecting comfort with learning from the start.

Learning Journeys collect photographs, artwork and observations from nursery and home. Families can access them in the child's room and keep them when their child leaves. An individual progress tracker also records development.

Termly parents' meetings provide dedicated discussion time with the key person, alongside daily information sharing and opportunities to speak to staff between meetings.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children needing additional support made exceptional progress, with specialist therapists advising on equipment and room arrangements, and key persons receiving sign language training for children with speech and language needs. The practical substance is the adjustment of environments and adult communication to individual children, rather than a general promise of support.

In September 2023, information was shared between staff and parents as babies moved into the toddler room, with other professionals involved when needed. That attention to handover matters because a room move also changes the people, resources and expectations around a child.

Mr Germ is a puppet used to encourage older children to take responsibility for their surroundings. Cleaning equipment sized for small hands lets children decide when to tidy or clean, with the puppet joining when requested. Independence is practised through manageable jobs. Together with the work on feelings, this gives children practical ways to participate in nursery life.

Sessions and Attendance

The contact information gives opening hours of 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for a week over Christmas and New Year. Another opening statement gives 8am to 6pm.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01252 405544. One-to-one tours can be booked. These provide a way to explore how the outdoor approach and key-person arrangements would fit a particular child.

Getting There

The address is Manor Road, Ash, GU12 6QH, with access to the A331. Neighbouring Manor Ash School provides free parking for parents, a useful practical arrangement for families travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 hours and 30 hours funded childcare for three- and four-year-olds, with the extended entitlement dependent on parents meeting the relevant criteria. Entitlement is stretched over 51 weeks. Fully funded places are offered on Mondays and Fridays, which matters for families planning attendance.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Funding details are on the fees and funding page.

A nursery chef prepares food fresh on site each day, with seasonal menus rotating over four weeks. The Food for Life Served Here Silver award recognises the use of ingredients including local vegetables, sustainable fish and farm-assured meat.

• Opening hours. The contact details give 7.30am to 6.30pm, while another opening statement gives 8am to 6pm. Confirm the contracted hours during a visit before planning work and collection around either window.
• Funded attendance. Fully funded places are offered on Mondays and Fridays, with entitlement stretched over 51 weeks. Consider whether those days fit your family's needs.
• Outdoor participation. Countryside outings begin from three months and continue through the seasons. At a tour, discuss how your child's routines and comfort are accommodated during outdoor activities.

Friends Forest Nursery, Ash suits families who want outdoor experiences woven into childcare from babyhood, alongside practical activities that build conversation and independence. Garden Champions and Chatter Box Session make that proposition specific: children grow and use produce, and bring their own interests into small-group discussion.

Fully funded places are offered on Mondays and Fridays. The dated Outstanding judgement adds weight to the choice, while the opening-hours discrepancy deserves resolution before booking.