ASK Kindergarten & Clubs

Outdoor time gives ASK Kindergarten & Clubs much of its character: weather permitting, children spend time in its Forest School, an outdoor setting for nursery activities. The kindergarten operates at All Saints Church on Church Street in Old Isleworth. Its church-hall setting and emphasis on getting outside make this a concrete choice for families who value outdoor play alongside indoor learning.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that work with external agencies supported children with special educational needs and disabilities. That is a dated judgement. The current kindergarten age range is 24 to 60 months, with 52 places in total; that whole-setting capacity is not a measure of the size of a child's daily group.

Morning and afternoon sessions can be extended, with Breakfast Club providing an earlier start. The important practical distinction is that attendance follows term time rather than providing year-round care.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, language, physical activity and everyday independence all have a place in the nursery day. Forest School adds the kindergarten's outdoor emphasis, with time outside dependent on the weather rather than a fixed frequency promised for every week.

In March 2023, children could choose their own craft materials, including scissors, glue and drawing equipment. Sand offered another way to make marks, while dough work involved cutters and rolling pins. These experiences gave children different ways to practise controlling their hands before formal writing. Choice mattered too: children could initiate an activity rather than wait for an adult to allocate one.

Stories connected nursery and home. In March 2023, families could borrow a story sack for reading together at home, connecting nursery stories with family time. During reading activities, actions and props helped introduce vocabulary, while repeated passages encouraged children to join in. A visual timetable also helped children understand the order of the day, and circle time gave them opportunities to listen and take turns.

Mathematics was the clear improvement point in March 2023. Children explored coloured water using cylinders and syringes, but adults did not consistently use those activities to develop understanding of capacity or recognition of numbers. The equipment was there; the next step was to make its mathematical purpose more explicit. For parents, this is a useful distinction between an engaging activity and teaching that draws out its learning potential.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2023, the large garden supported running games and opportunities to judge space around other children. Bicycles, wooden balancing beams and stepping stones gave children different physical challenges. This was outdoor play with several kinds of movement, rather than exercise confined to running around.

The current Forest School emphasis makes outdoor provision a central part of the kindergarten's identity. Families considering ASK can therefore weigh both the space itself and how outdoor activities fit their child's interests, confidence and comfort in different weather.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2023, familiar comforts helped children manage separation from their parents. Cuddly toys were available, and individual books containing photographs of important people connected home with nursery. These are small, tangible supports for a child whose confidence is still developing. They gave children something recognisable to turn to during an unfamiliar part of the day.

Communication also had a practical shape in March 2023: families received daily exchanges with staff alongside spoken and written accounts of development. Staff used assessments to identify individual next steps. Together, those arrangements connected what children were doing at nursery with information parents could use at home, rather than relying only on occasional summaries.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children made the expected progress through a curriculum organised around their developing knowledge and skills. That finding supports the educational judgement for that date, rather than guaranteeing an outcome for an individual child today.

In March 2023, everyday independence included practising toothbrushing with large models, using stories to support potty training and learning nose-blowing routines at a designated hygiene station. Children also received help as they learnt to dress for outdoor play. Kind behaviour was reinforced through a cork reward jar, making acts of kindness visible to the group.

School transition work had a practical basis in March 2023: staff maintained contact with the schools children would subsequently attend. This supported preparation for the next stage of learning; it did not establish an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

ASK operates at All Saints Church, Church Street, Isleworth, TW7 6BE. Flexible attendance sits within an opening window of 7.30am to 6pm, and the kindergarten follows a term-time calendar. Telephone and email enquiries provide the contact route.

Breakfast Club has two options: 7.30am to 9am or 8am to 9am. Morning sessions begin at 9am and finish at noon, 1pm or 2pm. Afternoon sessions start at noon, with finishes at 3pm, 4pm, 5pm or 6pm; the later finishes incorporate Afternoon Club. These are meaningfully different patterns, allowing families to choose a shorter session or add time around it.

The autumn half-term closure runs from 26 to 30 October 2026, followed by the Christmas holiday from 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. Families whose working arrangements continue through holidays need to account for those breaks as well as the daily session times.

Funding and Paid Extras

ASK accepts 15 or 30 hours funding across its sessions, alongside privately paid childcare. Funded attendance follows the term-time pattern. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees information explains how session choices and funded attendance affect the charge structure.

Food is included in privately paid Breakfast Club and Afternoon Club fees; for fully funded children, food in those clubs is a separate optional charge, with the alternative of bringing food from home. Breakfast includes toast, cereal and milk, while afternoon food examples include pasta, soup and baked potatoes.

Non-food consumables carry no additional charge, including wipes, nappies, suncream and craft materials. For fully funded children, fee-bearing outings and activities are optional, and there are no top-up fees. This separates the funded childcare itself from choices that may add to the bill.

Privately paid attendance has a deposit and registration charge, with the registration charge deducted from the deposit and the balance credited against the first invoice. Fully funded places have no registration charge, and their deposit is returned when the child starts attending.

• Term-time fit. Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and extensions offer different daily patterns, but the holiday calendar still creates breaks in care. Match those closures to your working year.
• Outdoor experience. Forest School time depends on the weather. During a visit, ask how outdoor activities work across the seasons and what children need to bring.
• Mathematical teaching. Capacity and number recognition were the March 2023 improvement priorities. Ask how staff now draw those ideas out of water play and other everyday activities.
• Funded food choices. Club food is separately charged for fully funded children, with a bring-your-own alternative. Decide which arrangement fits your child's needs and your budget.

ASK suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon attendance, including those who need an earlier Breakfast Club start or an extended afternoon. Outdoor provision is a strong part of its identity, while the March 2023 account gives useful detail about home-linked reading, emotional comfort and growing independence.

The decision turns on fit: its session choices offer flexibility within the term, while holiday closures require planning. The dated mathematics improvement point deserves a focused conversation alongside consideration of the Forest School experience and funded extras.