Parkside Playgroup

A church hall, a garden used in all weathers and a substantial set of arrangements for children with additional needs give Parkside Playgroup its character. Based at St Stephens Church Hall in Hounslow, it accepts children from age two and has 52 places in total. Its appeal lies in practical early learning: sharing stories, gaining independence and building relationships through play.

At its 28 February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Parkside Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that collaboration with the local authority and outside agencies supported children with special educational needs and disabilities. There were also two clear improvement priorities: more consistent behaviour reminders and a better understanding among some staff of what planned activities should teach.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance give families several term-time options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday tasks contribute to their learning. Parkside adds Forest School, an approach centred on practical outdoor experiences, with garden activities involving natural materials, tools and learning about risk. These additions sit alongside the framework rather than replacing it.

In February 2025, children used props and joined repeated passages in We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Choosing books to share with adults in the cosy reading area also gave them control over their reading.

All About Me books gave children another way to share something personal with their friends. Activities also followed children's choices, and staff changed group sessions in response to individual needs. The qualification to that flexibility matters: some practitioners needed a clearer grasp of the learning purpose behind the activities they were supporting.

Independence appeared in small, useful tasks. In February 2025, children helped prepare fruit, served their snacks with spoons and poured drinks for themselves. They also practised organising belongings and washing their hands. These are opportunities to try manageable responsibilities, with adults supporting the process rather than doing everything for them.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School takes place in the playgroup garden, which is mainly paved; branches, leaves and logs can be brought in as resources. Its activities include Mud Pies, mixing earth and water, and Making Forest Jewellery, using tools to make and decorate wooden pieces. The garden setting is an important part of the offer: families should picture outdoor learning on these premises rather than assume woodland trips.

The initial Forest School plan describes weekly sessions for six children over a six-week block, with participation intended to extend to all children over the year. That is a planned delivery pattern, rather than a reason to assume every child attends every week. Activities allow children to work at their own pace and finish with time to reflect on the session.

In February 2025, bikes followed a road layout in the garden, while dancing and a running race gave children other ways to practise movement. Story-linked play included stirring oats with water to make porridge for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Physical activity and imaginative play overlapped naturally in those examples.

Relationships and Communication

Each child receives a key person on their first day. This adult becomes the family's main contact, helps organise an individual settling plan and brings together information about the child at home and at playgroup. A continuing relationship is the practical point: parents have someone who knows their child's habits and development.

Settling requires time from families. Parents, carers or a close relative are expected to remain for much of the session during the first week, gradually spending longer apart as the child becomes comfortable. The process can take longer, and the policy rejects leaving a distressed child to cry as a settling method. Within four to six weeks, staff and parents begin developing the child's achievement record and next learning steps.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used for observations, photographs and videos. Parents can contribute their own observations, so learning at home can join the playgroup's account of a child's development. It serves a specific purpose: general messages and discussions about concerns are handled separately, with progress conversations arranged face to face.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO and deputy SENCO provide a structure for coordinating additional support. The London Borough of Hounslow Early Years SEN Team is a named partner, while Targeted Support Plans set out agreed targets, interventions and responsibilities. Parents take part in planning and review, making the support a shared process rather than an unexplained set of activities.

Listening & Attention Groups and Early Communication Groups address those areas directly. Playing And Learning to Socialise (PALS) Programme is also among the SEN strategies children can access, alongside speech and language screening. Regular individual targeted activities with key children give staff a way to respond to particular developmental needs.

The premises are on one level, with ramps at the front and into the garden, plus an accessible toilet with grab rails. These physical arrangements matter for families managing mobility needs. For complex physical or medical needs, a care plan, specialist equipment or staff training may be needed before a start date is agreed.

Moving to another setting or school includes a transition meeting in the preceding term for children with additional needs. Parents and the next placement are invited, and information sharing is agreed with families. This gives the receiving team a practical account of the child's strengths, needs and support strategies.

Sessions and Attendance

Parkside operates Monday to Friday, opening at 8.45am and closing at 3.45pm during term time. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am, afternoons from 12.45pm to 3.45pm, and full days from 8.45am to 3.45pm. The registration form also offers a 30-hour funded pattern from 8.45am to 2.45pm, with an optional additional hour until 3.45pm.

The 2025–2026 fee arrangements specified 38 operating weeks and a minimum of two sessions each week for private and funded bookings. They also included mornings ending at 12.45pm and afternoons beginning at 11.45am, both involving a packed lunch. Those dated terms need to be distinguished from the standard session choices above.

Getting There

The address is St Stephens Church Hall, Parkside Road, Hounslow, TW3 2BD. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and private attendance are offered. The 2025–2026 arrangements covered 15-hour and 30-hour Government funded places on a term-time basis, with charges for specified additional time. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; families should use the attendance pattern they need when comparing the total cost.

Under those dated terms, parents supplied packed lunches for private and funded attendance, and weekly fruit or vegetable contributions were voluntary. Parents also supplied nappies, nappy sacks, wipes and sun lotion for both types of attendance. These everyday items therefore belonged in the family's preparation rather than being included in the fee.

A non-refundable registration charge applies to fee-paying children on the registration form. The waiting-list procedure involves a visit and completed form; the admissions policy orders the list by birth date while allowing factors such as funded entitlement, siblings, home proximity and individual needs to influence decisions.

• Term-time timetable. The latest standard full-day finish is 3.45pm, with shorter morning and afternoon choices. Families needing later care or school-holiday attendance should weigh that timetable against their working arrangements.
• Time for settling. A parent or familiar adult is expected to stay for much of the first week's sessions, potentially longer. Discuss the gradual separation plan during a visit and allow time for it.
• Teaching consistency. February 2025 improvement priorities concerned behaviour reminders and some staff's understanding of planned learning. Ask how staff now agree expectations and prepare activities together.
• Seeing Forest School in practice. Garden-based activities include natural materials and tool use. Viewings run Monday to Thursday, between 9.30 and 10.30 or 1.30 and 2.30, with a call ahead required; use a visit to discuss the current session pattern and suitable clothing.

Parkside suits families seeking morning or afternoon playgroup sessions as well as a full day within term time. The garden-based Forest School offer, a key person relationship and detailed arrangements for additional needs give parents concrete reasons to consider it.

Settling takes family time, and the day ends at 3.45pm. The February 2025 teaching priorities remain a useful discussion point alongside the outdoor learning and shared journals.