Tic Toc Nursery School, the house with dots on Twickenham

Pet chickens, a garden mud kitchen and music for every age give Tic Toc a recognisable character. This Twickenham nursery combines animal care and outdoor exploration with a gradual progression through age-based rooms, then adds tennis, ballet and early phonics for preschool children. The setting occupies a converted period property on Staines Road. Its appeal lies in the detail of the day.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 26 July 2024. That judgement sits alongside a current offer for children from 3 months to 5 years, with four main rooms and a separate sensory room. Parents help decide when their child moves between rooms, rather than treating an age boundary as an automatic moving date.

Attendance includes full days, half days for younger children and term-time-only arrangements. The practical distinction matters: baby and toddler half-day sessions are age-restricted, while funded-only attendance has separate, shorter clock windows.

Rooms and Ages

Panda Room, for children up to 21 months, combines sensory exploration and treasure baskets with carpeted floors and a dedicated sleep area, giving the youngest children space for both activity and rest. Penguin Room, from 21 to 26 months, emphasises movement, role play and interaction as younger toddlers become more mobile. These stages separate early exploration from the demands of the older toddler day.

Dolphin Room, for 27 to 36 months, uses group activities and different play areas to develop cooperation and independent exploration. Pre-School, from 37 to 60 months, is the largest classroom, with separate learning and play areas supporting collaborative projects, ballet and Little Rackets, an introduction to tennis. The progression brings more shared activity as children approach school age.

Room moves are agreed between staff and parents, taking development as well as age into account. Children spend settling time in their next room before moving permanently. That gives families a role in the transition and children a chance to become familiar with a new space before it becomes their everyday base.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the common framework for learning: children develop language, movement, social understanding, early literacy and mathematics through their experiences and play. Tic Toc builds on that foundation with adult-planned activities, time for children to choose their own play, and specialist sessions. A child’s interests help shape the activity, rather than every experience following the same adult agenda.

Juma Music reaches all age groups through songs and interactive musical activities. Weekly football is run by Sports4Kids, while cookery sessions take place regularly with the nursery’s chef. Music, movement and practical cooking therefore form part of the nursery day, with these activities included in fees rather than sold as separate additions.

For older children, weekly Forest School sessions bring learning into a local forest environment with the nursery’s own practitioners. The emphasis includes making decisions and considering risks. Pre-School also introduces basic sound sets through Read, Write Inc, a phonics scheme used in small-group preparation for school. This adds a more structured element alongside play, with some learning carried into the home.

Elements of the Curiosity Approach are being introduced, mainly in Panda Room: hands-on experiences encourage children to investigate and think independently. This is a developing approach, rather than a claim that every room follows it fully. Rainbow Rules, the nursery’s behaviour rules, sit alongside opportunities for children to express ideas and explore their interests. The curriculum page sets out these strands together.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden gives outdoor play several different purposes. A dedicated baby play area sits alongside a sandpit, vegetable patch and soft-surfaced sports area; covered spaces allow activities outside in different weather. A purpose-built animal house accommodates the chickens, while rabbits also form part of children’s animal-care experiences. Caring for living things makes responsibility concrete.

Inside, the sensory room contains multi-coloured bubble tubes and accommodates both music and movement and quieter relaxation. It offers a different pace from the main classrooms. During warmer weather, open doors allow children access to the garden, and outdoor activity occupies a substantial part of the planned day.

In July 2024, children visited a local care home and shared boxes containing things important to them with other children. These experiences connected learning about other people with personal identity. Children also considered practical risks, such as the height of a construction or the distance of a jump, making decisions within their play rather than only receiving adult instructions.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, and settling sessions usually last 1 to 2 hours, with a parent able to accompany some of them. Families and staff work together on babies’ feeding, sleep and play routines. For a child starting nursery, the combination of familiar routines and gradual introductory sessions gives the change a manageable structure.

Blossom, the nursery’s online platform, carries activity timelines, developmental observations and reports. Parents can contribute observations from home and update information about their child’s preferences. This makes communication two-way: nursery experiences can inform home conversations, while staff can learn about changes beyond the setting.

Parent evenings take place twice yearly, and regular Stay & Play sessions let families join activities such as singing, art and circle time. Daily conversations add another channel for sharing routines and care needs. Parents therefore have both scheduled opportunities to discuss development and shorter exchanges about everyday matters.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported, with early identification, timely help and good progress. In July 2024, staff supporting children with SEND received individualised training, alongside local-authority training. The useful detail is the support mechanism, rather than a general promise that every need will be met in the same way.

Baby activities include textured toys, gentle lighting and music, with opportunities to practise crawling, standing and walking. Care is adjusted around individual routines and developmental pace. In July 2024, babies practised feeding themselves, younger children served food, and older children attempted to resolve disagreements independently. These were everyday opportunities to practise self-help.

Meals and snacks are cooked on site by the chef and included in fees, with seasonal menus, a daily vegetarian or vegan choice and provision for children moving onto solids. Baby feeding arrangements accommodate breastfeeding or formula according to family preferences.

The Start Life Well Gold Award recognises the nursery’s work on nutrition, activity and wellbeing. A Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordinator (PANCo) leads work on physical activities and balanced nutrition, including guidance for staff and families. The role gives these subjects an identified lead and an ongoing place in nursery planning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 298-300 Staines Road, Twickenham, TW2 5AS. Full-day care runs Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.15pm. The nursery operates across the year, excluding bank holidays and inset days, and fees are based on 51 weeks of attendance.

Half-day sessions are restricted to younger children in the baby and toddler rooms. Ad-hoc half days run from 7.30am to 12.45pm or from 1pm to 6.15pm. Additional days and hours can supplement fixed nursery days, allowing an established attendance pattern to be extended when needed.

Term-time-only places are also offered. Funded-only attendance windows are 9am to 4.30pm for the 30-hour arrangement and 9am to 2.30pm for the 15-hour arrangement, with funded-only attendance offered across the year. These are different booking patterns from the full day, so the end time matters when matching childcare to work commitments.

A registration form must be completed to confirm a place, and the nursery operates a first-come, first-served waiting list. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 020 8898 4079 or by email to admin@tictocnurseryschool.co.uk. Neither a deposit nor a registration charge is required.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15-hour and 30-hour funded places for children aged 3 and over, and funded provision for eligible 2-year-olds. Funding eligibility and the nursery’s participation are separate questions: a family’s entitlement does not by itself settle the attendance arrangement.

Meals, activities, the parent app and consumables are included in fees, including the fee arrangements combining attendance with funding. Standard nappies and readily available milk are included; parents supply specialist nappies or milk when needed. This distinction matters for families whose child uses a particular product, because the usual supplies do not replace specialist requirements.

Late collection and late payment attract additional charges. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees page explains the charge structure and attendance options.

• Younger children’s shorter days. Half days are for babies and toddlers, with ad-hoc morning and afternoon times specified. At a visit, discuss which pattern fits your child’s room and routine before planning around a shorter day.
• Conversation needs time. In July 2024, children sometimes had too little opportunity to explore new ideas through questions and discussion. Ask how staff now leave space for children’s responses during activities, rather than moving straight to the next instruction.
• Developing staff practice. The July 2024 improvement priorities included more targeted professional development to extend learning. A useful visit question is how recent staff training has changed an activity your child would experience.
• Specialist feeding and care. Standard milk and nappies are included, while specialist products come from home. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling practice and how individual requirements are communicated to the chef and room staff.

Tic Toc suits families seeking full-day attendance or shorter baby and toddler sessions, as well as those considering term-time-only care. Its strongest character comes from the combination of animal care, varied garden spaces, Juma Music and a preschool day that adds Forest School, tennis and phonics.

The room-transition process and Blossom communication give parents practical ways to participate. The July 2024 priorities around children’s conversation and staff development remain useful questions for a visit. For families drawn to outdoor learning and specialist activities included in fees, this is a nursery with a clearly articulated daily offer.