Ashmore Pre-School

Independence and emotional development shaped Ashmore Pre-School's curriculum in September 2025. Based at St. Lukes Church Centre on Fernhead Road, London W9 3EH, it has 20 places in total and accepts children aged 24 to 60 months.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Ashmore Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical strengths included familiar routines, relationships with a key person and opportunities for children to manage everyday tasks themselves. Language teaching and access to early writing materials needed further attention.

The early years foundation stage sets expectations for children's learning, development and care, bringing everyday play and growing independence into the educational day. In September 2025, activities were planned using children's interests and information from home, giving staff a starting point that connected with each child.

Songs invited children to supply familiar words, while play dough provided practice for their fingers. Story sessions introduced vocabulary, but questioning did not consistently draw children into discussion. Learning new words needed more opportunities to use them. In September 2025, practitioners adjusted their speech for children's ages and used eye contact when speaking. Children remembered vocabulary from earlier learning and brought it into use. The weakness lay in extending these exchanges: introducing a word did not always lead to children discussing it or contributing their own ideas.

Assessment also happened during play in September 2025. Staff noticed gaps in children's learning and used these observations, together with their interests, to choose activities. The play dough example connected a practical task with preparation for writing. Yet developing finger strength was only part of that preparation: children also needed tools they could reach and choose for themselves. In September 2025, easier access to writing and drawing tools was therefore an improvement priority.

Outdoor spaces offered physical challenges in September 2025. Trips also helped children explore their community, and learning about celebrations introduced different experiences within their friendship group. These experiences broadened learning beyond indoor activities.

In September 2025, new children built relationships with their key person, while staff gathered updates from parents about wellbeing and learning at home. Sharing that information across the team helped connect home and pre-school routines.

Consistent expectations supported sharing and taking turns. Staff comforted children during disagreements, and handwashing routines encouraged them to take responsibility for personal care after messy activities, before eating and after using the toilet. In September 2025, these hygiene habits were repeated throughout the day, giving children regular practice in looking after themselves. Conversations about breakfast also introduced the idea of nutritious food during a creative activity. Health learning was woven into ordinary tasks and conversation.

Staff development formed another part of the September 2025 picture. Leaders observed practitioners' work regularly, while training and exchanges with colleagues helped staff develop their practice. Staff deployment supported supervision across the pre-school, including its outdoor activities. These arrangements sat alongside the identified need for better questioning techniques: supervision and opportunities for professional development did not remove the specific teaching issue.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support and made good progress, with staff involving other professionals and local authority advisers in individual planning. That finding gives families a concrete account of how support worked at that time.

Ashmore's address is St. Lukes Church Centre, Fernhead Road, London W9 3EH. Opening hours are 9am to 3.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; it closes for school holidays. The holiday closure matters for families arranging care throughout the year.

In September 2025, Ashmore provided government-funded childcare. At that time, a parent committee ran the pre-school, which sat between Queen's Park and Maida Vale in Westminster. Its church-centre address places the setting in a community venue; the educational and care examples above describe its September 2025 practice.

• Language development. September 2025 teaching did not consistently use questions to develop children's vocabulary and thinking. This matters for children who need more encouragement to express their ideas.
• Early writing. Children could strengthen their fingers through play dough in September 2025, but writing and drawing tools were harder to access independently. More accessible materials were an improvement priority.
• Term-time planning. Ashmore closes during school holidays. When visiting, ask how funded attendance, meals and consumables would work for your child's term-time place.

Ashmore suits families seeking term-time care. In September 2025, its curriculum emphasised independence and emotional development. Its September 2025 assessment gives a positive overall picture, supported by concrete examples of key-person relationships and everyday self-care. The two improvement priorities are useful decision points: how adults extend conversation, and whether children can readily choose materials for early writing.