Ashmore Pre-School

Ashmore Pre-School is a small, term-time setting for children aged two to four, with capacity for 20 at St. Lukes Church Centre on Fernhead Road. Ofsted rated it Good in September 2025, a clear improvement from the previous Requires Improvement judgement. Safeguarding arrangements were effective.

Its strongest qualities are personal rather than elaborate. Children were happy and eager to join in, staff knew their individual needs, and routines helped them feel secure. The same visit found a broad curriculum with a strong emphasis on emotional development and independence.

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play across communication, physical, personal and early academic development. In September 2025, staff built activities around children's interests and identified gaps as children played. Play dough strengthened finger muscles, songs encouraged children to recall familiar words, and conversations about breakfast introduced healthy-food ideas.

There is a useful outdoor thread too. The setting had improved its outdoor areas to give children more physical challenge, while trips helped them learn about the local community. Children also explored different celebrations and the lives of their friends.

There was room for sharper teaching. Ofsted wanted staff to make conversations more probing and give children greater scope to explain their thinking. The second priority was to put drawing and writing materials within children’s reach, helping them practise the early skills they will need at school.

Language work was already present, but its consistency mattered. Staff used clear speech and eye contact, adjusted their words for children's ages and paused during familiar songs so children could supply the missing words. Children recalled vocabulary they had learned before. The weaker point was story time: some staff did more of the talking than the children. Parents can usefully ask how practitioners now turn shared books into a genuine exchange, rather than an adult-led explanation.

New children developed close bonds with their key person, helping staff understand interests and needs and making settling more secure. Warm responses, clear expectations and consistent routines supported good behaviour. Staff taught sharing and turn-taking, then intervened promptly to comfort children and resolve disagreements.

Parents' information about wellbeing and learning at home was passed across the team and used in planning. For children with SEND, staff arranged assessments where needed and worked with local-authority advisers on focused plans. Hygiene was practical and child-led: children managed handwashing at three clear points: following messy activities, ahead of lunch and once they had used the toilet.

The inspection described a team that reflected together, shared effective practice and received professional-development opportunities. Leaders monitored staff and deployed them across the pre-school so children were supervised. Parents valued regular conversations about progress, making the exchange of information more than a handover courtesy: it connected learning at home with what practitioners planned next.

The pre-school is at St. Lukes Church Centre, Fernhead Road, London W9 3EH. In September 2025, the timetable comprised two term-time patterns from Monday to Friday: morning sessions from 9am to midday and afternoon sessions from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. It also recorded government-funded childcare.

These details give families a choice between morning and afternoon attendance rather than an all-year care model. The setting was run by a parent committee and had five staff at the 2025 visit; those are dated operational facts rather than promises about the present team. Families should request the current attendance terms and a provider-specific written quotation directly from the pre-school.

• Teaching priorities. The September 2025 improvement points concerned staff questioning and children's access to mark-making tools. Ask how both priorities now appear in everyday activities.
• Term-time pattern. The September 2025 schedule was split into morning and afternoon sessions and closed for school holidays. Check that this pattern fits work and holiday-care needs.
• Practical costs. Families should ask what meals, snacks and non-food consumables they need to provide, and how funded hours are arranged.

Ashmore Pre-School suits families seeking a small, term-time setting for a two- to four-year-old, especially those choosing between morning and afternoon sessions. The 2025 Good judgement, secure key-person relationships and more challenging outdoor provision are meaningful positives. The two teaching priorities remain the right points to examine before joining.