The Town Nursery

An Old Convent, two former school halls and a secure courtyard give The Town Nursery a character of its own. Its home in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church combines domestic rooms for younger children with high-ceilinged halls and large windows. There is outdoor space behind the church and presbytery as well as the courtyard, so the setting extends beyond its main building.

At its August 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and described close relationships that helped children feel secure enough to explore and try things for themselves. The improvement priorities deserve attention too, especially mathematics and children's understanding of safe technology use.

The nursery accepts children from birth to five and has 57 places in total. Attendance centres on a daytime session, with extra care at either end; nursery-school 15-hour funded term-time sessions are offered only in the afternoon.

Rooms and Ages

Nursery 1 accepts children from three months to 2.5 years, with capacity for nine of the youngest children in the Old Convent's domestic-style rooms. Nursery 2 also covers three months to 2.5 years, describing its children as slightly older, with capacity for 12 and accommodation divided into smaller areas. Nursery School 3 covers 2.5 to 3.5 years, with room capacity of 12. Nursery School 4 takes children from 3.5 years until starting school, with capacity for 24.

These room capacities are separate from the nursery's 57 places in total.

The main house and two former school halls give the accommodation its character. Tall ceilings and large windows bring light into the rooms, while a secure courtyard behind the building and further outdoor space behind the church extend the places children can use.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: it brings communication, physical development and everyday learning together through the nursery day.

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that carefully paced teaching helped children understand topics in depth, while identifying mathematics and purposeful, safe technology use as areas requiring further development. In August 2023, children discussed how bees and frogs grow and change, while older children understood the different contributions of authors and illustrators.

Literacy also reached beyond story time in August 2023. Older children met authors, went to local bookshops and produced stories and books of their own. Drawing familiar book characters involved learning the component skills in stages. For a parent, the useful connection is between listening to stories, understanding how books are made and trying the creative work themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

Community Bonding takes learning into the surrounding town through planned outings. Destinations include Pool Meadow, Banbury Road Woods, the Market and the Theatre, alongside everyday places such as Aldi and CoOp. This gives children opportunities to connect nursery experiences with places and activities beyond the building.

The outing arrangements are concrete: children use high-visibility jackets, walk with a partner or travel in pushchairs, and a first aider accompanies the group. These details matter when assessing how excursions fit a child's age and mobility. The courtyard at the rear and the additional grounds behind the church provide outdoor options within the setting too.

In August 2023, older children's outdoor activities involved movement and balance, while furniture and resources indoors encouraged babies to move in different ways. Visits to residential homes also brought children into contact with older people. Both examples broadened the day beyond seated activities and the immediate nursery group.

Sleep has its own physical provision. The youngest children use a dedicated sleep room with individual bedding and sleeping bags, while Nursery 2 and Nursery School 3 have individual mattresses and bedding for a rest after the midday meal. For families comparing baby care, the separate sleep room is a more useful detail than a general promise of comfort.

Sleep checks take place regularly, and durations are entered in the Tapestry Care diary. Bedding for the youngest children is washed at the end of their nursery week.

Personal care equipment is included in the fees. The nursery supplies nappies, wipes and creams, including plastic-free, fragrance-free baby wipes, plus cotton wool and water or baby lotion. Changes are recorded in the children's areas, and soiled changes are added to the Tapestry care diary during the day. That gives families a concrete channel for routine care information.

The staff structure includes designated safeguarding lead roles, an oral health officer and a practitioner with mental health first-aid training. Generalist safeguarding and food-hygiene training receive yearly in-house updates, and most staff have paediatric first-aid training.

In August 2023, children helped with familiar domestic tasks such as hanging washing and keeping their surroundings tidy. Such activities gave them small responsibilities within the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The main session runs from 9am to 4pm, with a minimum booking of two sessions each week. Additional care can be attached from 8am to 9am and from 4pm to 6pm. Families can therefore distinguish the main daytime booking from the extra periods needed around work or other commitments.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am until 6pm, across 51 weeks of the year. Bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year are closures. That calendar is relevant for families who need care beyond school terms, while the minimum weekly booking matters even where the individual session times fit.

The nursery-school 15-hour funded term-time sessions are offered only from 1pm to 4pm, subject to availability and child ratios. Extra ad hoc sessions may be booked when space and staffing ratios permit, with a separate extra-session charge.

Getting There

The address is 24 London Road, Chipping Norton, OX7 5AX, in the Old Convent within the grounds of Holy Trinity Church. The nursery is a five minute walk from the town centre.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for children aged two, three and four. The entitlements described are the universal 15 hours, beginning in the term after a child's third birthday, and an extended 15 hours for qualifying families. Funding runs over 38 weeks during term time, so its calendar differs from the nursery's year-round operation.

Meals and snacks, alongside personal care equipment, are included in the fees; food comes freshly prepared from the kitchen each day, and children participate by preparing snack plates, pouring milk from small china jugs and clearing their tableware. The nursery caters for dietary requirements and requires families to give medical and dietary information before their child starts.

Private sessions and additional care sit alongside the funded offer. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The important comparison is the attendance pattern being purchased: the main daytime session, its extra periods and funded afternoons serve different weekly needs.

• Youngest children's sleep. A dedicated sleep room, individual bedding and recorded sleep durations are part of the care arrangements. Use a visit to discuss how these routines would fit your baby's sleeping pattern.
• Learning priorities. Mathematics and safe, purposeful technology use were improvement priorities in August 2023. Ask how number, shape and technology learning now fit into children's everyday activities.
• Two different calendars. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, while funding covers 38 term-time weeks and the nursery-school funded afternoon runs from 1pm to 4pm. Compare the full weekly booking and holiday requirements before committing.
• Dietary arrangements. Medical and dietary requirements must be supplied before a child starts. Families managing allergies should confirm the current food-handling arrangements for their child's needs.

The Town Nursery suits families considering a 9am-to-4pm daytime booking with optional care before and afterwards, as well as those seeking the conditional funded term-time afternoon pattern. The convent rooms, dedicated sleep provision and town outings give the choice tangible substance.

The August 2023 Good judgement sits alongside specific learning strengths and clear improvement priorities. For younger children, the dedicated sleep room and care diary are useful decision points; for older children, the connection between books, creative activities and experiences beyond nursery is the stronger draw. The best fit depends on room placement and the attendance calendar matching the family's needs.