Opening hours
Ace Nursery School: 8:50am-11:50am & 12:30pm-3:30pm (lunch 11:50am-12:30pm); Preschool: 9:00am-12:00pm / 9:00am-2:00pm; Childcare: 8:00am-6:00pm; Breakfast club from 8:00am and after-school club, subject to availability
The Ace Children's Centre
Ofsted: Expected standard·
4.3(6 parent reviews)
·Burford Road, Chipping Norton, OX7 5DZ · Oxfordshire
Number of places
40 places
Age range
0–3 yrs
Last inspected
Nov 2025
Local authority
Oxfordshire
About this day nursery
The Ace Children's Centre, located in Chipping Norton, has been providing childcare on non-domestic premises since 1998, catering to children aged 0-3 years. The setting operates year-round, with the pre-school provision running term-time only from 9am to 2pm, and the main centre open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays.
During their latest inspection on November 20, 2025, Ofsted rated the centre as 'Requires Improvement'. The inspectors highlighted the centre's strong focus on developing children's early literacy skills through stories and books, and acknowledged that all safeguarding standards are met.
Staff at Ace Children's Centre are praised for their knowledge of the local community and their efforts to encourage attendance by offering flexible care. They also gather detailed information from parents to help children, especially babies, settle in smoothly.
While the setting demonstrates a commitment to promoting healthy habits and independence during outdoor play, the report also points out areas for improvement in consistent teaching and staff training.
What it's like
The provider is developing the current curriculum to provide children with more consistency in their learning. Staff focus on supporting children's communication and language development and do so well. All children make steady progress at the setting, though there are weaknesses in staff having a secure knowledge of all policies, including aspects of the behaviour management policy. Children are greeted by warm and nurturing staff. Staff chat with children about the children's home lives and clearly know children and their families well; for example, they talk about pets, older siblings and grandparents. Children feel safe and secure and have warm relationships with staff and their friends. Children's safety and welfare are given a high priority. Leaders prioritise children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing.
Strong safeguardingEarly literacy focusCommunity-minded staffFlexible care options
Pricing & funding
Funding accepted
15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Pricing on request
This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.
Request pricing →Key facts
Session types
morning session, afternoon session, full day, wrap-around care, holiday playscheme, breakfast club, after-school club
Age range
3 months to 5 years
Term time / All Year
All_year
Established
1998
Ofsted Inspection — new report card
Expected standard
Last inspected Nov 2025
Grade summary
Exceptional
—
Strong standard
Expected standard
—
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
—
Each dot represents one of the six inspection categories. Headline is the average of the six grades, rounded up.
Category grades
AchievementNeeds attention
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routinesNeeds attention
Children's welfare and wellbeingStrong standard
Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
InclusionStrong standard
Leadership and governanceNeeds attention
Age range
0 to 3
Registers
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for The Ace Children's Centre
Last inspected 20 November 2025 · Hayley Marshall-Gowen
Actions the provider must take
- Improve and embed an ambitious education programme that consistently engages and clearly supports what individual children need to learn next to build on what they know and can do (by 25/03/2026).
- Develop effective systems for support, coaching and training for staff to ensure they have a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and that any inconsistencies in practice are swiftly addressed (by 25/03/2026).
What it's like to attend
The provider is developing the current curriculum to provide children with more consistency in their learning. Staff focus on supporting children's communication and language development and do so well. All children make steady progress at the setting, though there are weaknesses in staff having a secure knowledge of all policies, including aspects of the behaviour management policy. Children are greeted by warm and nurturing staff. Staff chat with children about the children's home lives and clearly know children and their families well; for example, they talk about pets, older siblings and grandparents. Children feel safe and secure and have warm relationships with staff and their friends. Children's safety and welfare are given a high priority. Leaders prioritise children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing.
Inspector highlights
- All staff recognise signs that children might be at risk of harm and take swift action to refer any concerns to safeguarding partners.
- There is a good focus on developing children's early literacy skills, with stories and books integral to children's learning.
- Staff know their local community well and actively encourage children's attendance, offering flexible care to meet local families' needs.
- Staff gather detailed information from parents to help children settle in, particularly for babies.
- Staff encourage children to learn about being healthy, promoting their independence during outdoor play.
- Children are delighted to see staff and their friends when they arrive at nursery.
- Relationships between staff and children are warm, kind and nurturing.
- Children are learning to be independent as they pour their own drinks at snack time and have age-appropriate cups.
- Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive superb support.
- Leaders and staff prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of all of the children.
- Leaders have rigorous systems in place to support children's regular attendance, with absences followed up routinely.
- Leaders work closely with other professionals to provide appropriate support for children.
Areas to develop
- 1Inconsistencies in teaching mean that children do not consistently remain engaged with activities and resources. This leads to children wandering from activity to activity without focus. They move away from planned learning activities that do not appropriately match their learning needs or capture their interest.
- 2Positive behaviour is not consistently modelled by all staff.
- 3Staff do not have high expectations for children's behaviour and attitudes to learning.
- 4The lack of an exciting and ambitious curriculum leads to children not being engaged. This, in turn, leads to weaknesses in children's behaviour.
- 5Not all changes and improvements to the curriculum are fully embedded. There are still some differences in practice across the provision, and this means staff are not consistently providing high-quality interactions with all children to assess what children know and can do.
- 6Leaders do not target staff training well enough for it to drive improvement in teaching and staff practice.
Inspection #10382997 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
The setting recognises when children's progress does not meet expectations and takes action to focus support on these areas to close any developmental gaps. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive superb support. With the skilled guidance of leaders and managers, staff are particularly effective at identifying and supporting children with SEND. They expertly use their knowledge of each child to put personalised strategies in place, which they regularly review. Staff signpost parents to a range of professionals to support children with SEND. Leaders source additional funding for some children's specific needs, using it for fortnightly sessions to promote physical development and personal, social and emotional skills.
Outdoor space
Children enjoy outdoor play where staff praise them as they climb, balance and slide on equipment as they strengthen their muscles and increase their physical skills. These activities contribute towards children being fit, active and learning about how to look after their bodies. Children are encouraged to remove outdoor clothes themselves as they come in from the garden. Adults plan carefully to support children's physical development. Babies safely explore, and older children gain confidence on bicycles and tricycles using outdoor play.
EAL / language support
The setting recognises when children's progress does not meet expectations and takes action to focus support on these areas to close any developmental gaps. This is especially beneficial for children who speak English as an additional language, who quickly begin to use English fluently.
Parent Reviews of The Ace Children's Centre
4.3
(6)
Ed Arthur
7 years ago
Great pre-school and nursery. Good facilities and well-trained, friendly and dedicated staff. Great community spirit amongst parents. Fantastically supportive, creative and safe environment for kids to learn and grow in. Highly recommended.
Read on Google
Sharon Mander
3 years ago
Amazing, caring staff. Very thoughtful and helpful. Would highly recommend
Read on Google
Charlotte Bradbury
7 years ago
Fantastic, caring staff and a lovely environment.
Read on Google
Stuart Carter
7 years ago
Excellent place
Read on Google
Marta Masqué
7 years ago
Reviews from Google for The Ace Children's Centre. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Date: January 2009
The most recent inspection point has been hidden because the parsed entry didn't match the headline Ofsted rating (Requires improvement). We're re-checking it against the original report.
- March 2025Requires improvement
- October 2019Outstanding
- April 2015Outstanding
- October 2011Outstanding
- January 2009Outstanding
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