Little Learners Pre-School (Private Nursery)

Name

Little Learners Pre-School (Private Nursery)

Legal name

Little Learners Day Nursery

Website

https://little-learners.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Little Learners is a privately held UK day nursery operator running three Ofsted-registered branches (South Croydon, West Croydon, Purley) providing EYFS childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 4 years, serving working families in the Croydon area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDACABAL

Preschool Programs within Childcare Centers

Education/Early Childhood Education/Preschools & Pre-K Programs

SECONDARYEDACACAB

Nursery School Programs (2–4 Years)

Education/Early Childhood Education/Nursery Schools & Playgroups

SECONDARYEDACABAB

Academic/School-Readiness Preschools

Education/Early Childhood Education/Preschools & Pre-K Programs

SECONDARYEDACAHAB

Extended Day Programs at Preschools & Childcare Centers

Education/Early Childhood Education/Before & After School Care (Early Years)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Private day nursery
• Childcare services
• EYFS curriculum
• Preschool childcare

Headquarters

HQ city

South Croydon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition/Fees: Primary revenue from weekly or monthly childcare fees paid in advance. Fees vary by session type (full day, half day, mornings, afternoons), number of days attended, and whether the child is funded or non-funded. Early drop-off and late collection sessions available at additional cost.
2. Government Early Years Funding: Revenue from government-funded childcare hours including Universal Funding (15 hours for 3-4 year olds), 30 hours Extended Funding for working parents (9 months+), and 2 Year Old RAS Funding for eligible families. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks.
3. Childcare Vouchers: Accepts childcare vouchers from multiple providers including Busy Bees, Computershare, Care-4, Edenred, Employers4Childcare, KiddiVouchers, Mid Counties Co-operative, and Sodexo, as well as Tax Free Childcare accounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Little Learners Pre-School operates three private day nursery branches in the Croydon area (South Croydon, West Croydon, and Purley) providing full-day and part-time childcare and early years education for children aged 6 weeks to 4–5 years. Services are delivered under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Birth to 5 Matters curriculum, with structured sessions (full day, extended day, morning, afternoon), free extra-curricular activities (French, Sports, Yoga), and parent engagement via Learning Journeys and a parent portal.

Product overview

Little Learners Pre-School operates as a unified day nursery childcare service with three physical branch locations (South Croydon, West Croydon, and Purley) providing early years education and childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. The core service follows the EYFS framework and Birth to 5 Matters curriculum, supplemented by extra-curricular activities (French, Sports, Yoga via external providers), government funding management, and childcare voucher payment processing. Each branch offers its own facilities while sharing centralized parent/staff portals, policies, and educational frameworks. Additional services include extended hours, food services with multicultural menus, online development tracking for parents, and CCTV/biometric security systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• South Croydon Nursery Branch Day nursery caring for children aged 6 weeks to 4 years featuring a two-floor layout with rooms for Under 2s and Over 2s, creative room, maths/science area, story area, role play room, and an extensive garden with climbing frame, trampoline, playhouse, animals, sand pit with pirate ship, and outdoor classroom.
• West Croydon Nursery Branch Modern purpose-built day nursery caring for children aged 6 weeks to 4 years, on a single level with a sectioned baby area, role play, sensory and creative areas, interactive screen, and free flow access to the garden.
• Purley Nursery Branch Day nursery located in Beaumont Primary School House caring for children aged 2–4 years, split across two floors with role play, writing area, story corner, interactive screen, creative area, cosy corner, and a garden with planting areas, sandpit, picnic area, climbing equipment, story area, and covered outdoor space.
• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum Programme Comprehensive early years curriculum covering seven learning areas (personal, social and emotional development; physical development; communication and language; literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; expressive arts and design), aligned with the Birth to 5 Matters curriculum.
• Childcare Sessions (Full Day, Extended Day, Morning, Afternoon) Multi-format childcare sessions offered to non-funded parents: Full Day (8:00am–6:00pm), Extended Day (8:30am–3:30pm), Morning (8:00am–1:30pm), and Afternoon (1:30pm–6:00pm), priced per day/week/month with bundles for 1–5 days per week.
• Extra-Curricular Activities (French, Sports, Yoga) Weekly rotation of French (La Raymondine Fun French), Sports (Totstars Academy), and Yoga (Your Beat) lessons delivered at all three branches at no extra cost to parents.
• Extended Hours and Ad-hoc Sessions Add-on childcare bookings for non-funded children: early drop-off (7:30am–8:00am) at £4.50/session, late collection (6:00pm–6:30pm) at £4.50/session, hourly rate of £15/hour, and 2.5-hour block sessions at £25, all subject to availability.
• Government Early Years Funding Management (30 Hours) Management and administration of 30 hours government-funded childcare for eligible working parents of children 9 months+, structured across 51 weeks per year, with paid top-up sessions for additional days/hours.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The Villa, CyprusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership offering Little Learners parents/carers a discounted price of £750 per week (with quote code 'LLearners£850') for their first booking, subject to availability. This leisure/travel partnership provides exclusive vacation access for nursery families.
• La Raymondine Fun FrenchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal French teacher visiting all three branches weekly on rotation to provide Fun French lessons to children at no additional charge.
• Totstars AcademyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal Sports provider visiting all three branches weekly on rotation to offer Sports lessons to children at no additional charge.
• Your BeatminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal Yoga provider visiting all three branches weekly on rotation to offer Yoga lessons to children at no additional charge.
• easyfundraisingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonation collection service allowing parents to make donations to nursery through their shopping. Unlike other sites, they don't take commission on donations or charge for using their services.
• NurseryWeb (FootfallCam Company)minorOthersWebsite hosting provider for Little Learners nursery website as indicated in footer.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kidsunlimited: UK nursery chain (part of the Bright Horizons group historically) operating full-day childcare for 0–5 year olds. Directly comparable product, customer, and delivery model.
• N Family Club: Premium London-focused nursery chain with multiple sites across Greater London. Comparable multi-site, premium-positioning operator serving affluent working parents — a direct head-to-head competitor in the South East catchment.
• Busy Bees: Largest UK nursery chain with hundreds of sites offering full-day childcare and EYFS curriculum. Directly comparable business model and customer base (parents of 0–5 year olds) with significantly greater scale.
• Grandir UK: UK arm of Grandir, a European early years operator, running multi-site nurseries with full-day childcare and government-funded hour processing — directly comparable operating model.
• Childbase Partnership: Employee-owned UK nursery group operating 40+ sites. Comparable premium multi-site nursery operator with EYFS-aligned curriculum, competing for the same working-parent segment.
• Family First Nurseries: Growing UK nursery group operating full-day childcare with government-funded hour acceptance. Comparable multi-site independent operator serving similar parent demographics.
• Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries: UK franchise nursery chain with a strong South East footprint. Comparable EYFS-based full-day nursery offering for 0–5 year olds, targeting working parents at similar price points to Little Learners.

Regional players

• Tops Day Nurseries: South of England-focused nursery chain offering full-day early years childcare. Comparable product and customer, though primarily regional rather than Greater London-focused.

Broad incumbents

• Co-op Childcare: UK nursery chain operated by the Midcounties Co-operative, offering full-day childcare and funded-hours acceptance. Larger incumbent competing in similar suburban catchments with broader brand trust.
• Bright Horizons: Publicly listed global nursery and early years operator with significant UK presence. Offers the same core nursery services plus employer-sponsored childcare, competing for the same parent segment in London/South East.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/little-learners-pre-school-private-nursery-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Little Learners Pre-School (Private Nursery)