Jan's Little Learners

Jan's Little Learners

Unique reference number (URN): 2813149 Address: 125-127 King Street, Wallasey, Wirral, Merseyside, CH44 0BZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 01/10/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Jan's Little Learners Ltd

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Needs attention

Some children do not make the progress they are capable of because the curriculum and learning opportunities do not help them to consistently build on what they already know and can do. Consequently, gaps in children's knowledge do not close at a steady and sustained pace. Learning experiences are not always carefully planned to meet the diverse needs of all children. As a result, children are less able to engage meaningfully and often move away from activities. Some children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not provided with learning experiences that precisely meet their individual needs. This limits their opportunities to achieve and make good progress.

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Achievement Needs attention

However, some children make suitable progress in aspects of their development. For example, some children engage in social interactions and begin to play cooperatively alongside their peers. They develop confidence when using resources, such as climbing and using the slide. Children demonstrate increasing independence as they seek help from staff when needed and explain that they understand how to use equipment safely.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children's wellbeing is generally supported. However, there are some inconsistencies in how staff support children's behaviour. Occasionally, they do not provide sufficient or clear explanations to children. For example, when children climb on a table, they are told 'no', with no further explanation or guidance. This does not help them to modify their behaviour or understand expectations.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff are positive role models. They know that for children to engage in their learning, they need to feel safe. Staff spend time building positive relationships with all children so that they are able to support them. However, weaknesses in risk assessment and the organisation of the environment mean that children are not always supported to feel consistently safe and secure. Leaders and staff are aware of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. On occasion, the support provided is not sufficiently matched to improving children's behaviour or routines and does not keep up with their changing circumstances. In addition, leaders have not established a fully consistent approach to behaviour management across the setting. As a result, staff do not always use clear or effective strategies to support children's behaviour, which leads to inconsistencies in practice and expectations.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children's attendance is prioritised by leaders. They work collaboratively with parents and carers to support children and their families. For example, leaders have adapted children's times of attendance to fit in with family life. This means children regularly attend, which supports the development of positive routines in preparation for school.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The curriculum is not yet fully implemented and lacks ambition for all children. This means that, on occasion, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), wander without purpose and do not engage meaningfully in activities. Staff observe and assess children's needs. However, they do not use this information consistently to plan precise next steps or build on what children already know and can do. As a result, teaching does not support children to deepen their knowledge or develop secure foundations in key areas of learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Some activities lack a clear intent. For example, when exploring the life cycle of frogs, staff are unclear about what they want children to learn or how this supports their development. In addition, the organisation of the learning environment is not effective. Rooms are cluttered, with too many resources available at once or activities not set up or maintained to sustain children's engagement and enjoyment. This creates an inconducive environment, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as it makes it difficult for these children to concentrate and stay motivated to learn. Consequently, children do not engage consistently in purposeful play and do not make the progress they are capable of.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders and staff recognise that children need to feel safe and secure to learn. Staff build positive relationships with children, helping them to settle and feel emotionally secure. Leaders emphasise the importance of communication and language. Staff provide opportunities for children to listen to stories, sing songs and engage in some conversation. For example, children access a wide range of books, and older children independently select books to share with their peers, supporting early literacy skills. However, staff do not consistently adapt their interactions or use effective strategies to meet the differing communication needs of all children, including those with SEND. This results in missed opportunities to model language, extend children's thinking and support their understanding. As a result, children do not develop the strong communication and language skills they need, and gaps in learning are not reduced.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Some children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not receive consistently effective support to help them learn. Staff do not adapt teaching or activities well enough to meet these children's individual needs. This means that barriers to learning are not reduced effectively. As a result, some children lose focus, wander around the room and do not engage in meaningful learning. These weaknesses limit the progress that they are capable of making.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders and staff assess children's development and identify gaps in their learning. They know the children and their families well and build positive relationships with parents to support continuity of care. Leaders have used additional funding to purchase resources, such as wobble boards, to help children regulate their behaviour. They are beginning to consider reasonable adjustments to meet children's needs. Leaders also work with other professionals, such as special educational needs advisers and speech and language therapists, to support children and their families.

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Urgent improvement

However, leaders do not ensure that staff consistently apply their knowledge, training or external advice in practice. As a result, adaptations to teaching are not implemented effectively, and actions taken to support children with SEND have not yet led to sustained improvements in their learning and progress.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Children do not always experience a consistently safe or well-managed environment. Not all areas of the premises are clean or well maintained. Resources, both indoors and outdoors, are not checked thoroughly before children have access to them. For example, children play in soil that has not been fully checked to ensure that there are no hidden hazards. This means children encounter risks that could have been identified and reduced.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Staff do not always ensure that they have the information they need to care for children safely. On occasion, children attend without all relevant details in place, including essential contact and care information. This prevents staff from fully understanding and meeting children's needs, particularly when children are new or unsettled.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

At times, the level of supervision and interaction is variable. Some children, particularly babies, experience periods where staff engagement is limited. For instance, there are occasions when very little communication is heard between staff and children. This affects how well children's emotional needs are met and reduces opportunities to support their early communication and language development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Despite this, children are generally happy and appear settled. They form close attachments to key staff and seek them out for comfort and reassurance when needed. Staff respond with warmth, for example, by holding and soothing younger children and helping older children to play sociably with their friends.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that statutory requirements are met consistently. They do not maintain effective oversight of key areas, including risk assessment, admissions procedures and the organisation of the learning environment. Required information is not always obtained before children attend, and leaders do not implement risk assessments effectively. These weaknesses result in breaches that compromise children's safety and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders have appropriate systems in place, including policies for admissions and risk assessment. However, they do not ensure that these are followed consistently in practice. Leaders do not provide staff with sufficient support, training and guidance to implement the curriculum effectively or meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This contributes to inconsistencies in teaching and slows children's progress. Leaders identify some weaknesses and take initial steps to address these. However, they do not spend sufficient time monitoring staff practice. This limits their ability to identify weaknesses promptly, provide effective support and drive sustained improvement.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Staff do not consistently identify, assess or reduce risks in the environment. For example, hazards such as dirty floors, unsafe and broken resources, and trailing cables are not addressed promptly. Outdoors, risk assessments are not sufficiently robust. Children access areas where hazards have not been fully checked, including unsafe materials in the soil. This means that children's safety is not assured at all times. In addition, weaknesses in admission procedures mean that, on occasion, children attend without essential information in place. This limits staff's ability to meet children's needs and respond appropriately in an emergency. Weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching mean that children do not make as much progress as they could. Staff do not consistently plan or deliver learning experiences that build on what children know and can do. Consequently, children's learning, particularly in communication, language and physical development, is not consistently well supported.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children do not consistently benefit from a well organised, stimulating or purposeful learning environment. Staff do not routinely prepare activities at the start of the day, and resources remain cluttered and poorly presented. This makes it difficult for children to make independent choices or sustain their play. At times, staff do not interact enough with children, particularly in the baby room, which limits opportunities for children to hear and develop language. As a result, some children spend periods without meaningful engagement or interaction.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Despite this, children show that they feel happy and settled. They arrive confidently, separate from their parents and carers with ease and are eager to join their friends. Children form secure relationships with staff and seek them out for comfort when needed. For example, babies enjoy being cuddled, rocked and sung to, which supports their emotional wellbeing. When staff engage more effectively, children enjoy looking at books, singing familiar songs and taking part in shared play. Older children begin to cooperate with others, such as when building together, which supports their developing social skills.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

design and implement an ambitious curriculum that is carefully sequenced to help all children gain the most from the learning opportunities provided 29/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

support staff to adapt their teaching styles to help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make the best possible progress from their starting points 29/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that staff know and understand the risk assessments and these are consistently followed to remove or minimise potential risks 29/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that there are systems in place, which are consistently followed to obtain information about 29/05/2026

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Address:

125-127 King Street Wallasey Wirral Merseyside CH44 0BZ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Jan's Little Learners Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Action Completion Date

children prior to them being admitted to the setting

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Action Completion Date

ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing children's behaviour 29/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve monitoring of staff practice to ensure consistent risk management and effective support for children's learning 29/05/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the leader, staff, children and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Local authority: Wirral

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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