KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, our management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based upon that evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of January 3, 2026 due to the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as described below. However, after giving full consideration to the material weakness described below, the Company's management has concluded that its consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods disclosed in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 3, 2026 based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework(2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that the Company's internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of January 3, 2026 due to the material weakness described below.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We did not design and maintain effective IT general controls for information systems that are relevant to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Specifically, we did not design and maintain: (i) program change management controls to ensure that program and data changes are identified, tested, authorized and implemented appropriately; (ii) user access controls to ensure appropriate segregation of duties and to adequately restrict user and privileged access to appropriate personnel; and (iii) computer operations controls to ensure that processing and transfer of data, and data backups and recovery are monitored.

This material weakness did not result in a misstatement to the consolidated financial statements, however, it could result in misstatements potentially impacting the annual or interim financial statements that would result in a material misstatement to the financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 3, 2026 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Remediation Plan for the Material Weakness

During the quarter ended January 3, 2026, we made progress toward remediating the material weakness in IT general controls previously identified. Management continued to test, document, monitor, remediate and improve the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls in user access, change management, and computer operations to make further progress toward remediation of the identified material weakness, to respond to changes in the internal control environment (including those resulting from the enterprise resource planning system implementation), to correct deficiencies in IT general controls and other controls, and to preserve the effectiveness of existing internal controls.

Our remediation plan for fiscal 2026 includes the continuation of our fourth quarter remediation activities as well as training relevant personnel on the design and operation of IT general controls, implementing new IT tools, and standardizing business processes and reporting. Management regularly reports to the Audit Committee on its progress and will continue to do so in fiscal 2026. With the oversight of the Audit Committee, management expects to continue to implement the remediation plan in fiscal 2026 relating to the material weakness. While we have made progress toward remediating the material weakness, the material weakness will not be considered remediated until the enhanced controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that the related controls are effective.

No system of controls, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the system of controls will be met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control deficiencies or any material weakness have been or will be detected. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, and actions we may take in the future, will be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that led to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting or that they will prevent or avoid potential future material weakness. Additionally, our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The fourth quarter remediation activities described above are changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended January 3, 2026 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.