If I could give Walton Park zero stars it would be generous. Beware and look at other schools!…read more Don't be fooled by the owners used car salesman business philosophy. Like most businesses, some of the staff can be great (like Connie) but they by themselves can't overcome poisonous ownership.

4 years ago my wife and I set out on the daunting task of finding a preschool for our first child…read more We had a very specific set of criteria in mind (no more than 15 mins from home OR work, no more than a 4:1 ratio for newborns, a reliable development/education program that prepared for school, and a caring, honest staff) and set out on a series of site visits and interviews before committing to enrollment. As luck would have it, and somewhat surprising to me at the time, The Goddard School at Walton Park was the first school we visited and was the heads and tails winner amongst the schools we sampled. The school has a separate Owner (Ted) and Education Director (Connie), which I really liked because it allows each to focus on their respective fortes. I take pride in asking really difficult questions and Ted passed our interview with flying colors. Not only did he go to great lengths to explain the multitude of reasons why we should enroll at The Goddard School, he did so without a single cross word about ANY of his competitors. Connie was equally impressive in our conversation, explaining the details of the Goddard development philosophy and how that tied into their preschool educational plan. Both are incredibly personable, warm, and approachable. Also, a great selling point for us is that Connie is a retired nurse, FANTASTIC to have on site. From the handmade artwork that I receive daily, to the personalized reports that are sent home each day, to the cleanliness of the facility, to the exceptional teaching staff, to the special events like Summer Cookouts, to the on-site amenities like Little Kicks (through the Richmond Kickers), The Goddard School has exceeded our expectations in just about every way. Folks tend to knock TGS for not providing lunch for their children; frankly, I like the ability to tailor our lunches to the specific likes and dislikes of our kids. While schools like Primrose may provide lunch, it is a single option each day and pickier (or diet-restricted) children may be out of luck. When you throw in perks like a multi-child discount and referral bonus, it is 5 Star all the way around. The entire staff goes out of their way to make not only the children, but also the parents, feel like a family. In summation, we love it here and are pretty sure that you will, too.

Excellent equipment! Many options available! Staff is very helpful! Wonderful Medicare benefit!!read more

I love the outdoor pool very clean ,and life guards are taking care of every swimmer ..I love the…read morespirit very nice

We could not be happier with our experience here! We have been bringing our son since August 2024…read moreand we have always felt comfortable with the care he receives, and the teachers and administrators at the center are responsive and helpful when needed.

I wish I could give this daycare zero stars! They have an unrealistic expectation of child…read moredevelopment. During a tour, I thought it would be a safe and nurturing learning environment for my son. I explained to ALMA LUYANDA, the director, that my son has speech delays, is very energetic, and doesn't listen well. She assured me that it was just two-year-olds and that they could handle him without any problems. Despite the high price of $366 a week, I decided to move forward with this place. However, shortly after she started getting my money, on the fourth day (less than a week later), she called me into her office to discuss concerns about my son opening doors and not napping. At the end of the conversation, she asked me to "talk" to my two-year-old about the rules. This was strange to me, but I tried. I developed this outrageous anxiety daily, trying to watch my son on their cameras to see if he was truly doing anything wrong. Over the next three weeks, I received three incident reports and was instructed to pick him up twice. All these incidents were completely within the scope of what a two-and-a-half-year-old would do. Instead of making efforts to create a safer environment for impulsive toddlers, they chose to blame the child and their ability to self-regulate. The second time they called me to pick up my child for opening doors, I asked, "Are you asking me to leave my job because my son is doing something a two-year-old is supposed to do? I pay you almost $400 a week for you to keep him safe?" Alma lost her patience and kept telling me he wasn't being safe. I explained that's why I pay you to do the job of keeping him safe because I can't do my job and keep him safe. I asked if I would get any kind of compensation or discount going forward. Alma explained that I wasn't because the rate is the same. Then she said she was short-staffed (I did know one of his teachers was out for her birthday, and I love her, but that's not her fault), so they couldn't watch him that closely because it's a big group. That simply doesn't matter to me because the price was the same, and you, as a manager, have to figure that out. I shouldn't be inconvenienced because you're short-staffed. She then explained that I would have to find a new daycare, but I had already paid for the upcoming week. My son's father went to get my son, and I asked him if I was getting a refund or if they planned on keeping my son. Alma also lost her patience with him and called the police, lying and saying he was threatening her! Which never happened. She banned him from the property and filed a police report! It feels like it's race-driven and not a conducive environment for toddlers. In reality, my child is just larger than most and has access to things that many of his age wouldn't have, but he has the same maturity and physical development as any other child his age. I am extremely disappointed by the sheer disrespect and lack of customer service I received. My son is a happy, friendly, and curious kid. He shouldn't be penalized for that.. All in all, I would recommend no one bring their children to this daycare unless they are robots that listen to everything they are told regardless of age. I am very disappointed!

I really cannot say enough great things about the day care. My son has attended since he was 8…read moreweeks old and is now almost a year and a half. The bonds that he has developed with the teachers and management are not like any other I have ever seen with other children in other facilities. The teachers truly care about the children, even checking up on them when they are out sick. If/when behavioral issues arise, they really partner with the parents so the child has uniform expectations and consequences of action. The facility in the West End is top notch. They are regularly inspected by the State and have not had an infraction since I enrolled my son over a year ago.

Children are abused here. They are bitten, pinched, forced to sit in chairs, cursed at and…read moredegraded, they are threatened. The teachers know which kids they can do what to; for instance, they know where the cameras are, and they know the 1-2 year olds won't repeat threats. Management is complicit, and they turn their eyes to the abuse because they are afraid of their family-owned business being under scrutiny. One of the members of management told a one year old girl she needed to lay still so she could get her "pussy" cleaned. Kids are regularly told, "If you were my kid, you wouldn't sit down for a week," things like that. I reported the abuse but they did nothing because I didn't realize how widespread it was; multiple teachers laugh when a teacher is "fed up" and threatens a kid. They all do it. It is terrifying. These kids can't defend themselves, and they can't tell us that it's happening, but it is awful and they need help. ​

this is a truly special place. We move our daughter here after having a "OK "experience at another…read moreschool, but we wanted to be near friends. They have truly exceeded our expectations in every way. Every member of the staff knows my children's names. They know what they like. They comfort them when they're sad, they seem truly interested in their personalities, and they check on us when kids are home sick. I've walked in midday to pick up a sick child and found them being snuggled and held, asleep in the arms of a loving teacher or staff member.t You hear things about how schools feel like family, and Primrose Midlothian truly does. I'm actually tearing up writing this review because I am so grateful for the wonderful people that love our children, and how lucky we feel to be part of this community.

Some wonderful teachers who seem to leave. Management seems unhappy, not a loving environment…read more feedback about children weeks after an event happened. Focusing on academics at three years old instead of a loving fun environment. Classroom is chaotic.

Literally the BEST daycare I have ever been blessed enough to find . The lessons she installs in…read morethe kids as well as the pictures and videos and updates . She actually loves what she do and you can tell the difference . Also, you will never leave her lol

From the owner: My Child Development Program is State Licensed set in a Family Day Home environment. The program is…read moreowned and operated by a member who as earned the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. This is a Nationally recognized program. Pineapple Haven offers a safe and nurturing environment with a focus on culture, art, teachable moments and best of all, play. Learning is play-based and educational sparking creativity, problem-solving and more. Our program accepts Military Fee Reimbursement and Subsidy

Capital City Childcare Is a life saver! My chore of finding a babysitter when you need one is over…read morebecause now a sitter is a couple of clicks away! I had my first experience with using CCC last week. The day before my appointment I received a profile of the sitter with very detailed explanations of her experience and a picture! The next night she arrived on time and immediately started interacting with the kids. They were asking her questions and telling her the bedtime rules before I could get a word in. She took everything with stride and the kids were instantly won over. I had a brief discussion with her about where I was going and what time the kids needed to go to bed, we exchanged numbers and I was out the door! When I got home the house was so clean! It was like the 3 kids were not even there and even better than that all three were sound asleep! I signed the time log and she was on her way. I didn't even have to have cash to figure out what to pay because CCC takes care of that for me. I am looking forward to the next time I need a sitter now!!!

From the owner: Full time nanny placement Part time nanny placement…read moreGuaranteed on call sitter placement

About two month's after our child had transitioned to the 3yo classroom, we started to notice marks…read moreon her that weren't there when she was dropped off. Now we understand that as kids get older they become more adventurous and curious about their environment and other children. Accidents happen and we understand that, but in our case these "Accidents" were happening weekly, sometimes twice a week. The first incident: We were told that close to the end of the day the Assistant head of school and the classroom teacher were cleaning up, getting ready to take the kids to the play room for final pickup. They heard our daughter crying and turned around to find her crying on the floor. They tended to her writing an incident report stating that she had fallen out of a chair. When I went to pick her up I was notified about the incident and or course I checked out my daughter for injuries. When I saw how severe the injury was I started to question just how far she fell. So I went back inside asking to see where the incident happened and I was shown to her classroom. I was told she fell out of her chair and hit her face on the table. The mark on her face was basically a black eye, the chair is maybe 2 ft. off the ground and the table 4ft. How is it possible for her to fall hard enough to hit her face on the table and cause a black eye? The logic doesn't add up unless you add that my child was standing on the chair and fell from higher up before hitting her face. This brings up the question of why was she allowed to stand in a chair? Why wasn't she being told to get down, or removed from the chair prior to an incident happening? This was the first incident that made me question. Two days later I arrive to pick up my child and there is another incident report that I have to sign. This time a bookshelf had fallen on my child. Yes you read that right, a bookshelf fell on my child. This caused a bloody nose and a bruise on her face. When I questioned how something like this could happen, they explained to me that because their daycare is so new they hadn't had time to have the bookshelves secured to wall. They apologized and ensured that a ticket had been inputted to have the shelves secured to the wall. Now this is not 100% on the daycare. From what they explained the children like to climb on the bookshelves to reach books higher up. This was probably the case for my daughter, but there are a few problems with this. One, why are the children allowed to climb on a bookshelf. Even if it's secured to the wall, what happens if they fall off? Second, if they aren't allowed to climb on the bookshelf, why wasn't my child told not climb the bookshelf? Who was supposed to be paying attention to her to ensure her safety? Third, why isn't the security of the furniture within the classroom a higher priority? Furniture being secured is a basic necessity for a child care program to ensure the safety of all children that attend the school. Cabinets should have locks, same with drawers, same with furniture. This was not the case until after a child got hurt. The Third incident was the final straw for me. About 2 weeks later, I went to pick up my child and all of the kids were outside playing. I went into the playground picking up my child and I noticed she had a bruise on her face. I proceeded to ask her what happened and she told me she was hit in the face with a stick by another child. Now once again, children will be children. I cannot expect that everything would be caught and prevented. Especially for toddlers. So when this occurred I took her to the teacher that was supposed to be watching the kids outside, and she had no idea what had happened. Mind you there are about 10-15 kids outside. There was only 1 teacher. I then took her to the assistant head of school and asked why wasn't I notified about this, and again I was met with an I don't know. This time there was no incident report.

The Guidepost Team truly takes the cake for care, attention to detail, and overall what it means to…read morebe a great Montessori School. Upon my first meeting with Richard, he was extremely nice and professional. We were able to partner up and complete multiple facility projects. When it comes to professionalism Richard and his team, could put on a a conference about how they are extremely responsive and attentive. This is what sets Guidepost apart from others. Whether that is me calling in and getting an immediate answer about a project or meeting on site to walk through the building's exterior and interior. When it comes to Child Care and Development, Richard and his team have taken this to the next step by offering the warmest and welcoming facilities I have been to. Each room and the set up of the entire building has a flow that encompasses growth but simultaneously comfort. It's evident their focus here is the children and I believe that is truly their differentiating factor. 10 out 10, 6 Stars if I could! Thank you Richard, and the Guidepost Team for this continued partnership we look forward to the years to come!