We are so lucky to have found this Goddard school! Kendra, who has a heart of gold and a true love…read morefor children, opened this school in April. When we initially met her at our tour, we just knew that she was in this field for all the right reasons. Our boys started at the school when it opened, and their teachers have been amazing. Their primary teacher, Miss Katie, has been so loving, and cares about our boys in the most genuine way. They have come so far with her and Miss JaVonne, and we feel so lucky that our boys are in her class. The school director, Molly, has a background in speech therapy, which is so evident in how she has been supporting our children's development. Thank you for giving our boys such a loving and safe transition into preschool! We are forever grateful

From the owner: At The Goddard School located in Richmond, we're more than just a daycare. The Goddard School is a…read moreprivate preschool, offering childcare to infants and toddlers to pre-k. Our programs are designed to nurture each child's curiosity in a safe and caring environment.

Update: Initially, I was hopeful my report to the Department of Social Services would be…read moresufficient, but unfortunately, the "investigation" let me down. I reported Celebree School of Henrico for the following violations: Special Care Provisions, Emergencies, and Staffing and Supervision. On August 18, 2025, I received the daily report for my daughter, who was exclusively breastfed, which reported she was offered and took 4oz of formula. Celebree's response was nonchalant, and that it was entered incorrectly. The investigator agreed, even though she and I both uncovered that they had gone back into my daughter's report and changed days and weeks of data regarding feeding. Given this incident and the previous, recent violation in February 2025, where staff mistakenly fed a child another child's breastmilk, I find that hard to believe. Regarding the Staffing and Supervision violation, oftentimes, my daughter's teacher(s) had not arrived when she was dropped off, and she would have to go to the other infant room, meaning the 1:4 ratio was exceeded. We'd drop off a teary-eyed girl and pick up a hungry, sad, and sleepy girl. As new parents, we wrongly assumed that it was normal or that there would be an adjustment period. As time passed, it became clear her basic needs were not being met. My biggest regret, one I feel guilty to this day, was not unenrolling sooner. My hope in sharing this new information with other parents is simply that how you interpret and what you do with it is ultimately up to you. Trusting someone and someplace with your child is not easy, and I wish all parents nothing but the best care. (End)

When my daughter started it was great. The teachers in her room was fantastic. but…read more.... for the amount I paid a month was insane and having to provide lunch on top of it was a downfall. Also they tell you very last minute when school is going to be closed unless you search through the handbook and write it down and remember yourself and you still have to pay for the days they are closed when most places wont charge you for that. The first classroom she was in was such an amazing experience , and i must say the people who run the place are very pleasant! but... When my daughter went to the next classroom because she was getting older, i noticed almost everyday it was a new teacher, and they never acknowledged you when you came to pick up your kid. There was only 1 or 2 teachers that were nice and friendly , the rest was a different person almost everyday i couldnt keep up and i had no idea any of there names. & then one day i went to get my daughter and she wasnt in the normal classroom , nor was she in the classroom that age group goes in towards the end of the day and none of the teachers knew where she was so i was furious and panicked i had to run to every classroom searching for her and i shouldve complained then and there but i didnt.. i found her and left and knew her last day was coming up so i let it go because she was safe in a younger classroom but that specifically made me grateful to leave.. Also, the teachers would complain that what i packed for lunch was not healthy and they would tell her she cant eat it... so why have us provide lunch if you wont feed it to them , i had a lot of issues after she moved from the 3 year old classroom to the 4 year old classroom. started off great, ended badly. It is a safe place very guarded nobody can enter or leave without a code and the front desk always knows who is who picking up which kid so that part i did like a lot. So very mixed review!

Our 3.5-year-old son started at La Petite Academy of Glen Allen about a month ago, and he comes…read morehome every day saying his school is "amazing" and his teachers are "wonderful" -- hard to beat that review from the actual customer. Pam, the director, clearly cares deeply about the kids and makes every family feel welcome from day one. The teachers we've worked with have all been excellent: very professional, communicative, and organized, but they still keep things fun and playful for the kids. We came from another daycare in the area and can say with confidence that La Petite is a massive upgrade. In just a few weeks, we've seen marked improvements in our son's behavior and how he interacts with other kids. There is a strong emphasis on the classroom as a community, and it really shows--children seem to learn how to play well together, take turns, and be considerate classmates. The structure and expectations in the classroom feel age-appropriate but still set them up for success. I can very easily see our son being more than ready for kindergarten in a couple of years. They keep the kids busy in the best way -- every day our son is learning something new, with lots of hands-on activities and exploration. The app is also fantastic; we get tons of updates and photos throughout the day so we always feel connected to what he's doing. My only (very minor) gripe is the parking lot -- it's a bit small and can get chaotic during peak drop-off and pickup times. But honestly, that's a small trade-off for the level of care and education our son is getting. Overall, we're extremely happy we made the switch and highly recommend La Petite of Glen Allen to other families.

I chose La Petite Academy because of the proximity to work, the rate and hours. The teachers were…read moredecent. I do not agree with how they do many things so ended up going elsewhere. An item went missing from my son's belongings. Instead of trying to find out how/why, the blame was placed on him for bringing it to the facility.

When we were hit with some changes to our current child care situation, it prompted us to begin a…read moresearch for other options because mama needs consistency. I wasn't looking for childcare in the Short Pump area because for us, the location has us backtracking based on where we live and work, but I decided to pop in anyway. I am so glad that I did. I grew up going to daycare and loved it, but let me tell you it has come a LONG long way since those days. I popped in to TLE unannounced and the director was still happy to give me a tour and tell me all about their center. The children were napping, so it was quite a productive tour. I got to see my son's potential classroom, meet his teacher (who was lovely and made a great impression), and I was already liking what I saw. But! Then, when she showed me the indoor play areas and gym, I was sold. I've never seen anything like this before. It is like an actual children's museum inside the daycare. They bring in tons of extracurricular activities for the children, teach them sign language and Spanish, have a great schedule with tons of room for reading and play. It checked all the boxes for me. It's pricey, but not moreso than any of the other big names in town. And, also, they have flexible options which is PERFECT for us because we don't need 5 day a week care right now. Most places don't have that option. When I toured, I felt excited and eager to be able to give my child the opportunity to attend. We are planning to enroll him to start immediately, short of any unforeseen life circumstances. Even if something came up and we didn't, I would highly recommend this daycare to anyone in the area.

AVOID AVOID AVOID I…read morepulled my daughter, 4 at the time, out of this daycare last year around May. It is now March 2025 and it's still bothering me and I'm still mortified by what I saw and I need to warn parents. One random weekday I decided to pick my daughter up early so we can have a girl-date. I showed up without letting the teachers or anyone know, walked in and said I was picking my child up early to the front desk. They said that's fine and I went through the door (after scanning my card). What I saw was heartbreaking. "Class" was in session for the pre-pre-k (2-3yo I think) class which I had to walk past in order to reach my daughter's class. There are windows that stretch through the hallway so you can see in the classroom. Clearly they didn't see me. I saw the kids all sitting in a strange silence except one little curly haired black/mixed boy. He was clearly having a meltdown, crying with tears streaming down his face. The teacher visibly was yelling in his ear with so much anger in her eyes. I can tell she was threatening him, something scary. She looked so angry and the little boy looked so helpless. There was another staff member there who looked at the teacher and didn't say anything. I hesitantly kept watching and slowly walking past, the teacher did not look up and at this point she forcibly grabbed him by his arms and sat him down on the chair with the rest of the kids. The boy was still visibly crying. She was still in his ears visibly angry. I grabbed my daughter, her class was sitting together while the teacher paced around their table I guess quizzing them? She didn't smile when she saw me, she didn't look friendly. (They never did honestly) I wish I never enrolled her here. I pray that they never mistreated her, but based off the other comments I'm now thinking it's very likely. My daughter was also newly turned 4, and wearing pull-ups because she was having accidents. They told me she wasn't allowed to wear pull-ups. This place needs to be shut down. I wish anyone who is in search of a daycare center and is considering this one stays far away. If you're in the short pump area don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

This Goddard School is fabulous. They have a most welcoming staff and set of teachers that truly…read morecare about the children and want what's best for them. I highly recommend.

This school is absolutely corrupt. Please do not be fooled by the name. All of the leaders at the…read moreschool have absolutely no sense of how a school should be run. Their main focus is getting new children in the door, not accommodating the children that they have, not supporting the staff, not updating the school. With three directors and two owners, you would think this school would be prestige but they all just go around in circles with each other and none of them care about what is best for the school. Terrible management. They are flat out mean, petty, and childish when time comes to treating their employees with simple human decency. Please think twice about sending your child to a school where the directors care more about their trash can than their employees feelings. This is NOT the charming, sweet school that you are fooled into seeing when you walk through the doors. The children are disrespected and the teachers that actually care about them are sent packing...

I feel incredibly lucky to have Mrs. Brenda and Mrs. Teresa as my daughter's teachers this year…read more Mrs. Teresa and Mrs. Brenda are always approachable, keeps us well-informed, and makes time for each babies. I love them so much they really take good care of my daughter. I highly recommend Mrs. Teresa and Mrs. Brenda

When I picked up My son his teacher Gabby was in the bathroom and the other teacher said she'd be…read moreback shortly. My son was laying in the floor in the corner and looked I'll. Gabby returned and said he hadn't eaten much today and wasn't feeling good. She seemed clueless as to what to do about my child not feeling good. She said he was laying on the table so she moved him to the floor where it was more comfortable. No one contacted me. The other teacher took his temperature as I was holding him and it was 102.4. After I asked Gabby why no one contacted me she said she had told the director earlier that my son wasn't feeling good. The other teacher said he was busy and forgot. It is not a good facility. Don't send your child here if you want good care. They probably don't get paid much and don't care about the children. I had read one bad review but there were so many good ones. I just read the bad review again and it is more accurate than I thought. They do cover up things. The director tried to call me today and left a voice mail and denied anything that happened and tried to cover it up. This place is unsafe and weird things are happening to these poor children.

I cannot recommend this school. We pulled our son out after he attended for 11 months. Our number…read moreone concern was our son's safety. We brought safety issues to the attention of the staff and directors multiple times. There were several occasions where we picked our son up and he had bruises or cuts that the teachers couldn't explain. At a minimum, once we pointed them out they should have been documented. The teacher would say she didn't see what happened. When I explained my concerns to a director, she said "That's just how the children play with each other". So there appeared to be a lack of concern for preventing or remedying the issue. Our son began to state that he didn't want to go to school. We didn't want our son to develop a negative perception of school or learning that could impact him later on. Primrose is very expensive, and for the money, parents should at least be assured that their children are safe. The last time I spoke to one of the staff members about the issue I said I wanted to take time to brainstorm and come up with potential solutions. I proposed volunteering in the classroom, but the idea was rejected. The rationale given was "state guidelines". At least one other parent was already volunteering; no other school we interviewed indicated that there were state guidelines that would prevent parents from volunteering. The secondary concern was our son's kindergarten readiness. If he was indifferent about attending and worried about whether another child was going to hit or harass him, he would be unable to focus. Also, although I think the balanced learning approach works for some children, it wasn't what our son needed to get him ready for kindergarten. Two other schools we interviewed have children our son's age reading and spelling three to five letter words. That wasn't happening at Primrose. For the reasons above, I can't recommend Primrose.

My son went to Primrose from the age 2 till he turned 5, and oh! what an amazing childhood he had…read moreat Primrose. The facility is super safe, super education pro, and it nurtured my son's interpersonal skills, motor skills, social values to the highest and in best way possible. The quality of food is great. All of his teachers were well educated and trained to take care of the kids. We loved all of his teachers. He still remembers them fondly. He made the best of friends here. We moved out of Richmond, and Primrose is one of those places which we sorely missed. We are proud of this facility at Westerre Commons! You are forever cherished. Kudos to you!