My daughter attends SNSP and she loves it! It is a well taken care of center that is clean and it has amazing teachers who work hard and care about their children! They also just won the Best of Springfield 2023 award! Well deserved. Please keep in mind the reviews you read are about misbehaving children who hurt other children. I do not want my daughter getting hurt by troubled children and SNSP protects my daughter. read more

Safe N Sound Playground - Award - Preschools Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

If I had seen a review on this I probably wouldn't have taken as much time to invest in looking at this establishment. My husband and I do not qualify for federal assistance but were told here that we would have to participate in the federally funded food plan once our kiddo is 12 months old. I have no issues with this except for that it was a hard rule. They stated there was no flexibility unless it was a doctor-documented food allergy. In my personal opinion, every child progresses at a different rate and shouldn't have to be blocked by a hard rule to follow. I also feel that if I want to bring my own food I should be allowed to do that. I know what my child will eat or what they have been favoriting, or possibly what hasn't been sitting well. It should be between myself, my husband, and our pediatrician to decide how to progress with table/solid food. I thought this rule was a little odd and tried to ignore it. I couldn't get past it and checked around with about 10 different people including two directors of other programs. Every single person thought the same thing as myself and my husband, that this was a very odd rule. We were told it was because we can't have some parents bringing McDonald's or Chick-fil-A for their kiddo and other kids don't get that. That happens at school k-12 and they have federal food programs so I don't agree that that is the only reason they make this a hard rule. I believe it is because they rely on the federal funds and that is a requirement to receive that money. Two of the directors or other programs I spoke to are both child care centers not related to a church or religious organization. Things I did like: * The security is top-notch if followed. I did observe one of the employee's keys in her code in plain view of me to open the door. * The rooms looked cozy and well-maintained. * Their emergency procedures are well thought out and practiced. * They have an interactive app for parents. * They accept credit card payments, which apparently isn't something all places do. * Teachers and Staff seemed to be very kind and knowledgeable. If the forced rule of their menu doesn't bother you this is a great place to take your kiddo. My original post was deleted, fortunately, I screen shot it to share with my husband. It doesn't seem fair or good business practice to me (and we own a small business) to delete honest and partially positive reviews. I also don't feel as though I was harsh or negative. Just honest with something I thought to be odd. read more

When I wrote this review over two years ago, I had so many good things to say. Now I regret every additional dollar I paid this place when I knew it was no longer a good fit. The communication never improved, policy questions never addressed or explained. The director left and now all issues are blamed on her when she is not around to defend herself. The new director has taken approximately zero time to introduce herself to the families, which multiple people can verify. How are we to trust someone with the lives and wellbeing of our children if we don't even know your name? Teachers continue to come and go without any introduction to families. When questioning the owner and director about the necessity of the report my child received for "rude behavior", instead of saying we should have a conversation to make sure everyone is on the page, the owner tossed us out like garbage, saying we were no longer going to receive care and that she welcomed my negative review, so here we are :) It's devastating to be treated this way by somewhere that cared for our children for so long but ultimately, the communication issues that have been constantly pointed out by parents and acknowledged by the administration never got any better. I'll always be the first person to admit that I could handled the situation differently in several ways, but the fact remains that administration refuses to hold themselves accountable for improvements that need to be made, refuse to act in a professional manner and until that happens, this place will continue to be unprofessional and subpar. Most of the teachers are incredible and will always hold a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately, unless your child is a perfect angel and you are anything other than accepting of whatever punishments they dole out, you probably will not be happy here. read more

On the surface this place is just like the name implies. Safe n Sound. Once you get through the very long waiting list, for an amazing price, they will take care of your child(ren), feed them, teach them. But as you dig deeper for some kiddos the reality is quite different. He started in June. He was exposed to covid by a teacher at the end of June. The owner assured me my son would not have covid because he was not exposed. We tested him because we were supposed to travel to see family who was dying of cancer. We felt the responsible thing to do was to test him and make sure he was negative before traveling. BUT HE TESTED POSITIVE. Then it was passed onto Mom and dad within the week. He did not go back to SNS until the Dept of Health gave him the all-clear. The DOH shut the class down that week over SNS's objections (I have supporting emails for this statement). In July/ Aug all the kids he had befriended moved up to a new class and he had to adjust to new friends. And it was shortly thereafter he was put on this "improvement plan". I keep using quotes around improvement plan because based on our experience it is really more of a witch hunt. My son was identified by their staff as a bad child and from that point they were just collecting evidence to prove that narrative. When in reality my son was just a 3-year-old trying to get acclimated to a world that was constantly changing. I rarely ever saw or communicated with his actual teacher(s). There was no consistency. I think he interacted with at least 6-8 different teachers throughout the day. Several times I would come to get him, there would be someone new, or a new face was there. According to the staff and they had "video proof to prove it" he started hitting, something he NEVER did at his previous preschool in the 3 years he was there. Nor has he done this in his new preschool. The reality was, he did not feel safe there. He was placed on this plan to help improve his behavior and things ultimately got worse from there. We tried their "improvement plan" for three weeks before we pulled him out. Below is the final week at the daycare. Mind you, he had a really good first two weeks on this plan (mostly greens and some yellow) for not listening the first time asked to do something. Monday - I communicate to them that dad is traveling for work, our little guy might struggle and to please show him some compassion and some hugs would help him. He got yellow faces on his report. Tuesday - had yellow and red faces on his report. Wednesday - had two red faces (one was for not listening and sliding down a bean bag chair) and he had an "incident report" because he was inconsolably crying, throwing a fit and kicking his/ another cot at nap time. This was the final straw. We pulled him out, immediately not allowing him to return. When I refused to sign this last incident report, they actually followed me to the parking lot trying to intimidate me into signing this document. I was trying to maintain my composure in front of my son when she said she would have to make a note indicating I refused. I replied that I could also comment on all the incidents I was coerced into signing. Our son is a typical 3-year-old. He is not prone to aggressive behavior. If he did act this way while at SNS, this is unique behavior only at this facility. Not at his previous preschool, nor at the preschool we moved him to. He never slept at nap time (again, we believe he didn't feel safe), yet at his previous daycare and the school he currently goes to he sleeps during nap time and did this immediately. He was always so dirty when he left there. This too is unique to (SNS) this location. The savings of a few dollars is not worth it. While at SNS, his spark and joy were diminished. He was constantly asking if he was a bad boy (terms we don't use at home). He was constantly in fear that he would get into trouble. SNS was such a detrimental experience for our son, that I submit this review in hopes that people pause and reconsider before sending their child there. They will say their priority is to keep all children safe, but that's not really true. I really hope the emotional harm my son had to endure will not result in lifelong consequences. He's in a much healthier environment now. I can continue on ranting and showing evidence of why the program they use at SNS is detrimental to the wellbeing of their kids and how they run their program. I can also refute the comments they make on the bad reviews they have but my son is safe now and we have moved on. I recommend whoever is reading this to do the same. Move on to somewhere else. read more

I really appreciate Safe N Sound playground and all the staff. Everyone knows my child's name, they all happily greet him, and I feel like he is truly cared for there. There are rules, and I appreciate that. They aren't too harsh and they aren't too lenient. It's great! I gave four stars rather than five because we don't have any experience with other daycares so I'm not sure how it compares. But they're great! read more

If I had written this review two years ago, it would be glowing. With my oldest, the school was great. But, he was the "perfect" kid at school. Never got into trouble, loved learning, listened, teachers pet kid. He was well prepared for Kindergarten. My youngest is different. He is a little more verbally strong willed and is reactionary. He's been at Safe n Sound since he was 2, until today, a month before he turns 4. Safe n Sound does not want to deal with kids who are harder to work with. They flat out give up on kids and gave up on my son. His teacher yelled at him to the point he was hysterically crying yesterday because he didn't understand what happened. He's 3. He got into trouble and instead of anyone calmly explaining to him and understanding his point of view, he was yelled at and sent home. Yes, he was on "probation" which is why he was sent home, but he is NOT a bad kid and MULTIPLE people will vouch for me, it is not just because I am his mother. He just doesn't fit the perfect mold they expect preschoolers to be in. He was in a classroom with 1 teacher, a classroom that was supposed to be for kids who needed more 1 on 1 time, except it had the exact same ratio of teachers to students as any other classroom. So no extra effort was given. The teacher was done with him. The director was done with him. The owner was done with him. So, all this to say, if your child isn't a perfect little angel, I would look elsewhere. This school has their way of dealing with kids, won't budge on how to address problems and I strongly believe looks at the kids as numbers. I'm so disappointed and heartbroken for my child. No 3 year old should be in full on tears because of the way TEACHERS treated him at school. read more

Safe N Sound has some really good attributes as well as some opportunities. Opportunities: They shuffle kids around from room to room to max out ratios, which leaves those kids with zero consistency. Our three-year-old has been going there for a couple of months, but she cries regularly because her teacher was mean to her. I walked in to bring extra clothes for my daughter for picture day. She was sitting by herself, visibly upset. I asked her what was wrong, and she said another child hit her. I walked her over to that child and told my daughter to tell her how that made her feel. There were three teachers in the room, one of whom was sitting RIGHT next to the little girl in question, reading a story. I said to my daughter, "tell her how her hitting you made you feel" but the little girl wasn't paying attention because she was listening to the story, and the teacher NEVER STOPPED READING! She never acknowledged my daughter, but instead just kept reading the story! I couldn't believe it! I have also heard her main teacher raise her voice, which only escalates situations with 2 and 3 year olds. They are also extremely rigid with their rules. If you try to drop your child off after 10am, they won't let you - even if you're 1 minute late! They have a sign they put on the computer at 10am, and I've seen the front desk person literally waiting by the computer for 10:01 to roll around. They're very inflexible and will charge you extra for every little thing. $2/minute if you're late or your child is there more than 10 hours; $5/day if you forget bedding or your child doesn't have a change of clothes. And they are EXTREMELY inflexible with these riles. The food is also not the best. One time, I dropped in at lunch time, and the food they were serving could only be described as slop. My daughter wouldn't touch it, and I can't say that I blame her! Positives: Their playground is THE best of all the daycares we've looked at, and I like that they have a bathroom outside if kids need to go while out there. They are really inexpensive for all that they provide, but if you're not careful, you can get hit hard with the extra fees for all the little things. Overall, this may be a good choice for some families, but it's not for ours. read more

I echo what my wife had to say. The happy face process is ridiculous and when the line is out the office door and down the hallway of kids on this punishment, maybe that's not a good thing for the school. It basically allows the teacher to bully and pick on your child. They literally can't breathe without getting a sad face. He even lost one for "asking silly questions". Seriously, he's 3...i want him to ask silly questions. I would like to add they also took all of his "happy faces" away first thing in the morning, even though all 9 opportunities are based on other behaviors. He was sent home yesterday because of an incident which involved 2 kids trying to grab the same cleaning bottle (the teacher sits stationery while the kids do everything in the class). He was accused of scratching another kid. His sheet said if he scratched or hit again, he would be sent home. However, while they were talking to him in the office, he was being a turd (he can be) and laughing at them. This obviously made them mad and they called us to pick him up, even though he didn't hit anyone else. My wife and I were both at work. After my wife said she couldn't be there in 15 min but was working on it, they called me and told me to get there in 15 or just call my wife and tell her to leave work. Really? Overall, agree with the other reviews. Over crowding, teacher to kid ratio large, his teacher physically unable to actively manage 3-4 year olds, dirty and high turnover on staff. And like my wife, 2 years ago, different school. And very sad when your 3 year old begs you not to go to school and is literally scared of his teacher because she yells at him and punishes him for everything. Finally, also agree about bruises and scratches. He routinely comes home with huge bruises and scrapes, but no report to explain. I certainty understand kids will be kids, but whey my kid gets sent home for accidentally scratching another kid, i begin to wonder how fair the process is. And you would think after all the years both kids have been here, they would've had more to say when my wife picked up his stuff today than "good luck" in a sarcastic tone. Side not, we are interviewing a school today and was very honest about his behavior. They proactively asked if he was having speech issues, which he is and in speech therapy. They said it is very common for kids with speech difficulties to portray his behavior and they exactly how to handle it. Imagine that, actually working with the child and parents on a plan! Looking forward to our kiddo being excited about school again! read more