The Goddard School of Stafford 301 Highpointe Boulevard, Stafford, VA 22554

"We initially loved this place but somewhere in the last 18 months a major shift happened. The turnover rate at Goddard is absolutely insane and ultimately leads to poor care of your children. The caregivers left in charge of your children lack the proper knowledge and training to both adequately care for your child’s basic needs (timely diaper changes, proper hygiene with toilet training, food handling, access to water) as well as your child’s cognitive development. We debated leaving for months and ultimately stayed due to veteran teachers and staff. Once they left we knew it was time to go. After hearing how those teachers were treated we should have left sooner. It’s truly a shame to have witnessed such a sharp decline in this school."

"My boys (4 and 2) are THRIVING here. Their teaching techniques are in-step with ours. They communicate very well and ultimately want your kid to succeed. They understand that children learn differently and are quick to adapt to the situation. We receive great reporting every day from the teachers. We could not be happier with this school!"

"From the lack of staffing, to the lack of attention to our children. My youngest comes home every week with a diaper rash due to lack of being changed on a regular basis. Owner seems to only care about money, have brought many different things to her attention and things rarely get fixed. Every month there are teachers leaving and new ones coming in with less training than the ones before. Giving them one star is truly being courteous. I’d need two days to explain the list of complaints. If capable keep your children far away from this day care ."

"I know that we’re all out here trying to do our best as parents. So I try to keep an open mind when it comes to child care because I truly believe that everyone wants the best for their children and for others. I was naïve and trusting. My baby started at this facility when he was just 8 weeks old. Within the first week, he contracted RSV. Thankfully his symptoms were not bad enough to be hospitalized, but it put me out of work for about a week. Our first thought was “It’s a daycare, children are children, it happens” and we kept it trucking. By week three my son had gotten a diaper rash so bad that he had sores and screamed during diaper changes… again, I chalked it up a one-off accident, brought diaper cream in, and instructed staff to use it for every diaper change. By weeks 3 and 4 I was emailing in once a week to remind staff to take photos of my son so that I can see his activity throughout the day… chalked that one up to staff just being very busy with a room full of babies. I didn’t mind reminding them. Here I am in week 8 with another diaper rash so bad that he couldn’t sit, and he screams during the changing. So, this time my husband and I agreed to tell the staff to start changing his diaper every hour until the rash clears up. This time I listened to that nagging mommy voice in the back of my head (other mommies know what I mean). Before dropping him off I updated that tadpole app for his last diaper change to 6:54 and his last feeding to the same time. I would usually just say 7:00, but I did it this way on purpose as a kind of test. I dropped my son off and drove to work. I arrived at my work at 7:30ish and checked the app again. There was not a diaper change or a bottle recorded. Around 8:30 staff recorded a bottle and backlogged a diaper to reflect that it was changed at 7:54. I called and asked if the 7:54 was just an estimate or if the diaper was changed at that exact time. Not only was I told that his diaper was changed at that time, but I was told the owner of the building (Ms. Wendy) saw the diaper being changed and that she could confirm it. Immediately the sirens in my head started to go off and I left work and drove back to the daycare. I arrived in the daycare parking lot at 8:55 and saw a log where staff said that they changed his diaper at 8:51. So, like any logical mother, I quite literally sprinted into the building where I was met with the staff in acting positions. I went to my baby lying on a lounger and felt his diaper, it had not been changed in the last hour let alone in the last 5 minutes. I felt the tears starting in my eyes and my thoughts immediately went to how I should have listened to my gut earlier… my baby has been sitting in his mess for sometimes 3 hours at a time and I let it happen. I gathered up my baby and his belongings, we left, and we never looked back. I have since learned that it’s not my fault for being trusting. It is their fault for not keeping their promise of taking care of my child. But regardless of fault, my baby is innocent, and he didn’t deserve that treatment. I have learned from the former staff that the owner of this facility trims hours off of employees' timecards, does not provide paid sick leave, and requires that staff clock out before cleaning their rooms. She expects the rooms to be completely cleaned top to bottom in 20 minutes or less and will not pay staff if it takes longer. The owner also does not like noise. When you visit pay attention to the toys in the rooms, or the lack thereof. My baby was transitioned from a lounger to a crib, back and forth all day because the owner would not purchase nor tolerate any other forms of entertainment in the infant room. Pay attention to the broken fridge latch, to the electrical outlet without a cover, ask who pays for the room decorations in the classrooms. Notice the high turnaround of the teachers. Ask those teachers why they left… ask the hard questions. As a parent, you must to keep your little one safe."

"I waited for months to get in due to the typical waitlist issues in the area. I was very upfront when I put my son on the waitlist and asked if they worked with/ were comfortable with children on the Autism Spectrum. They told me they had other children in the facility that were also on the spectrum and it was something they were willing to work with and try. They gave my 3 year old son 4 days to adjust and decided to dissolve the contract after only a week of him attending the school. If your child has special needs I would highly recommend anywhere else that is actually willing to try to work with your child."