Education Station
A child care center in Sanford, North Carolina 27330
1618 Deep River Rd, Sanford, North Carolina 27330. (919) 292-6404.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov.
The short answer
- 4 violations in the last three years
- Oct 122026 the latest visit on record
- 29 children, its licensed capacity
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean5
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
- Quality rating
- Many states rate child care in a quality rating system that goes past the licensing rules, such as Texas Rising Star or Kentucky All STARS. Taking part is often voluntary, so a program with no rating hasn’t been rated low. Source: Each state’s quality rating system.
- Licence status
- Whether the state’s licence lets the place operate now, in the state’s own words: licensed, on probation (allowed to keep operating on conditions, after problems), provisional, pending or expired. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
- Capacity
- The most people the licence or certification lets the place care for at once: residents, children, beds or apartments, as the state counts them. It isn’t how many are there now. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
7 DCDEE visits in the last three years, the latest on Oct 12, 2026.
4 violations cited in the last three years, 4 of them marked corrected.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
4 violations in 2 months of the last 36. Last cited Jan 2026. The last 3 years, to Nov 3, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dec | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each violation, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Jan 7, 2026: unannounced2 violations
-
Monthly playground inspections were not completed and/or they were not completed by an individual trained in playground safety requirements.
“A playground inspection was not completed/documented for December 2025.”
-
Shelter-in-place or lockdown drills were not practiced every three months and/or drill record was incomplete.
“A fire drill was not documented/completed for December 2025.”
Sep 18, 2024: unannounced2 violations
-
Minimum staff/child ratios and group sizes for the number and ages of children in care were not met.
“On the playground used by the nc pre-k class, one teacher was present with eleven children.”
-
Shelter-in-place or lockdown drills were not practiced every three months and/or drill record was incomplete.
“The last lockdown drill was conducted on 4/7/2024.”
All 7 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2026 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Jan 7, 2026 | Unannounced visit | 2 violations cited |
| Oct 2, 2025 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Feb 4, 2025 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Sep 23, 2024 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Sep 18, 2024 | Unannounced visit | 2 violations cited |
| Mar 6, 2024 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Care Center, holding a Five Star Center License since May 30, 2023.
- Licensed for 29 children, ages 0 through 12.
- Enrolled in North Carolina’s subsidized child care program.
- North Carolina’s licence number: 53000334.
- Restriction: Other - Meets enhanced ratios minus one.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Has North Carolina acted against it?
- DCDEE says it has taken no action against this facility, for its current licence and location, in the last three years.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Who does the caring?
- North Carolina’s page gives a staff-to-child ratio policy as the provider reports it, unverified by DCDEE, so it isn’t shown.
Who owns it?
- Owner, as North Carolina lists it: Education Station of Lee County, Inc..
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
How is it rated?
- Star Rated License: 5 stars of five.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 31 child care providers in Lee County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 6; this one had 4.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| First Presbyterian Child Development Center | 4 |
| Grace Christian Child Development Center | 4 |
| Destiny’s Learning Center | 1 |
| Jireh Child Development Center | 1 |
| Sanford Child Care, Inc. | 9 |
| Kiddie Land Day Care | 2 |
| Small Hands - Big Future Child Care | 16 |
| Luxury Learning | 9 |
| Children of Tomorrow | 17 |
| Estelle’s Childcare | 10 |
| Precious Blessings Child Care | 6 |
| Education Station This child care provider | 4 |
What the record doesn’t say
- North Carolina doesn’t show a visit summary tied to an open child maltreatment investigation while the case is active, and shows an administrative action only after its 30-day appeal period, without saying what it was.
- DCDEE’s descriptions of violations are shown in its own words; a description that names or may name a person isn’t shown. Visit summaries, the consultants’ full reports, aren’t read.
- North Carolina’s page lists the provider’s own features (transport, ratios) as furnished by the provider and unverified by DCDEE, so they aren’t shown.
Sources
-
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations.
Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily. nc.gov terms: copying and distribution for non-commercial use, without alteration, citing the source. Shown free and never sold; DCDEE’s own words are quoted.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Nov 3, 2026.
From the provider
The public record above comes first. Anything the provider adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the provider will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the provider”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.