Small Steps Learning Academy Inc.
A child day center in Salem, Virginia 24153
2131 Apperson Drive, Salem, Virginia 24153. (540) 904-6808.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Virginia’s own record is on legacy.dss.virginia.gov.
The short answer
- 1 deficiency in the last three years
- Jul 12026 the latest visit on record
- 120 children, its licensed capacity
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean4
- 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.
- 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?
22 inspections on record, the latest on Jul 1, 2026.
1 violation cited in the last three years.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly.
When those deficiencies happened
1 deficiency in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Jul 2024. The last 3 years, to Oct 30, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nov | 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 |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each deficiency, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly.
Jul 8, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
-
8VAC20-780-270-A
“Areas of the center, inside and outside, shall be maintained in a safe and operable condition. The bottom right hinge was not attached to the cabinet door on the right above the sink in the 2 ? year old room. The bottom right corner of the cabinet door would pull away from the cabinet when opened.”
Jul 12, 2023: inspection1 deficiency
-
Based on observation, the center failed to ensure that hazardous substances, such as cleaning materials, were kept in a locked place using a safe locking method that prevents access by children.
“Evidence: The boys bathroom in the last preschool room on the left side of the hallway contained a Swiffer mop with cleaning solution located on the right side of the bathroom entrance. No children were observed in the area but it was accessible to children.”
Jun 1, 2022: inspection1 deficiency
-
Based on review of staff records the facility failed to maintain complaince with this standard as required.
“Evidence: Staff record #1 did not have an updated PPD /TB test. The previous one had expired as of 11/05/2021.”
May 5, 2022: complaint inspection1 deficiency
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Based on discussions with administration the facility failed to maintain compliance with this standard as required related to walking field-trips.
“Evidence: The preschool classroom walked to the convenience store, located at the edge of their property, to obtain a surprise snack item from the store owner on 4-8-22. The parents were not notified of this outing until after the outing had occurred. Field-trip standards require that parents be notified prior to any field-trip.”
All 22 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2026 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Apr 13, 2026 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Apr 13, 2026 | Complaint inspection | No violations cited |
| Jan 14, 2026 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Jan 24, 2025 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jan 24, 2025 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 8, 2024 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 8, 2024 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Jan 17, 2024 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jan 17, 2024 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 12, 2023 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 12, 2023 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| May 8, 2023 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| May 8, 2023 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Nov 22, 2022 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Nov 22, 2022 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Jun 1, 2022 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| May 5, 2022 | Complaint inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Dec 10, 2021 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Dec 10, 2021 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Day Center: Two Year license, expires Jul 29, 2027.
- A current subsidy provider.
- Ages: 1 month - 12 years 11 months.
- Capacity: 120 children.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page. Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly.
Has Virginia acted against it?
- 2 complaint inspections on record.
- 1 complaint allegation published with Virginia’s findings, 1 of them found valid.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations and Search for Child Day Care: each complaint’s page, with its allegations and findings. Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2022 | Complaint | Allegation: Activities. Virginia’s finding: Reported/Valid. |
Who does the caring?
- Virginia doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers. State rules set staff-to-child ratios by age.
Who owns it?
- Virginia’s search doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- Virginia’s search doesn’t show a quality rating.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 17 child care providers in the City of Salem, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 6; this one had 1.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Honeytree Early Learning Center #4 | 23 |
| Salem Montessori School - Infant & Toddler Program | 12 |
| Loving Care Day Care | 5 |
| Roanoke Valley Children’s Academy | 34 |
| Noah-Christian Community Center, Inc. | 3 |
| Salem Montessori School, Inc. | 15 |
| Small Steps Learning Academy Inc. This child care provider | 1 |
| Young Men’s Christian Assoc of Virginia’s Blue Ridge-South Salem | 1 |
| Bethel Baptist Church | Not given |
| Young Men’s Christian Assoc of Virginia’s Blue Ridge-West Salem | 6 |
| Young Men’s Christian Assoc of VA’s Blue Ridge - Salem YMCA | 8 |
| Young Men’s Christian Assoc of Virginia’s Blue Ridge-East Salem | 9 |
What the record doesn’t say
- Virginia doesn’t grade how serious a violation is, so no severity is shown.
- Virginia publishes a complaint’s allegations and findings only when its inspection found a violation and the records are linked.
- Virginia doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual providers.
- A plan of correction sent late, or not at all, isn’t online: Virginia says to ask the inspector.
- Virginia’s pages show about the last five years of inspections; for older ones, Virginia says to contact the licensing inspector.
- Virginia says this information may not be accurate, up to date or complete, and shouldn’t be the only source in choosing care.
Sources
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Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page.
Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
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Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations.
Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
-
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each complaint’s page, with its allegations and findings.
Checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Virginia Department of Education. Virginia’s own record is on legacy.dss.virginia.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 Oct 30, 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.