VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Primrose School of Arlington
2107 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 565-9800

Current Inspector: Margaret Allworth (703) 209-3521

Inspection Date: July 26, 2023

Complaint Related: Yes

Areas Reviewed:

8VAC20-780 Administration. 8VAC20-780 Staff Qualifications and Training. 8VAC20-780 Physical Plant. 8VAC20-780 Staffing and Supervision. 8VAC20-780 Programs. 8VAC20-820 THE LICENSE. 8VAC20-820 THE LICENSING PROCESS. 8VAC20-820 HEARINGS PROCEDURES. 8VAC20-770 Background Checks (8VAC20-770) 22.1 Background Checks Code, Carbon Monoxide 63.2 Child Abuse & Neglect

Comments:

The Licensing Inspector conducted an unannounced inspection in response to a complaint that was received by the department on 7/19/2023. The complaint included allegations of a staff using a forbidden action with a child, and that the school has a rodent and insect problem. Interviews were conducted, observations made and documentation reviewed. The preponderance of the evidence gathered during this investigation supports the allegations, therefore, the complaint is determined to be valid. See the violation notice for more details. Please complete the columns for "Plan of Correction" and "Date to be Corrected" for each violation cited on the violation notice, and then return a signed and dated copy to the licensing office within 5 business days of receipt. If you have any questions, you may contact me at Margaret.allworth@doe.virginia.gov or 703-209-3521.

Violations:

Standard #:	8VAC20-780-40-E
Complaint related:	Yes
Description:	40.E Based on interviews and a review of center policies, staff did not follow the center?s own policy and procedure for reporting suspected abuse/neglect. Evidence: 1. The Employee handbook states: ?Employees are required to report any suspected child abuse or mistreatment of a child immediately to Child Protective Services or other agency as required by law. The report should also be reported to a member of the School Learning Team?. 2. On 3/22/2023 Staff #3 reported to Staff # 11 that she observed a staff hurting a 13-month-old child?s hand. Staff #3 also sent the details of the incident in an email to Staff #10 on 3/22/2023. Staff #2 verbally reported the incident to Staff #11 and then reported the incident to Staff #1 and # 10 the next morning. No employee reported the abuse/mistreatment to Child Protective Services or other agency as required by center policy. 3. On 3/24/2023 Staff #4 observed a staff hit a 2 year old child and grab another 2 year old child and sit him down hard on the floor. Staff #4 verbally reported the incident to Staff # 1 and Staff # 10, and sent the details of the incident in an email to the director on 3/27/2023. No employee reported the abuse/mistreatment to Child Protective Services or other agency as required by center policy. 4. On 6/13/2023 Staff # 5 observed a staff hit a 2 year old child on the bottom and then push another 2 year old child down on the carpet. Staff #5 reported the incident to management on the same day. No employee reported the abuse/mistreatment to Child Protective Services or other agency as required by center policy.
Plan of Correction:	Yes ? staff did not follow the school?s policy. All staff will be re-doing the child abuse and neglect training and will be urged to report to leadership AND CPS directly if they see any wrong-doing in the classrooms/school environment. We can only report what we know about and we can only understand the severity of the issue if we are told exactly what happened. We will remind and retrain all employees of this responsibility which is not only shared in our employee handbook, but which we all have as mandated reporters. This has been done and will continue to be done annually.
Standard #:	8VAC20-780-80-B
Complaint related:	Yes
Description:	80.B.3 Based on a review of staff records, written statements and staff interviews; suspected incidents of child abuse were not reported in accordance with ? 63.2-1509 of the Code of Virginia. Evidence: 1. On 3/22/2023 two staff observed Staff # 7 flick a 13-month-old hand about 5 times with her finger, leaving the child?s hand red. Staff # 3 left the classroom and reported the incident to Staff #11. Staff #3 also sent the details of the incident in an email to Staff #10 on 3/22/2023. Staff #2 verbally reported the incident to Staff #11 and then reported to Staff #1 and # 10 the next morning. Documentation reviewed confirmed that on 3/23/2023, Staff #7 was terminated ?due to multiple health and safety violations?. This incident was not reported to the local department of social services as required by The Code of Virginia. 2. On 3/24/2023, Staff# 4 observed Staff # 8 hit a 2-year-old in the stomach. Also on 3/24/2023, Staff #4 observed Staff #8 grab a 2-year-old and sit him down hard on the floor. Staff #4 verbally reported the incidents on 3/27/2023 to Staff # 1 and # 10 and sent the details of the incidents in an email to Staff #10 on 3/27/2023. The email was in Staff # 8?s record. These incidents were not reported to the local department of social services as required by The Code of Virginia. 3. On 6/13/2023, Staff #5 observed Staff #8 hit one child on the butt and push another child to the ground. Staff #5 reported the incident to management on the same day. Documentation of the incident was in Staff #8?s record and Staff #8 was terminated on 6/13/2023 ?due to health and safety violations?. These incidents were not reported to the local department of social services as required by The Code of Virginia.
Plan of Correction:	It is evident that employees verbal claims do not always match up with written statements or with what was shared during the investigation directly to agencies. In the future, the school leadership has been trained to take any allegation, whether corroborated or not, and report it to the appropriate agency.
Standard #:	8VAC20-780-270-A
Complaint related:	Yes
Description:	270.A Building Maintenance: Based on observations and interviews, areas of the center are not maintained in a clean condition. Evidence: 1. Mice droppings were observed in the following areas of the center: a. Toddler room #4 bathroom around the wall area, b. Preschool room # 6 by the door leading outside and on the bathroom floor, c. Preschool room #7 on the bathroom floor and under the rubber mat in the bathroom, d. Preschool room #8 behind the crates on the far-right side of the classroom, e. Preschool room # 9 behind the toy shelf and cots. 2. Management confirmed a problem with rodents and that for the past 2 months they have had weekly pest control services in the center.
Plan of Correction:	In response to the pest issues stated in the report, please note that steps to rectify the issue were taken prior to the inspection and are ongoing to resolve the issue. As you know, we are attached to an office building and are also situated above a parking garage. Stakeholders are all engaged and working swiftly. Unfortunately, full extermination of rodents is not overnight, however, we?ve been extremely aggressive in our approaches to combat this as health and safety are a priority for us. Work is continuing daily to ensure this problem is rectified.
Standard #:	8VAC20-780-410-1
Complaint related:	Yes
Description:	410.1 Forbidden Actions: Based on a review of staff written statements and staff interviews, staff members engaged in forbidden actions of physical punishment, striking a child, and roughly handling children. Evidence: 1.Staff # 3 stated that on 3/22/2023: a.Child # 3 (13 months) crawled over and either hit or pulled another child?s hair. ?[Staff #7] got up and flicked [Child #3?s] hand about 5 times really hard to the point where I told her to stop.? The child?s hand was red. Staff # 2 picked up Child #3 to console him. b. Staff #3 left the class and reported the incident to Staff #11. c. Staff #3 emailed the details of the incident to Staff # 10 that same day. 2. Staff# 2 stated that on 3/22/2023, she observed Staff # 7 flick Child #3?s wrist. Staff #2 verbally reported the incident to Staff #11 and then reported the incident to Staff #1 and #10 the next morning. 3. Staff # 4 stated that on 3/24/2023: a. Child # 1 (2 years) approached another child and began to hit them. ?[Staff # 8] was sitting in a chair in the class. She got up, looked around to see if anyone was watching her and then hit [Child # 1] in the stomach. The child began to cry and said ouchy?. b. Later the same day, child #4 (2 years old) was throwing a ball which hit Staff # 8 in the face. ?[Staff # 8] seemed angry, grabbed [child #4] and sat him down hard on the floor?. The child cried. c. Staff #4 reported the incidents to Staff #1 and Staff #10 on 3/27/2023 and followed up with an email to Staff #10. 4. Staff # 5 stated that on 6/13/2023: a. While Child #2 (2 years old) was playing in the sink, Staff # 8 got off the carpet and hit Child # 2 on the butt. The child cried. Staff # 8 then went back to the carpet and pushed Child # 1 to the ground. ?She used both her hands to push the child to the ground?. b. Staff #5 reported the incident to management that same day.
Plan of Correction:	The behavior brought to the attention of the school leadership by said staff was considered inappropriate behavior and misaligned with our school?s culture. Immediate Action was taken to terminate the staff from said employees. However, we have learned as a center is that what qualifies as abuse or a forbidden action is any action that creates anyone to feel uncomfortable. This reiteration and retraining will be done across all staff and administrators at our upcoming teacher training. Trainings will occur: 9/1