San Mateo · Licensed center
Little Footsteps
- Medium play-based center, licensed for 42 children.
- Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit.
What these mean, and where they come from
Medium means the middle half of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 31 to 75 children. Small is 8 to 30; large is 76 to 312.
Source for who runs it
ccld.dss.ca.govHow they teach
Play-based and nature and outdoor
“Footsteps Child Care's philosophy and approach is based on research and best practices, which includes play-based curriculum, child, teacher, and family-initiated experiences, continuity of care and consistency in routines.”In their words, July 2026.footstepschildcare.org
“In concert with modern child development research findings, the concept of the Outdoor Classroom is built upon the premise that children are complex beings. To nurture the whole child, early childhood education follows the fundamental principle that children are learning everywhere and all the time.”In their words, July 2026.footstepschildcare.org
One of 82 Bay Area providers that describe a play-based approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.
Who cares for your child
One adult for every four toddlers
Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
One adult for every eight preschoolers. Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
Nine staff are named on their site, with no start years given.
What it costs
Application fee $75. Deposit $500, refundable. Sibling discount: 5% sibling discount, per child, for families enrolling two or more children (tuition only; requires minimum 3 days/week attendance).
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 0 of 3 cited something
Bay Area centers: the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits. Three visits are too few to read as a pattern.
From California CDSS Community Care Licensing’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — California CDSS Community Care Licensing
- Last visit
- February 26, 2026
- On file
- 3 visits since July 2022 — all of them cited nothing
- Fixed?
- Nothing was cited, so there is nothing to correct.
- Most serious
- Nothing was cited at any visit on file.
California CDSS publishes the full investigation narrative for a complaint, including its disposition, and classifies a citation Type A — an immediate risk to a child — or Type B.
How the comparison is built
Routine visits: across Bay Area centers, the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits (2,260 visits).
A day here
- Meals
- Snacks and lunches provided by Footsteps through outside food provider Chefables; tree-nut and peanut-free environment
- Sleep
- Nap daily, up to 2 hours/day; each child has own crib/cot with cover/sheet and a regularly laundered blanket; no child is forced to stay awake or nap longer than the normal period
- Diapers
- Program provides diapers, pull-ups, and wipes unless a parent supplies a specific type (e.g. cloth diapers)
- Screens
- Limit TV/movies/video games/digital devices to less than 1 hour per day (exceptions for active-movement games and schoolwork use)
- Updates for parents
- Procare Connect app, plus email, text, or the site telephone
- Hours
- 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, 5 days a week, year round
- Closed
- Closed the week between Christmas and New Year; also closed on federal holidays and Professional Development Days per the annual calendar
Policies
- When a child is sick
- 24-hour fever-free (without fever-reducing medication) required before returning; fever defined as 100.4°F/38°C or higher
Details
- Website
- footstepschildcare.org
- Address
- 1501 S. El Camino Real
- License
- 414004607, active
- Established
- 2020
Do you run Little Footsteps? Everything a program can tell parents is already on this page. Correcting it is free.
Correct anything that is wrongSources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
Who cares for your child
- Children per adult — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
Who cares for your child
- Staff footstepschildcare.org
What it costs
- Application fee, Deposit, Sibling discount — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
State record
Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.
A day here
- Meals, Sleep, Diapers, Screens, Updates for parents, Hours, Calendar, Closed — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
Policies
- When a child is sick — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov
- Website — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
- Established — Checked July 2026 footstepschildcare.org
- Who runs it — Checked September 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov