Bright Horizons at West Seattle

Center · Seattle · 4530 38th Ave SW

What kind of place is this?

Size 159 children licensed Larger than the middle half of Seattle centers, where the middle half licenses 43–121. Measured across 576 Seattle centers, 2026-08-17.

Who runs it

Chain Bright Horizons
Owner Public shareholders (NYSE: BFAM) Public company, NYSE: BFAM (SEC reporting; CIK 0001437578). sec.gov

Bright Horizons runs 27 licensed locations in Seattle.

Will it fit our family?

Hours 10.5 hours a day
Days / week 5

What will it cost us?

This provider does not publish pricing.

What Shortlist has verified

State quality rating Early Achievers Enrolled
License status Active

State record — Washington DCYF

Last visit
April 22, 2026
On file
3 visits since August 2023 — all of them cited findings · 2 complaint investigations
Fixed?
Washington DCYF does not publish whether a finding was corrected.
Most serious
SeriousPlastic grocery bags observed in the Early Preschool 2 classroom near the diapering station inside the bottom drawer. During visit Hilda removed plastic bags. Violation corrected. · April 22, 2026

Washington DCYF publishes the licensor’s own observation and a risk level for every citation it issues at a licensing visit, with the inspection report attached as a PDF.

Apr 2026 Licensing visit 1 finding

Licensing visit · April 22, 2026

Safety requirements

WAC 110-300-0165(2)(d) · Serious

Plastic grocery bags observed in the Early Preschool 2 classroom near the diapering station inside the bottom drawer. During visit Hilda removed plastic bags. Violation corrected.

Report (PDF)

May 2025 Licensing visit 1 finding

Licensing visit · May 6, 2025

Safe food practices

WAC 110-300-0197(3) · Short Term

At the time of inspection, it was observed that one fridge in Toddler classroom was 50 degree and missing updatde temperature log.

Report (PDF)

Aug 2024 Complaint 1 valid issue

Complaint · August 30, 2024 · Resolved October 3, 2024

Infant safe sleep practices

WAC 110-300-0291(1)(a) · Serious

Assistant Director said the staff member in question during the time of the incident did admit to falling asleep on both occations. Therefore, the staff member was terminated from the site.

Report (PDF)

Jan 2024 Complaint 1 valid issue

Complaint · January 12, 2024 · Resolved February 18, 2024

The state lists this complaint on the provider’s record, but the state’s published report includes no citation detail.

Report (PDF)

Aug 2023 Licensing visit 3 findings

Licensing visit · August 16, 2023

Emergency preparation and exiting

WAC 110-300-0166(3)(a) · Serious

At the time of the onsite monitor visit, the following classrooms had their emergency exit door locked with a deadbolt while children were present: Toddler 2, Infant 1, Infant 2, Waddler 1.

Storage of hazardous and maintenance supplies

WAC 110-300-0260(1)(a) · Serious

At the time of the onsite monitor visit, there was diaper cream (Desitin, Aquafor, etc.) in three baskets that were on the floor of the adjoining bathroom between early preschool classrooms one and two. Diaper cream products were labeled keep out of reach of children and were accessible to kids in the bathroom. There was also a basket of sunscreen in the preschool 3 classroom on the teacher sesk that was within reach of children present. The sunscreen products were marked with keep out of reach of children.

Training requirements

WAC 110-300-0106(3) · Short Term

At the time of the onsite monitor visit, there were four staff present, that were employed for longer than three months, and did not have childcare basics completed. At the time of the onsite monitor visit, there were three staff that were in the classrooms working with children, who did not have their CPR/First Aid trainings completed, available onsite, or in MERIT.

Report (PDF)

Before you tour

Bright Horizons at West Seattle hasn’t published

Cost, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

Ask what changed after the four findings Washington DCYF ranked Serious, most recently in April 2026.It does not publish whether a finding was fixed. The rest carry its lower risk levels.

Sources 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.

What kind of place is this

Not yet reported: established, teaching approach.

Who runs it

  • Owner — Checked September 2026 · sec.gov

Will it fit our family

Not yet reported: ages served, schedule, holiday closures.

Licensing and contact

  • State quality rating — Checked March 2026 · data.wa.gov
  • License status — Checked March 2026

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

Do you run Bright Horizons at West Seattle? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.