About The Gardens Childcare

Laura Digby-Bell and Sarah Bokaie are old friends. In fact they went to school together many years ago. They met up again at college where they both gained qualifications in childcare.

Sarah worked in a variety of roles in childcare - as a nanny, a hospital play specialist and a nursery nurse in a special needs unit. She then got married and went to live in Iran where she opened one of the first nursery schools in the country. On her return to the UK with her three year old daughter Leila, she set up several companies: Kids Kitchen (children’s birthday parties), Doctor in the House (doctor’s accommodation service) and then after meeting up with Laura again, Baby Bygones (second hand childrens clothes and equipment).

After Sarah’s second daughter, Jemima, started school at St Michaels in 1987 she opened the original Gardens Nursery School at The Gardens Tennis Club on Wimbledon Park Road, Southfields. Her second nursery, The Park Gardens, opened up in 1992 in time for her two year old son Benjamin to attend nursery there.

After leaving college Laura worked as a nanny for a short period, before becoming an air hostess. Having travelled the world she decided to get married and raise her family in the English countryside. As her children, Anna and Jonathan grew older, the family returned to London, when Laura joined The Gardens Nursery on a part time basis. In 1997 Sarah and Laura formed The Gardens Childcare Ltd and opened their first day care facility, The Little Hall Gardens.

Sarah and Laura took on the lease for The Northcote Gardens in 2009, at which point they realised they couldn't run an ever increasing business between the two of them. They decided they needed some help, so looked towards their own families in the form of their two daughters, Leila and Anna. Leila came to work for the company having recently moved back from six years of living in San Francisco doing website design and selling vintage clothing & antiques. Anna joined the company having been a television news journalist and then in financial PR. In 2010 Anna also qualified as the company Early Years Professional (EYPS).

Between the four of them, they now run the The Gardens Childcare. The company is currently made up of four nurseries, over 70 staff and 400 children. Their style is anything but corporate, but they pride themselves in having a very homely atmosphere and extremely happy, loved and well fed children.