The Gardens Daycare & Nursery School

Southfields  I   90 Pupils  I   9 months to 5 years

The Gardens Daycare & Nursery School was established in 1987 by Sarah Bokaie who still runs it today along with her team of qualified and experienced staff.

We have an eco-friendly ethos, serving fresh organic food, homemade each day and provide an exciting and safe environment for children to have fun, make friends and enjoy learning through play. We offer full-time day-care, from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, 51 weeks a year for children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years old.

Our ethos

We have an eco-friendly ethos, using organic, ethically sourced products and supporting good animal welfare. From our cleaning products, nappies and wipes to the cotton wool and the lotion we use on your child’s skin, our aim is to provide a clean, healthy, and nurturing environment from the day your child walks through our doors.

We believe a healthy diet and physical activity positively impacts a child’s mental well-being. Our delicious and nutritious fresh food is cooked daily onsite by our fantastic cooks and includes foods that aid concentration, such as organic and free-range meat and fish, wholemeal foods, and fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables.

As one parent put it so brilliantly, ‘Flourish & Nourish’ really is at the heart of our business, so everything on our menus is organic (99%), free range and homemade from scratch (even the ketchup), as well as being sugar, salt, and nut free. We cater for all children’s dietary requirements and intolerances, as well as specific religious needs. Our cooks are well versed in these varying diets and are experienced in removing or substituting ingredients.

We provide a cooked breakfast, mid-morning snack, cooked lunch, mid-afternoon snack, cooked supper, and a late snack. Our snacks are savoury or without refined sugars (sweetened with banana or dried fruits) to avoid ‘sugar spike and crash’ syndrome which has a detrimental effect on mental stimulation and learning.  We provide HiPP Organic Formula Milk daily to babies up to the age of 1 and organic, full fat milk to children over 1.

Our routine

Children over the age of 2-2.5 years old benefit from a nursery school routine during term time (38 weeks a year) and more informal sessions during the holidays. This ensures they enjoy a varied curriculum throughout the year while enjoying lots of fun.

Most ‘learning’ is done in the morning when the children are at their most receptive following our nutritious breakfasts of organic porridge, free range scrambled eggs, French toast, pancakes, selection of seasonal fruit and homemade wholemeal toast.

Throughout the year different themes are introduced (such as Dinosaurs, The Seaside, Space) incorporating colour, shape, number and letter recognition. We offer a variety of activities including Mandarin, ballet, music, singing, French, cooking, sports and lots of messy play with sand & water, playdough & clay, and paint & glue.

The children enjoy visits to the local park and outings, such as farms visits, nature trips and fruit picking. Parents are invited to lots of social occasions such as coffee mornings, sports day, concerts, plays and fund-raising activities.

The Baby Rooms

Our 9 months – 2/2.5 year old children are cared for in bright well-equipped playrooms which are especially designed for babies and toddlers.

​Throughout the week the babies participate in a variety of fun, messy and sensory activities, including sand and water play, play dough, finger painting, dancing, singing, music, gym, storytelling, junk modelling, cooking, circle games, floor and table toys.

Each child has their own ‘Learning Journey’ scrapbook with lots of photos and artwork recording their time in the Baby Rooms. Throughout the year, different themes are introduced, such as All About Me, Colours and Farm Animals.

All rooms have direct access into their own safe and secure gardens with soft surfaces and fun equipment. We have two four-seater stroller buggies and try to ensure all the babies go out for daily walks, weather permitting.

The Nursery School

The 2/2.5 – 3.5-year-olds have bright airy classrooms, filled with an abundance of equipment, leading onto our roof garden with a covered sandpit and adventure area. Our magical faraway tree is a very special place, accessed by a grassy bridge and the children enjoy listening to stories under the leafy canopy.

​There is a well-equipped playhouse with a kitchen and sitting area with stairs leading up to a sleeping area for the dolls and teddies, a wardrobe full to the brim with hats, bags and dressing up clothes and our book corner has large cushions to cuddle up on and read stories.

We have a large range of age-appropriate educational toys, including puzzles, small world, construction, dolls house, garage and cars, and a painting and creative art area.

The children join in circle time, singing and music, dancing and participate in lots of physical activities. They learn to tidy up and work in small groups. They enjoy their meals round small tables, and we encourage table manners and make meals a social occasion.

The Pre-School

All children in the Nursery School and Pre-School are supported in developing their own potential at their own pace. Our teachers oversee a planned curriculum tailored to the needs of each individual child.

By means of developmentally appropriate play activities and a high level of individual adult input, we offer a curriculum which enables children to progress towards the Early Learning Goals throughout the Foundation Stage and prepares them for the National Curriculum and ‘Big School’.

​Once a week the Pre-School children wear their nursery uniform (sweatshirt or t-shirt) and bring in a packed lunch as part of ‘Big School’ preparations. On their ‘work’ day they participate in small groups, where they follow the Jolly Phonics programme, practice writing alongside our well tried and tested reading scheme.

The children start off by taking flash cards home to practice on and then progress to the reading scheme. This encourages the children to learn the most used one hundred words in the English language. They also focus on number work and lots of practical activities with the emphasis on learning through co-operative play.

The highlight of our Pre-schooler’s year is their Graduation Ceremony and Show, complete with mini graduation gowns and hats! When our Pre-schoolers leave we feel they are well prepared to face the challenges of ‘big school’.

Follow on schools

The Roche, Hurlingham, St Michaels, Sheringdale, Riversdale, Wimbledon Park, Putney High School, Wimbledon High School, Prospect House

Extra-Curricular

French, Mandarin, Ballet and Sport

The Garden’s Daycare & Nursery School

62 Standen Road, London, SW18 5TG
020 8871 9478
leila@gardenschildcare.co.uk  |  www.gardenschildcare.co.uk