BB100

No, she wasn't a sibling or special needs. The first round of offers are rarely a good indicator of distance. I think 800 metres away from Stillness is more than enough to get in since there are plenty of Stillness children already on that road and the 90 children intake leaves plenty of room for drop out - it's much cheaper as well, as houses next to Stillness are going for 1/2 million at the moment, so getting as close as possible is not really that worth it.

Hi Chantelle, I looked at the distance for Stillness you posted but the 2011/12 prospectus says it was 645metres. However I know someone who got her daughter into Stillness last year with no problem and she lives 850 metres away, which sort of makes the figures worthless. I don't think the catchment is as small for Stillness as they would like people to think. It used to be really difficult to get into Stillness because it was the only good school around but now it has more competition with Fairlawn, Dalmain, Kilmorie and Turnham becoming desirable schools and so have less first-choice applications from around those school areas than they did previously.

Some years ago I gasped when I saw a very large woman slap a child around the face. She saw my face and then proceeded to chase me around the supermarket telling me to watch my mouth or she'll punch it in. However, in England the law currently, as it stands, is that it is not illegal to smack your own child so long as it doesn't leave a mark. So if you call the police about a parent hitting their child (even in the face) there's not much they can really do about it. It doesn't mean you can't say anything about it though and if you know the child or where they live a confidential call to ChildLine can make a difference.

Crikey is this thread still going? I have a friend who has taught at various C of E schools and she seems to think they are less religious than some non-denom schools. But no I would def home school if offered a faith school.

new mother Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > BB - we disagree completely I can see. > As usual! I do agree with you that disruptive pupils are a big problem but laying the blame solely on parents is a mistake; although that is where it starts it is a more complex than that. Poor teaching, poor environment, lack of facilties, implicit discrimination, etc can all contribute and pointing the finger at parents can ignore the wider issues. I have watched children who were lovely in nursery become disruptive in Year 1 because of a range of reasons directly contributed by the school. Conversely I have seen troubled children with a difficult family background really blossom at school with supportive guidance from caring adults. A good school has positive relationships with their pupils, not regimented sargent majors. I'm not talking about wishy-washy relationships that let children do what they like but respectful, reciprical relationships that provide clear and consistent boundaries and listen to and support children's individual needs. The best schools I've worked in are the ones like that.

Mark, It's nearly a month since school places were offered. Do you have any developments regarding your child's school place? And what does everyone think of the plans to allow those parents who set up Free schools to have guaranteed places for their children?

helena handbasket Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ???? you summed it up perfectly. what that by suggesting that I'm somehow 'damaged' discredits and distorts my view? More like I have an opinion that you don't like. Pass the popcorn Moos...Yawn.

???? Sorry if I spoilt your light-hearted thread, I didn't realise you just wanted your ears tickled. yes swearing is abusive speech but I suppose if you say it isn't then it can't be. I just know that when I hear someone swear (whatever it is for, or to) I lose respect for them for their lack of self-control - which yes is tied up with my experience (but there is no 'whole load of other', just the swearing, cheek). At school they tell you swearing is bad, then you come home thinking your parents are bad. At the end of the day, I just wanted people to give a little serious consideration to how, and if, it affects their children and how they feel about it. If you know it doesn't then fine, but how do you know? Have you asked them?(answers not required).

Dorothy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think most parents would like their children to > go to schools 1 and 2 on their list, 3 at a push. > Which leaves choices 4, 5 and 6 ... where > exactly?> > Is there really any point to having 6 "choices" > Yes there is. It allows parents with a guaranteed sibling place to put 5 grammar schools above it. Msgee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > it was because it succeeded-after a long struggle- > in attracting a mixture of kids The school didn't > change, the ED/mc perception of it changed. I would expect the Head at Kingsdale is now choking on his coffee. If Kingsdale didn't change it would never have attracted a mix of children. The environment changed - all ?30million of it, class sizes changed, the ethos and discipline regime, the curriculum, the extra-curr, the GCSE results and the key thing is there is now leadership..........I have friends who were pupils at Kingsdale in the 70's and 80's who say the school is unrecognisable and is a completely different school from the one they went to. They would not have sent their children (who are in year 8) there otherwise. Mark Dodds Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >Resources need to be poured into socialising children at nursery and primary so they are more than capable of being self >propelled at learning by the time they are at high school age. Class > sizes at early years should be much smaller than > they are; 18 maximum and classes should have two > adult support staff or trained parent volunteers > alongside each teacher so that groups of six > children are always in close contact with a good > role model throughout their academic day. > You must have been reading the Early Years journals lately Mark. All the committment and money pumped into Early Years in the past few years was to do exactly what you suggest but it's now being clawed back, and some. It's an easy target because two years olds can't vote.

I'm surprised your GP told you to exclude certain foods without referring you to a dietitian. If you are cutting out dairy or gluten you should have some professional nutriton advice.

ClareC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > zeban Wrote: > ------------------------------------------------> > It really makes me laugh how a thread started in > jest but covering a serious topic (for which it is > useful to know the best way to deal with the > ituation should it arise) ends up with posters > making insulting judgemental bigoted remarks about > people they know nothing about. Erm, the thread started with someone feeling maybe a little guilty about their habit and was probably looking for a bit of reassurance that they weren't alone. Then I came along and tried to get people to think about how a child may feel about it. Then a few got a bit defensive and took exception to a word they weren't sure was meant by it and then the usual EDF debate commenced. Swearing is a form of abuse whether at a person, an object or a situation. If you think it makes you a bad parent then maybe it does, if you think it doesn't then maybe it doesn't.

Ruth_Baldock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- to > imply that everyone who swears within earshot of > their children is 'chavvy' and so, moral-less, > uncouth, uncaring is erroneous and actually really > offensive. It's rather interesting that you are so up in arms about how swearing in front of your kids is perceived by others. Oh, and Ruth, my parents never swore at me. I was trying to offer a child's viewpoint that hearing abusive speech as a child is not pleasant and very offensive. Some recent research on children's views on their childhoods reported that children do not like adults swearing.

The term chavvy has undergone some evolution and it's connotations of council housing have been forgotten and is more about a set of behaviours than a person's social-economic situation. The fact you are asking each other what it means and googling it suggests you are anaylsing my comment too closely with a rather rigid out-dated definition. And yes, swearing does remind me of my parents and before you take the moral highground my parents think it's rather funny we affectionately call them chavs (it's not as bad as what they call each other). But I will take from this that not everyone is keeping up and so will add it to my list of banned words - which sounds like is much longer than most of yours.

helena handbasket Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I would much rather have my son hear me say the > odd swear word then have him learn to say things > like chavvy about people. I might hear Thomas and > his friends yell "dammit" from the other room once > in a while, but I have never heard my son use > nasty terms about anyone and he does not know to > make value judgments about people. I was referring to chavvy as a state of being and behaviour. Everything we think and say is value laden unless they are absolute truths.

If you click on the folder word more files and folders come up

which file do you open because when you click on the link there a few different files with more files in them?

Nothing wrong with discipline, my eldest regulary complains I'm too strict - it's the assumption that any disruptive pupil is semi-feral ignores that behaviour is contextual. The fact there are so many disruptive children in the education system needs some reflection on the system as an institution itself and not just locating the problem with parenting. In the many schools I have visited I see children already turned off from learning from aged 5 becuase of their early experiences of education.

Yeah I know there's different contexts but it's just too chavvy for me.

I think new mother is friends with David Starkey (Jamie Oliver's Dream school)

Mellors Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Surely me saying bollocks from time to time isn't > going to mean my husband will start knocking me > around? I love a good swear, although do try and > save it up for out of earshot. Domestic abuse does not always have to be physical. I don't know, I suppose if it makes you feel good, imagine how the other person, and your children may feel, when they hear it.

As a child of two compulsive swearing parents I found the use of explitives can be the bridge to domestic violence. So I don't swear and (almost) never have. As a result, my children don't swear either (as far as I know) and we have a very peaceful household. Even shut-up is a swear word in our house.

The staff have school mobiles but no, parents don't have all their numbers but I have acquired a couple, including the school bus attendents. You can contact staff by ringing the switchboard and they will put you through to their mobile if necessary.

Just wanted to add that I'm an early years teacher and have a first class honours degree in early childhood studies so my advice above is based on professional early years practice, underpinned by international children's rights and included in government parenting training. Using detraction techniques as Damsel suggests and 5 minute warnings is also used in schools, and is best practice when working with children with difficult behaviour.

dollydaydream Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- if it is a > more serious problem where do you go with the > detention?? Isolation. Exclusion......... At all Harris schools the punishments are cumlatative so a 3 hour detention for a small offence would only be given after a few shorter detentions for other minor offences have been served. The small detentions are wiped clean at the end of each term but the longer ones will continue to count. I think that's how it goes but ask any Harris child and they will be able to explain it in much detail. However at crystal palace they don't hand them out like sweets like the boys school do.

Is your baby shooting poo when you change her nappy as well? My first child became a constant pooper around 2 months and it took us a while to find out why. A ped at A & E suggested my baby was intolerant to the cow's milk I was drinking so I cut out the dairy in my diet and the problem stopped. I thought maybe it was a co-incidance but my second baby started doing the same thing and responded immediately to cutting out the dairy. Both went onto taking soya formula milk but there is traces of milk protein in that as well so they had to have a special formula from the doctor instead. It may not be your baby's problem but it's worth a try. Remember to take calcuim supplements for yourself whilst your feeding.