BB100

Penguin68 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oh, and to suggest that 'bad' schools are 'bad' > because of the quality of the children who go to > them is like saying that 'good' hospitals are good > because they only take nearly well people, and bad > hospitals bad because they tend only the very > sick. > > It is not 'bad' children that make bad schools. Based on recent research about what makes a good school you are correct. It is good parents that help their children that is the key to good outcomes for a child. It is not who parents ARE (rich, poor, middle/working class) it's what they DO to help their children. But they still need good teachers and a good environment to progress. But if a sick person goes to hospital and refuses to take their medicine properly then they won't get well and will probably blame the hospital.

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In my experience union officials are less > concerned with quality of output than certainty of > employment. So yes - I do not see the NUT as a > force for good in education. This statement appears correct when on the news yesterday they reported that only 11 teachers have been sacked for incompetance in the past FORTY YEARS. The problems with schools is the teachers are not performance managed. And it is the unions that have managed to prevent it.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Schonrocks, is it really our business to make such a public judgement? NSPCC statistics suggest more children are killed and have accidents at home than on the street. This is more about people's attitudes towards what makes a good parent than real concerns about the children's safety. Curmudgeon - does the school have this policy in writing? I read the entire HM Government Statatory requirements for safeguarding children 'manual' a few years ago and don't remember it making any such demands.

If you want to check if your school has applied for status: http://www.education.gov.uk/academies/schools-registering-interest

By the way my son goes to a mixed school but until recently was taught maths in boys only class. They recently mixed them up so he is taught in a mixed class now. He says the only difference is there is more chatting - about shoes and bags! lol

This is a very good link Magpie - thanks for the info. 'Pupils' subject and course choices are influenced by a range of factors: their own views and expectations, those of their peers, parents and teachers, and the media'. This is what I was trying to say - it's not just about whether the school is mixed or not, there are a range of other factors that influence outcomes for girls achievements. 'Some words of warning: Most single-sex girls schools are in the independent sector; this makes for difficult comparisons with a national picture, as it is likely that any differences are artefacts of the independent/maintained split rather than the gender difference'. Again here gender doesn't seem to be the issue but instead whether it is a state or private school I found this research on single-sex teaching which although conducted in mixed schools is relevant to separately educating boys and girls: 'The evidence on the benefits of single sex classrooms is inconsistent and inconclusive, especially in showing any impact on attainment. Single sex classrooms have often been introduced for a number of different reasons and so it is difficult to reach an overall conclusion on their merits'. 'Disadvantages of Single Sex Teaching Researchers have also noted some disadvantages of single sex teaching. Sukhnandan et al. (2000) argue that tailoring lessons to the different learning styles of boys and girls can be problematic: " ?'matching' the learning styles of boys and girls can be perceived as an approach that simply reinforces the different learning styles of boys and girls by exploiting the areas where they are strong and by ignoring their areas of weakness. Although this may lead to increased pupil achievement in terms of examination performance, it may have detrimental effects on pupil achievement at a broader level." (p.28)'. http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/46133?uc = force_uj 'Riordan (2002 cited by Smithers and Robinson, 2006) argued that the academic culture and ethos of the school is the key to success' This is the point I mentioned in my previous post. It's about the school and your child and not about her gender However: 'Pupils are almost always in favour of single-sex groupings, especially girls'. http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/46121?uc = force_uj Based on this evaluation I would ask your daughter what she wants and go with that! :) I would be interested to hear what she thinks.

But education has changed a bit since then Magpie. Children are not so tied to gendered labels in education as the 'now 40 years' were when they were at school. So I'm not sure the research is so relevant to this generation of children.

I just wanted to let parents know that many nurseries are planning to increase their fees due to the VAT increase in January. Nurseries are not exempt from paying VAT, unlike schools, and a campaign has been started to petition the government for this. Please sign your support at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/zeroratevat and pass it on if you can.

One of my children had it at 2 weeks old. It was great - no problems, no crying and you can barely see the scar now he is 12. You have to really search for it. The other child had it at 18 months, small cry and a slightly more visible scar but never as obvious as when you have it at 13 and you don't have it again. The liquid used for TB injections (I was told) is very thick so with babies they use a punch which contains something like 50 tiny needles. When children get older and have the jab they only use one needle and that's why you get heavy scarring and it hurts so much. We decided to have our children receive the TB jab because one of our relatives caught TB thirteen years ago. She had never been abroad so could have only got it from her primary school in Lewisham or from someone in the local community. She had to take medication for a whole year and it was very worrying to the family. I think TB is even higher now than it was then and Lewisham/Southwark/Lambeth has the highest TB cases in the country.

From my experience from last year there seems to be more than enough school places - there were so many kids on the move last year it was difficult to beleive there were a lack of spaces. I know of quite a few kids who turned up to their new schools in the Sept didn't like it and seemed to get a place in another school within a matter of days/weeks. One parent managed to move two children at the same time. With the expansion and improvement of Kingsdale and some other previously failing schools, the opening of Harris Boys, rebuilds of some schools making them more attractive learning environments and people yearly moving away to 'better' schools, it seems to be relieving the burden. It doesn't seem that way during the application process becuase everyone has to wait for the rich kids to decide whether they are taking their private school places or not and then it frees up the spaces. Then everyone starts moving around. No wonder it was even worse before the Pan-London scheme.

Generalising by gender often ignores children's unique personalities and how an ethos of a school results in different outcomes for children regardless of their sex. You need to find a school that your child will comfortably settle in and will do well as a person and not as a girl.

Alec John Moore Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > My concern > is that we will get a distorted, increasingly > market-led system with everyone trying to get in > to the "best" schools with reduced support for the > schools that need it. If you look at the mess early years provision is in with fragmented market-led nurseries and playgroups it's not difficult to see the future.

A bulge class at Kingsdale! My child says she already walks up and down the corridor looking for an available classroom with her teacher and the class wasting half the lesson. Can Kingsdale really fit anymore kids in?

Must have got the wrong college. It was a couple of years ago I heard that, that's why I suggested you check it out.

Firstly, Harris CP are no longer doing the green and yellow route. They have a new system more suited to children's individual needs. Secondly, they only set children in the core subjects (with same sex classes). All other subjects are mixed ability and sex. This is in contrast to Kingsdale and Harris Boys who set children in all subjects right from the begining. So who is pigeon-holing?

While I can't find the article that was printed a couple of weeks ago I found this case-study / link which is probably even better at exploring how schools improve: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/case-study-bringing-about-school-improvement-2261 'While it is true that some of our school improvement strategies at the Westwood School are responsible for raising attainment and standards, it is also true that the school now attracts more able pupils, although still in small numbers. There is, then, something of a chicken-and-egg conundrum around whether the school is now more successful because it attracts more able pupils with supportive parents or that more supportive parents now choose the school because we are more successful. However, what we can be sure of is that, if we had not chosen to embark on a programme of school improvement, the school would be facing an uncertain future with declining roles and poor attainment and achievement.'

westof Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I noticed on the latest newsletter (on the school > website), some quoted entusiasm from pupils for > the 'new lunches' - maybe they have changed? Yes, when Ofsted came. Or maybe I'm a cynic but my child says the food this year has been dire. The > number of looked after children, refugees and > asylum seekers is declining" - in light of that > the fact that some have claimed the school is now > 'targetting the middle classes'. > Since the school no longer has available places throughout the year groups, naturally those groups of children will decline as places won't be there for them when they move into the area. I was reading an article in the newspaper recently written by two 'super' heads who were sent to transform failing schools. They suggested that the only key way to improve a school is to change the intake.

Fantastic report but the report says the lunches are 'high quality'! And what's that about the 'hand-bells for lesson change'? - they have pips! Did they go to the right school??

There is also to be an extra class at Fairlawn for one year

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I'm amazed no parent of a boys at the temporary > site hasn't said anything on this forum. Becuase they don't live in E. Dulwich! Only a few children are local becuase parents didn't trust sending their child to the unknown. However if I had the money I would buy a property as close to the school as possible as I can see it will be worth a mint in a few years time.

I remember when my children were small like yours and I looked at the entry requirements for local schools and thought about what I would need to do to get them in. I sent them to music and sport lessons for just this reason. However by the time they were old enough to go, the schools had changed their entry requirements, changed their catchment area, reputation had changed/gone down hill/results dropped, etc, or changed their intake. On reflection I should have just sent them to Kumon maths (that's definately worth it for any selective/independent/grammar school if you start about Year 4) and saved my money and the time and effort. I expect that by the time yours are ready to go the reputations and entry requirements will have changed again. Or you will have moved or they will open yet another new school.

ruffers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >>>> So as > far as I can see as long as there's a bit of > tarmac for dinner and somewhere to go for games > lessons then all's good. > They currently provide table tennis and football tables in the limited space they have at the moment at the temporary site. They also run lunch clubs.

Reg Smeeton Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can we establish some facts. > > I believe that when the school is finally 'full' > there will be 750 boys up to GCSE (years 7-11) There is currently 25 boys per class and six classes. Which yes would make 750 boys when full, excluding the sixth form.

first mate Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > kylie6097, > > - but I would suggest that your comment > about Harris' lack of clarity on sports facilities > pinpoints exactly the thing that makes people like > me suspicious! > > The children get four hours a week of P.E. which is double most schools. They go to SouthBank for sports and atheletics and Peckham Pulse every fortnight for swimming. They will use the velodrome in the summer for cycling. The new school will have an indoor sports hall and a dance studio and there is outdoor space. Every term they have a whole day of sports and they spend a day sailing. They have a sports day and an interHarris sports day. They have football tournaments at the weekend. If your child doesn't like sport or the outdoors I suggest don't send him there.

If Harris Boys use the park I think it will be over the Headteacher's dead body. He won't even let them set foot in the park even after school in school uniform or step into any shop in the vacinity of the school for that matter. He has even chased after boys in the park and gave them detention when they tried to use it to walk home. This school is run with miltary percision (literally) - the children march in single file with their heads down - so not a moment will be lost in getting to South Bank fields or the Pulse swimming pool and back again for P.E. In fact I would put money on whether they could bus them to the fields and get changed before Dulwich College boys could walk to their own fields. P.S I have an almost new uniform to sell if anyone's interested.