Monkey

Hi - it?s all in the email sent by the school (in bold and underlined): ?non verbal reasoning tests only?. Also it doesn?t matter how well the kids do. They get placed into one of three ability bands with the same number of names pulled out randomly from each band. Have they not received the invitation? If not, they need to contact the school as you need to come with the letter/email.

Renata, I was talking about the lack of information from Southwark. The lack of simple emails such as ?you can now apply?, ?careful - deadline tomorrow?. All I got from Southwark is a crumpled letter at the bottom of a the school bag and my daughter passing on a message from her school - two days after the deadline - that the school couldn?t see me on the list of applicants and they believed I hadn?t applied. Lewisham on the other hand sent me regular informative emails about the process. I called the council two weeks ago asking whether I needed to make contact with the schools for banding tests. Person didn?t know. I didn?t get called back as promised. I now understand that letters will be sent by the schools but they haven?t yet because the council hasn?t sent the list of applicants to the schools. Looks like Kingsdale might have to postpone banding tests which were supposed to start on Saturday. I, and many others, have been keeping all the banding test dates free in case we get called in. I?m glad I don?t work in a job where changing a shift is a problem. I?m grateful for your commitment and availability but I think Southwark, even in the difficult circumstances it has to deal with, is falling short. On the actual issue of publication of distances (and number of siblings places), can you confirm the council has actually contacted the schools to publish the data and that the schools have refused? Thank you and sorry to harangue you. I would ask Jasmine Ali, councillor for schools. Unfortunately my emails are ignored unless I put Helen Hayes and Harriet Harman in copy.

Worldwiser, the current arrangements in Southwark are designed to cream off the top pupils and exclude the children of chaotic families. Nothing else. It?s a disgrace. I understand that the Council can?t do much. However, the little it could do (sending regular informative emails like Lewisham does for example) it doesn?t. I?m grateful to Renata for posting here and always being on hand to help, but we shouldn?t have to resort to the forum for this kind of information. This kind of information strategy targeted at a small subset of the population is unworthy of a council run by Labour. In Southwark, it feels like it is for the few and not the many.

Agree, HelloSailor. It?s impossible to get any reliable information. In addition, banding tests are happening very soon and I?ve still not got my dates. I presume schools expect us to drop everything at once for them. It?s high time these bloody schools got taken down a peg or two.

Thank you!

Renata, thanks for this. Do we now wait to be invited to the banding tests? Or do we need to contact the schools proactively? I phoned the Southwark helpline but they had no clue. Thank you again.

Guys, I think we need to review our expectations in terms of getting information on admission distances. Right now i?m just trying to find out from Harris Girls ED what band my daughter is in and you?d think i?m asking them a complicated philosophical question with many possible answers. The band she?s in seems to change each time I call. This is a complete farce.

That?s reassuring, thank you!

I also don?t understand why no testing based on previous years? data has been run on Harris Girls after it changed its admission policy and nodal point. Frankly given where I am on Dunstans, I don?t think we?ll make it anywhere near. We?re making plans to home educate just to have a back up. We shouldn?t be in this situation. I bloody hate living in Southwark.

Wow - Super impressed with Bromley. I think the schools around here are badly behaved and refusing to help the Council. Perhaps what?s needed is action from us in terms of lobbying the heads. But frankly, between the visits, reading of admission policies, banding tests, making sure attendance at banding tests has been recorded properly (long story), general and specialist sports assessments etc... I don't have time for anything else. Indeed I could do with a quiet weekend not monopolised by secondary schools.

I?m not stressed, just annoyed at how complicated and time-consuming the system has got, including for teachers (open days, banding tests). Agree Kingsdale is far. For this reason it?s bottom of my list.

Monkey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Welcome to the Forum Abi1. > > I don?t want Southwark schools for Southwark > children, i?m merely asking the council about its > plans to use Kingsdale to provide extra places > locally. These are the words of the council, not > mines. Kingsdale recruits far and wide using a > Byzantine system, while Sydenham School recruits > by distance. > > I don?t want special treatment for my child, > never have, never will. Indeed my favourite school > is a local school which a lot of people don?t put > on their list.

Welcome to the Forum Abi1. I don?t want Southwark schools for Southwark children, i?m merely asking the council about its plans to use Kingsdale to provide extra places locally. These are the words of the council, not mines. Kingsdale recruits far and wide using a Byzantine system, while Sydenham School recruits by distance. I don?t want special treatment for my child, never have, never will. Indeed my favourite school is a local school which a lot of people don?t put on their

Deptford Green I consider too far for an 11-year-old girl to travel to on her own every day. I?ve had a few incidents - let?s call them that - as a teenager, so very aware of safety issues. Peckham Academy not too far but I know of the issues they are facing from hubby who was a teacher and a friend whose son attended. Not an option. Completely agree with you on the need to raise standards. Unfortunately I don?t have the luxury of time and when I see schools where the brightest end up with negative progress 8 scores, this is just not somewhere where I want to send my daughter. But yes we need to raise standards in all schools. I volunteer at a primary school so well aware of the issue.

Thank you, Renata. As always you are the one engaging with us. I can't speak for Jamma but I'd consider a school inappropriate if it's far away and outside my immediate area, has really poor results or severe discipline problems. This definition will be different from the council's. - How come Southwark ended up with only academies when Lewisham managed to hang onto their secondary schools? -Also has Kingsdale been approached to expand their intake to the benefit of Southwark children as floated in the School Places Strategy Meeting dated October 2017? - In the same meeting, the need for a secondary on the Old Kent Road was highlighted with a certain sense of urgency. I don't think this is being built. What effect is that going to have on other schools?

I contacted H. Hayes and H. Harman yesterday and encourage everyone to do the same. There is actually quite a bit Southwark can try and do. Like planning for example. But try and get hold of the minutes of the school places strategy meeting for 2018 and you feel like you?re being rude. Also got news from Sydenham School yesterday that their radius hasn?t budged since offer day on 1st March. Go figure. Also now hearing that Charter ED won?t expand as quickly as planned. Southwark is sleep walking into a disaster.

Completely agree KateFord. Maternity unit at King?s is chaos.

I tried to contact you but message not going through. Thank you.

Hi Oscar and everyone I'm getting mightily irritated with our councillors, who refuse to engage on the issue and answer my emails. Like you, Oscar, I think I'm not going to get into Harris Girls ED now that the school might be changing their nodal point. The Council is asleep at the wheel. I'm all for taking action, gathering a big group of parents and writing a group letter to our MP(s). Anybody interested, please PM.

I?ve lost trust completely and utterly. Even considering moving.

Been trying to engage councillors on the issue by email and no answer. Dunno why I voted for them now...

I think the furthest place allocated on distance for Charter ED last year was 1.3km. To see how far you are, use Google Maps. On another note, i?d be interested to hear of people getting places at Sydenham School from the waiting list and how far they are from the school, just for anecdotal information.

Southwark makes this information available in its primary school application booklet. Data for the 2018 intake is now online and data for the 2019-2020 intake will be available from around September, I should think. I don?t find Southwark to be terribly forthcoming with information.

Tell me about it, Sporthuntor. Trying to get councillors to answer my very simple questions on secondary school places. Impossible to get any of them to answer.

We boycott it and go to PeckhamPlex. ?4.99 a ticket, I believe.