Monkey

For goodness sake, James. I now really regret voting Lib Dem. As you know, headteachers are extremely well paid and there are no violence/discipline problems at the school as per the Ofsted report (apart from people reading a tiny bit too much into school posters). There are many worse schools out there and many heads would like their biggest problem to be pushy parents.I am sure that should the position become vacant, we'll have lots of applicants. All we're asking is for results to go up and not down. And no I don't care about value added. I am talking about the cold , hard facts: percentage of pupils achievieving level 4 in maths, English and science.

Why do people assume that parents are giving the head a hard time just because she's black? Because they're white and middle class? Isn't that a racist assumption to make? Goodrich's results have been going down. It's a fact. My poor impression of Goodrich (apart from this thread) comes from looking at league tables and also from seeing a number of grammatical mistakes on their website, including a glaring one on the homepage (now removed)... That's why I decided not to send my daughter there. If a new head is appointed and results start going up, I will reconsider my decision, whatever the colour of the new head. Headteachers are paid a lot of money (far too much in my opinion) so when they don't deliver, they need to be held accountable.

Dear me. I thought things had improved since I was a foreign exchange student. I remember a host family in Austria telling me that they had never met anyone from the travel agency. I have always been very lucky with my families but baby Monkey won't be going on any trip of the kind!

I would try not to plan too much in advance if I were you. Just see what your HV is like, listen to what she has to say and if in doubt go to your GP. I was with the Townley Road clinic and I thought my HV was great and very friendly. She was a reassuring presence and I valued her advice. However when she told me it was not normal that my baby was sleeping through for 12 hours aged 10 weeks and that it must mean I was overfeeding her during the day, I ignored her and continued as I was doing. I could see that Baby Monkey was absolutely fine - gut feeling and I was right. As you grow more confident as a mum, you'll soon learn to make your own decisions. Be prepared for people to give you lots of advice, HV, MILs, complete strangers... My MIL is horrified we don't give orange juice to Baby Monkey... She and lots of others said I should not put her in nursery, evil places for evil people... etc etc...

I did not go to any NCT classes and still managed to give birth, love every minute of maternity leave, make lots of friends and most importantly raise a happy and healthy baby.

Nurseries offer a happy, caring and safe environment for little ones, IMO. I put my daughter in nursery full time when she was four months old without any qualms and we've never had any problems with her crying or being unhappy. She is now 18 months old and a complete delight. She loves other children and has bonded really well with nursery staff. She does lots of things during the day: including mark making, singing etc... which she probably would not do with me at home. My husband drops her off in the morning and she happily goes to sit down at the breakfast table and waves him goodbye. And she loves it when I pick her up in the evening, running to me to give me a big cuddle. I hope our story makes you feel better! As your little one will be a bit older when you first leave him at nursery, he might take a bit of time to settle but all the babies in the two nurseries we have attended looked settled and happy. No reason why your little one would be any different. What you could do between now and then is take him to lots of playgroups to get him used to other adults and children. I hope this helps. Don't worry. Just visit as many nurseries as you can to get a feel for what's on offer. Ask about food, staff turnover, activities, how long the manager's been at the nursery, is she good with the staff, does she know all children by names etc... and just look at the children: are they active and happy?

I have only good things to say about Asquith Peckham Rye on Waveney Avenue.

Both the Forest Hill and Peckham Rye branches are rated as "good". My baby spent six months in the Forest Hill branch last year and we were very happy with it until a lot of staff started leaving including the manager so, sadly, we left. More on a whim than anything else actually. It's now all settled down or so I hear. On the positive side: the staff is very, very caring, parents' involvement is good, the children have lots of fun there and there is a fantastic community feel to the place. It's a very happy place. On the not so good side, I find the premises at the Forest Hill branch a bit cramped - especially the pre fabs for the 2-3s - and that was the other reason why we left when a place came up at another nursery we loved. The whole place was also in need of a good makeover which I think has now been done. The Peckham Rye branch's premises - which I have not seen - are said to be great but don't have a garden. Having said that the Rye is just next door so not a huge problem. Excel is not the hell hole that many people would have you believe. They did fail some Ofsted inspections a few years ago but the issues have now been addressed. It is a good little nursery which plays an important role in the community. The standards in terms of premises for example are not the same as Asquith or Bright Horizons but the monthly fees are much lower. Hope this helps.

I feel your pain... Re: Harris Girls' School, sadly, I am less worried about the GSCE results than the metal detectors the police felt they had to instal at the entrance of the school's end of year party last December.

I sympathise. I work 7.30am-5.00pm everyday and then pick up daughter from nursery. I have been doing that since she was four months old and she's now 18 months. Last summer I cracked up - went a bit nuts really. Much better now thanks to understanding colleagues but can't imagine doing all this while pregnant so no you are certainly not a sissy. I do hope you have a cleaning lady. I do and also a lady I can call in only when I need to when the ironing pile's gone out of hand. I can give you her number if you want. At the weekend, we exhaust Little Miss Monkey in the morning so we can have quiet afternoons and this new routine has certainly helped. Sorry I do not have any more tips.

Agree with duchess of dulwich. Isn't that what the forum is all about? I find posts advising Emily on where to air her concerns very patronising.

My daughter is starting at DUCKS in September and I would like to get in touch with parents whose children also go to the school. Any advice on wrap around childcare (childminders, nannies etc...) for DUCKS most welcome! Thank you.

My daughter started at nursery when she was four months, 5 days a week. She is a little tired in the evening but nothing too bad and not much more than she is at the weekend actually. Nurseries are great in terms of space (there are none of the "dangers" one has at home as the kids are in a big room set up for them)and the sheer volumes of toys and activities on offer. At the age 1, your little one should enjoy it very much. If you choose days when nurseries are less busy (Fridays for example), they should be more flexible about drop off and pick up times.

I would take a much longer maternity leave and not just four months. What I would not change though is the routine we put in place from when my daughter was about two weeks old and which includes bath at 6.00pm and lights out at 7.30pm come rain or shine. Gina Ford has lots of tips for bedtime routines for children of different ages so it's definitely not too late for your child. All the best.

GPs are notoriously bad with skin conditions. I would ask to see a specialist if I were you.

Work for home. My 15-month-old daughter was a great help today, handing me documents, throwing herself on to me whilst on a conf call, sending emails as well as doing a bit of typing....

Trains are running but there are delays. My usual 7.05am train to London Bridge left East Dulwich at 7.20am. Good luck.

Nicola Horlick actually said in an interview a couple of years ago that she should not be commended for juggling it all and that it's actually fairly easy when you have money and can afford to get help in. Womanofdulwich - I do hope you are joking.

Hiya. If I were you, I would start sorting his feeding and sleeping habits asap for your sake and his. Babies do not sleep all that much in nurseries and life as a working mum is tough and very, very tiring. You will both need a good night's sleep! I know quiet babies who started at nursery at the same age as yours and were fine with it. You could take him to playgroups and other noisy environments and see if your nursery would double his settling in period. Talk to the manager. They are used to helping worried mums! Good luck!

Asquith Peckham Rye seems to fit all our requirements. Open from 8.00am to 6.00pm with possibility to drop off at 07.30am and pick up at 6.30pm. Purpose built building set back from the road. The staff is great and some of them have been there for years. Food is cooked by a chef on the premises, menus are worked out by a dietetician etc etc... Garden has just been done up and looks fab. Gbp1,320 a month for a full time place for under threes.

I have no idea what the legal situation is but if your job does not require you to be "on site" how about working from home? My baby has been ill on only a few occasions since I went back to work in January and each time I just rang my boss and said I would be working from home. I did more work in the evening to make up for time spent at the gp, feeding etc... Her being so flexible means I am not looking to move jobs so we're both happy. As your manager sounds a bit like a *****, you could talk to the other mums in your company and find out what they do. Might give you some "ammunition." Good luck.

Anyone has the email address for Bright Horizons on Dog Kennel Hill? They're not answering their phone... yet again. Any help much appreciated! Thank you.

Poor thing! You could call NHS Direct. If they tell you to go to A&E, you can say you're sent by NHS Direct.

This should be reported to the police immediately. It's only with information from the public that they can do their job!

You can try Asquith Peckham Rye. I am very happy with it.