prickle

Debi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I've just spoken to a member of the senior > management team at Kingsdale. He has told me that > there is no truth in this allegation whatsoever. > They have not given any info to the police because > they have not been asked for it. They have asked > the Schools' Liaison Officer and he has confirmed > that there have been no reports of crimes > committed by Kingsdale pupils against Harris > pupils or indeed any one else. I don't know how > and why, but it is clear that this is a complete > fabrication. > > As for there being problems specific to the older > cohort, my son is in Year 11 and he was saddened > that people would have these kinds of perceptions > about his year group. > > I think this illustrates the dangers of the rumour > mill, particularly at times when so many parents > are already anxious. Debi You said on another thread that 'I wouldn't say that I have influence at the school, any more than any other parent.' However? you have a direct line to a member of the senior management team at Kingsdale after 9 in the evening - that sounds like a LOT of influence! Debi, please out yourself - what is your role at Kingsdale??

Chrism I think has raised an important point about how we view our secondary schools. It's easy to get carried away about all the flashy facilities and scholarships and so on, but what should be the core of our assessment of any school is what goes on every day. What are the children learning? How are they learning? How have they progressed? These are the things that really matter and its essential that the school involves us, the parents, with this. At my child's school, the school year is divided into modules (I think its 5 poss 6) and at the end of each module, the child is assessed, normally with a test. They are set an individual target to achieve at the end of each module for each subject and we receive a grid at the end of each module showing us whether they have hit/missed/exceeded target or not. They are also assessed for attendance and effort for each subject. I think it is an excellent system - concise but informative. We can then contact the school if we have any concerns about how our child is doing.

That takes me back! Kingsdale's rebuild was in the halcyon days of New Labour. My brother was in the team that worked on the rebuild of the school and the project was based on the premise that architecture could change the failing school ? a sort of experiment, clearly one that has worked. It's the Coalition's shame that even with the evidence from the success of schools like Kingsdale where improvement in the built environment has had such a positive impact, the BSF has been canned. Shame on Mr Gove.

Murphy, you make some very good points here. I agree that both Charter and Kingsdale have admission systems that ensure that they get the mix of pupils that they want. My quibble with Kingsdale is that their selection method (as the lengthy debate in this thread illustrates) is far from transparent. This lack of information leads some to speculate that Kingsdale's system is less than fair. The Charter system at least is very black and white - you either live within range or not.

intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But ( I'm sure to most people's relief ) I'm > giving up the struggle to understand it now . Me too, but would be interested to hear from parents of this year's intake about how they get on. Very best of luck to everyone going through it now - I really hope your child gets into a school in which he/she will thrive.

Thank you Debi, you are right - it is a very complex process. As you are someone with some influence at Kingsdale, perhaps it may be an idea to feedback to the school that they really need to spell out their admissions and scholarship criteria on their website so that there is absolutely no confusion. It seems damaging to the school's reputation that this issue gets dug up year after year? Just a suggestion?

Thanks, Intexas, didn't pick up on that? I noticed that the thread also talks about half scholarships - what are they all about?

ok, I've done the search and here lis the link about Kingsdale scholarships from last year. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,431516,435596#msg-435596 Have to say, I'm none the wiser and its depressing that the same issues are being debated again a year later!

Debi, could you put a link to the explanation about the scholarships here. Thanks

intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mmm , Kingsdale's site ,under Admissions says > Please refer to scholarship oversubscription > criteria for more information > but I couldn't find the details . > Maybe it's available on request ? Quite, this is what I mean about the process being opaque. The criteria should be on the web site and not just available on request!

In my experience, Kingsdale do not explain how they deal with oversubscription for scholarships. As I understand it, if a scholarship child attends Kingsdale, they must attend with a scholarship ie they will only be offered a place if another scholarship child drops out. I asked Kingsdale to tell us where we were on the waiting list but they could not. The whole system is opaque. There must be very many disappointed scholarship pupils out there now waiting for another chance. For their sake, please can someone from Kingsdale spell out what your policy is?

skyblue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Random selection will only be fair for children if > all schools use it. Totally agree with you.

intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do you think it's catchement area is comparable > though ? I feel it's in quite a uniformly middle > class area where parents might be tempted to go > private but would try state . > Kingsdale has always seemed out on a limb to me > ,close to upper middle class households ( well > ,even more expensive houses than those near > Charter ) where parents more likely to go private > and the Kingsdale estate . > > I don't think Kingsdale is guilty of jiggery > -pokery at all ,just trying to get a balanced > intake . Although its catchment is small, Charter has a very mixed intake, covering some large council estates off Dog Kennel and Denmark Hills as well as Dulwich Village. It's a challenge for the school to ensure that these children from diverse backgrounds all do well academically. The diverse social mix also enriches the school culturally and it certainly does not feel like an exclusively middle class enclave. As for Kingsdale, I was alarmed to see that they have added mathematics to music and sports as subjects for scholarships. Surely selecting on high achievement for maths takes them dangerously close (or even over) to being a selective school?

I am another Dr Johnson fan and will miss him when he goes? Also just received a letter today from the practice saying that he will be replaced by Dr Anu Bhatia of Will My Crash Diet Kill me fame. Is this a joke or what?!

I have a child in year 8 at Charter. I am happy with the level of communication re: specific concerns. I have been in email contact with several teachers and on one occasion, the year head has rang me back to discuss on phone too. I have found that my concerns have been forwarded to the relevant teachers and have been dealt with to my satisfaction. I agree with others that it takes a while to get used to the more distant relationship you have with secondary school teachers and you have to rely on feedback from your children and also gut instinct to a certain extent.

Jimmyay, has it been confirmed that the victim is black?

VictoriaSmith Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi orlakeilyhandbag! I am a single mother and I > have a daughter who is now 12 years old. For about > an hour she is left home alone since I am still at > work by the time she gets home from school. I just > started leaving her home alone this year since she > insisted not to be babysat anymore. And she is > already responsible enough that?s why I allowed > her to be home alone. I don?t worry that much of > her safety since I registered her to SafeKidZone > which allows her to summon for help and ask for an > immediate response if there was an emergency > situation. This is the protection I provided my > child: http://safekidzone.com/ I clicked on this link and its an American web site - are you sure this is the one you use?

I know a maths tutor in ED who might help. She is relaxed and friendly and I would recommend her. Pls pm me if you would like her number.

Another plus of taking Charing X train if you use an Oyster is that you only pay the one fare - ie no tube fare to pay.

When I was working, the only way I could regularly fit in exercise was to work it into the daily routine. I love walking so I used to walk a part of the way to work. Instead of taking the train, I would walk to one or two stops eg. to peckham rye/queens road or get off a stop or two before and walk to work from there. It takes a little more time but if you walk at a brisk pace then its not too bad. Much better than being in a crowded train and I found it a good destressing time before the mayhem of work/home! I also invested in some mbt trainers which seemed to add a bit more discipline to my posture and also a good backpack so that my arms could swing free.

I have raised this issue with James Barber on this forum too. See my post http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,336529,544857#msg-544857. He is on the case and is trying to get Sainsburys and Southwark to get their act together to sort this out.

Miniprickle was offered a music 'scholarship' two years ago. The offer letter was very ambiguous and left us with the impression that she had a place but to our disappointment she was not offered a place. They give out far more 'scholarships' than available places so many children are disappointed. Also at the auditions, each child is asked where they will be putting Kingsdale in their list. This is definitely not kosher. Pls beware of this if you are going through the process at the moment. Do not build up the hopes of your child if they receive a scholarship letter - you only really know if they are successful in March.

Thank you, James for following up with Sainsburys. Let's hope they will take some action!

Thank you so much James, hopefully things will improve. I noted this morning that the bin by DKH has collapsed completely?

Hi James, I wondered if you had time to consider my request about rats in St Francis Park/Sainsburys. If this is not your jurisdiction, then I would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks