MGolden

Hi Neela, There are lots of football clubs around Dulwich and Peckham. Have a look here at the Tandridge League http://www.ourkidssports.com/Leagues/profile/id/23 Some teams may not have vacancies as they may have registered full squads for the start of the season. Your son may also have class mates who play league football (if that's what you're looking for) and they (or their parents) could tell you about local clubs. Michele

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > for all those being a bit righteous.... > > 2 candidates of equal qualification, both > interviewed as well, both initially impressive, > one male one female, which ONE would you honestly > choose. Easy to theorise on equality IMO. Easy - offer them a job share! :))

Medusa - you state 'My choice not to leave my children alone with a man I don't know very well is not substantially different from the regulations that prohibit male doctors/nurses from carrying out intimate examinations on female patients without a second person present.' And you're right but that is more about protecting the male nurse/doctor/carer from unfounded and at times malicious allegations. Previous posters have stated that abuse and even murder is more likely to happen at the hands of family members and/or friends and statistics bear this out. When my children (both boys) were at nursery there were two male care workers and both of them looked after my children at some stage. One of them was fabulous, the other appalling. The same could be said of some of their female care workers.

Having commented on previous Kingsdale threads I had originally decided I wasn't going to bother with this one but here goes. Prickle in answer to some of your points: 'Having a third (43 out of 125 teachers) of your teaching force leaving your school in one year is a serious management issue.' It may well be but what percentage of those teachers were on short term contracts? What percentage were covering maternity or long term sick leave? How many left because they had reached retirement age? Numbers in and of themselves are of limited value. At the open day yesterday I heard Steve Morrison state there are no vacancies in the teaching staff at school so they have successfully recruited to the vacant posts. 'Having an ofsted section 8 inspection pending is a serious management issue'. The school does not have an OFSTED Section 8 inspection pending - or maybe they do but as these are unannounced the school would not know about it - maybe you know something they don't? The school underwent an OFSTED section 8 inspection last year which is on the OFSTED website and in that it states that the school may undergo a full inspection sooner rather than later - as the school has not been inspected for nearly three years it is due an inspection anyway. 'Being investigated for cheating in examinations is a serious management matter. What is he doing to deal with these issues?' As many posters in this and countless other threads about Kingsdale have stated the very nature of what the head will be doing is and should be confidential. 'Reading all the above testaments from parents about the school, it does make me wonder. You all state that your children are doing really well at KD. This is great. It should be that way. But we are adults. We know that things are not that simple. The children may be fine now but what of the future?' Yes, I am one of those parents from Kingsdale whose child is a very happy, thriving Y9 student. Is any school perfect? Probably not. My younger son is in Y6 and we have been doing the rounds of secondary schools. He says he wants to go to Kingsdale and both his father and I want that too but it is important that he sees what other secondary schools are like. Like his brother before him Kingsdale is his first choice. Having looked at a number of secondary schools this Sept I am inclined to agree with him.

I have to admit he's reading it for English but he's enjoying it so that's what counts. Great name btw.

Jessie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And not just a worry for girls. My 7 Yo boy is > convinced he's fat. I have two boys both of whom are sports mad and very very active but both worry about their weight at times. But they worry more about eating a healthy diet - like you Fuschia I tell them that a bit of unhealthy food does no one any harm occasionally. Everything in moderation. I think we have a society that encourages our children to obsess about weight and appearance.

I would second Scout in 'To kill a mockingbird' - and although it's not a strictly contemporary book it really is timeless. My 13yo son is reading it now and really enjoying it and he's not a child who will willingly pick up a book.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Agreed. I think I was agreeing you actually, Otta!

Alan Medic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Actually it just made me think what a moneymaker > it is for some clubs. All those little mascots are > probably paying ?300 a go to get on the pitch for > that. All those little mascot's parents are shelling out at least that amount. Each of my sons has been a mascot once (one for Crystal Palace and one for Spurs) and we got no change out of about ?400. But saying that, both my boys play club and school football and I think the pre match handshake is supposed to remind them to be sporting on the pitch. Its's a shame that footballers can't demonstrate that. Ferdinand not shaking Cole's hand seemed particularly juvenile IMO.

We didn't use a potty with either of our boys. I just got them a step so they could stand and wee straight into the toilet. Apparently boys aren't supposed to be able to manage weeing standing hence them being trained sitting on a potty but I didn't know that so assumed the easiest way to do it was to get them a step! I also didn't actually train either of them; they both said they didn't want to wear nappies anymore and were both dry (in the day time) within about three days. My older son was 2yrs 8mths and my younder son 2yrs 10mths.

Oh Salia, I really feel for you. I've PMed you. Michele

Townley Road Holiday Sports Camp 0771 4333539. Very sports orientated as the name would suggest. But I'm not sure when in summer it will be running and the days only run from 09:30-15:30. In the past they ran extended days but don't seem to have done so for about a year. Highly recommended though, my 13yo son is quite upset that he won't be going there again after Oct half term!

Were you copied into the letters? If so, it is reasonable to go back and ask for them to be translated so that you can understand the letter. This is obviously also the case if they were written directly to you! It is actually quite poor practice to write in jargon if one is sending the letter to the patient/service user.

It may be worth asking them, sometimes people have unfounded fears about death and bereavement and just exploring their fears may shed light on why they think it 'inappropriate'.

Lindsey, did the family members who said it would be rude explain why? I come from a large Irish catholic family and my children have been to loads of funerals, they are 10 and 13 now but I remember going to funerals on both of the occasions I was on maternity leave. Generally, funerals of elderly people can be a celebration of life. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Michele

My 9yo goes to JASSPA on a Saturday and has done for a couple of years. But he has also done a summer school with Freedom Academy and he'll be starting their Saturday School in September. The summer school was fantastic, lovely people and they encouraged even the most shy of the childrern to perform.

Salsaboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Jelly. But you can't get jelly on this forum anymore ;-)

Me too. It's shocking when people who have gone into a profession with caring at it's core appear not to care.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I give jelly no more than 3 days. Anyone else? Monday.

Jelly - I didn't insist, it was merely a comment. 'The coroner's office isn't in the habit of releasing the results of a post mortem so the day after their death' - I don't understand what you are trying to say here. Do you mean 'on' the day after a death rather than 'so'? Coroners generally don't make statements until inquests are opened and it would be highly unusual for an inquest to be opened the day after someone dies. Of course a coroner will make his or her judgement on the basis of facts and in your post you have not stated the facts regarding this person's fall. I have no idea whether the family asked a national newspaper to cover the tragic death or their loved one. I also have no idea if the blue text at the top of your post is from a national newspaper, a local newspaper or you.

Jelly - you didn't answer my other questions.

'Her death was a result of selfish negligence at the behest of a backward religion.' Jelly - have you seen her post mortem result or the conclusion of the inquest? If not, where is your evidence to make such a statement? Did this lady fall because she was dying or did she die because she fell? Have her family asked you to raise this issue in a public forum? 'Like with all people, my experience with muslims is rooted in social interaction (however reluctant)' Maybe the experience of 'all people' interacting with people of the Muslim faith is not 'rooted in social interaction', but since you are 'reluctant' to interact withpeople of a particular faith maybe you just shouldn't bother. I love living in London with it's diverse social, racial and cultural population. I come across people whose opinions I do not agree with but I do not then condemn their religion, culture or indeed race. I am sure there are communities where diversity is not valued, thank fully London is not one of them.

Your GP will give you a NHS prescription for malarone and will probably be as cheap as anywhere else to get the yellow fever jab. When I researched this last year I found that my GP was probably the best option; no more expensive than anywhere else for the yellow fever injection and NHS charges for the malarone which meant the children's were free.

When allegations are made about an organisation (or individual)that organisation cannot comment about those allegations other than, as was the case in summer, to say the organisation is confident that any investigation will determine the truth or otherwise of allegations made. At the Parents Forum meeting last week the head was as clear as he could be without breaching confidentiality that the school would work with unhappy staff and to provide support. Metallic - I think it's fabulous that you are so engaged with the discussion about local education provision and completely understand as you have said you will be looking at secondary school provision next year for your child although I am also a little surprised that you do not seem to have seen the positives in the OFSTED letter. I read it and thought it was largely positive whilst acknowledging that there are problems perceived by some staff.

Abba and Dire Straits - many songs that I only have to hear the opening bars to and I am singing along - word (if not pitch) perfect.