Renata Hamvas

Due to crash involving 2 vehicles the road is currently closed. Thankfully no serious casuaties. No P12s running past Brenchley Gardens. Renata

I can't tell you whether Lewisham does the same, but Southwark inspects all primaries, identifying those that could expand temporarily or permanently. Discussions are then carried out with the schools. The process is already in the early stages for next year and information on those schools that are expected to bulge will probably be released before Xmas. Knowledge that a school is going to bulge actually tends to lead to more applicants as people know the last place offered distance is likely to be larger than usual. I don't know the system for Lewisham, but I suspect that these two late bulges are likely to be due to many late applicants near to Fairlawn and Kilmorie Primaries. I doubt many parents would not apply to their popular local school due to a proposed bulge. I have not been receiving complaints from parents whose schools have bulged, so this implies parents are not feeling a negative impact of their child being part of a bulged cohort. Renata

Hi J&M and Number 2, I shall let admissions know. I think their act is very much together! I think they are erring on the side of caution of not re-offering out places unless parents have proven they are definitely going elsewhere. (Number 2, I've heard the school you have been offered got really good SATs results.)

Cora, that breaks admissions regulations. They need to use their place of residence for school applications, if someone rents eg a small flat while still owning a family home nearby, indicating they are planning to move back, LAs can and do remove offers of places. With lottery waiting lists, these are also done by lottery. Basically everyone in a band is put in lattery draw order and the top x no of places are offered. If some of these places become free, these are offered to the next highest people on the list. Renata

Dear all, when a school bulges, places are offered in accordance with the school's admissions criteria. This means that those who were allocated a school are at no advantage over those offered one of their choices. Those who have places at Fairlawn who had places elsewhere would be freeing places at those schools. Renata

Hi Bessie, sorry about posting on James' thread but to let you know a table tennis table was funded by CGS funding for Peckham Rye Park. Peckham Rye Ward (my Ward!)come under Peckham and Nunhead Community Council. The table hasn't yet been installed as the position of the One O'Clock club is being discussed which could indirectly impact on the location of the table. Yes Sue, concrete table tennis tables to use in public places do come in at around 3k for table, installation etc Renata

Hi I've been away a few days, but will report it. Renata

Hello all, To clarify: Pupils moved from the old Bredinghurst buildings into the new built Newlands School in February; built under BSF. This left the old school site vacant. The new school buildings are certainly not to be demolished! As I state above this is in early developmental stages. The plans involve the site which has been vacated. Renata

The former Bredinghurst site is five minutes walk from Ivydale and is a site that was formerly used for educational purposes. There is no such site in the vicinity of Hollydale. Bredinghurst school remained where it was while part of the site was used to build the new school. Once the school buildings were complete (now Newlands school), the old school site was vacated. Renata

Hi Matt, I have posted about this is the main section. Council Officers are hoping to save some of the buildings. We will need to make sure that the plans are well thought through. Waiting lists: yes the rollercoasters you are seeing Emski and Gina are real. We have entered the time of year when people are moving. Mainland Europe, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire are already on holiday. Families are also moving within the UK. This means people are taking up places for older children in primaries and siblings going in high on waiting lists and also just moving close to schools. Also people tend to apply quickly for school places when they move into the area and may not notify the LA quite so quickly when they move away. Unfortunately this means that from what I have seen over the last couple of years, on the whole people tend to slide lower on waiting lists in July and August and then some places become available from September to December. (eg if children don't turn up in September). When I last checked a couple of weeks ago, all local schools are full, the two with the shortest waiting lists are Hollydale, near Nunhead Station and St Francesca Cabrini on Forest Hill Rd. Both have been rated good by Ofsted, St Francesca Cabrini's most recent Ofsted came out about a week ago and I posted about that here Renata

Hi DJKillaQueen, I did contact officers yesterday, I have had a response that they are looking into it, but no actual reason yet. I shall ask about Nutbrook Street, David. I know that there have been some works going on to prune back branches obscuring street lights, so this may be what's happening. Renata

Ivydale school has bulged for the last two years. If it hadn't bulged this year, the last place offered distance would have been 0 metres! This was an exceptional year in terms of sibling numbers, however this is a popular and successful school and forecasts for demand for primary school places for the area and discussions here show that we need more places. As you know, your local councillors have been in discussions with officers about primary school places in the area. Council Officers approached the Governors of Ivydale school to see whether the school would be interested to expand onto the Bredinghurst site, 5 minutes walk away. The Governors agreed to this proposal on Tuesday night, and parents of current pupils are to be written to shortly about this. I believe this is all in an early stage of development. The current Bredinghurst site contains a number of Victorian buildings and from what I have heard, council officers are hoping to keep some of the buildings, particularly the largest building. Local ward councillors will be working with officers, the school and local residents to ensure we provide good facilities for the school and that there is good consultation with local residents. The Bredinghurst school site is in Peckham Rye Ward and I know that the increase of families with young children in the area means that there is a demand for these places. This is all in early stages, but we will need to make sure that the two site plans are well thought through and enhance a popular and successful school. Renata

I'm delighted to report that following the latest Ofsted inspection which took place last month, St Francesca Cabrini been rated as GOOD in all areas. Well done to the Head, Teachers, Governors and pupils. Renata From the Ofsted website: Summary of key findings for parents and pupils This is a good school. ?? Current standards at the end of Year 6 are average, which represents good progress. ?? Children in the Nursery and Reception classes learn well and develop strong social skills. ?? Reading is a strength of the school. Improvements in the teaching of reading mean pupils make good progress and they enjoy reading a range of texts. ?? Pupils have good attitudes to learning and are polite and courteous to each other and adults. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. They say they feel safe. ?? The curriculum offers a good range of clubs and activities to enhance the experiences pupils have, including the opportunity for all older pupils to learn a musical instrument. ?? The school??s promotion of pupils?? spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. ?? Teaching is good, with some that is outstanding. This is because the school has high expectations and teachers plan exciting lessons to engage pupils. ?? Leaders and managers and governors have brought about improvements to the quality of teaching and pupils?? achievement. ?? The majority of parents are positive about the school and the progress their children make. ?? Members of the governing body make sure they are well trained to provide good support to the school. They bring a wide range of experience to their role and know the school??s strengths and areas for development. It is not yet an outstanding school because ?? Pupils are not given the opportunity to respond to teachers?? written comments in their books. ?? Pupils do not always know what their targets are and therefore are not involved in identifying the next steps in their learning.

Coram's Fields, on Guilford St near Russell Square station (or by 63 and then 45/17/46 bus or 188 etc up toward Euston). An enclosed and free to get into playground with farm animals too, great for a picnic or they have a little on-site caf? which has child friendly food. This can keep young children entertained for hours! Renata

Yes Cle, unfortunately it's DFT that determines what service SouthEastern run. Renata

Hello all, I have been passing all the comments from here, your pms and emails to me. All tree removal in the park has been suspended. Officers will be meeting with the Friends of Peckham Rye Park next week and they will be walking around the park and discussing each of the trees that have been earmarked for removal with officers. Most of these are obviously dead or dying trees. The cherry tree featured on this thread is infected with white rot fungus. This causes the trunk to rot from within, so it ends up like a straw and is unstable. The felling of this tree is suspended and sonic tomography of it is to be carried out. This uses sound waves to get an image of the integrity of the inside of the trunk (tree equivalent of an ultrasound scan!). This will indicate whether the rot is at an extent where the tree has to be felled (because it is unstable and could come down in strong winds) or whether the tree could be cut back and hopefully would survive. Re pollarding, trees that have been pollarded in the past need to be periodically repollarded as the growth from the trunk is not as strong as the original branches and liable to snap in heavy winds. These trees are often old and have been periodically pollarded for many years. Renata

Hi Sue, I have made enquiries about this one, yes this tree has been causing subsidence problem and this is why it has been cut. Renata

It's in Lambeth, so check the Lambeth website! Renata

Dear all, unfortunately, it appears that this magnificent tree is diseased/dying /unsafe and has been surveyed twice to make sure that this is a necessary action. Please see the response I have received from Cabinet member Cllr Barrie Hargrove. Renata Hi Renata, Two Cherry Trees in Peckham Rye Park have been scheduled for removal (orginially) by the end of June. These two were amongst a number of trees across the site that are "Dead, Dying or Diseased" (for rationale, see Tree Management Strategy agreed at Cabinet in January). http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=3527. Prior to commencing these works our Tree Manager Gary Meadowcroft re-inspected all the trees on the list with the objective of retaining any he could which would not compromise Health & Safety and would not compromise the integrity of any other trees. He managed to identify at least two that could be saved from immediate felling, but unfortunately and clearly the Cherry Tree that you refer to was included amongst those. I don't know if it was the Friends that brought this to your attention, but just so you are aware, Gary has been in dialogue with them prior to carrying out any of this necessary work. All best wishes Barrie

email sent with photo, I will post back when I get a response, probably on Monday, I think as it's 6pm Renata

David, we did raise the severe cutting back of trees such as the one in your photo with Council Officers yesterday. I'm hoping that this will not happen anymore in our parks unless for example there are safety or disease issues. I am emailing Council Officers about the cherry, with the photo enclosed. Renata

Hi Flower, Camberwell Old Cemetery is an active Cemetery and it is kept neat and tidy as eg people walk across the grass to visit the graves of their loved ones. There are many sections of this cemetery and the other cemeteries are wild and not maintained in the same way, particularly at Nunhead as part of this is a nature reserve.I enclose an image of part of the new/reused burial area towards Wood Vale. Renata

Hi Flower, I spoke to Council officers yesterday. On Underhill Rd, two maples were undergoing crown reduction for structural reasons and a leaning tree on St Aidan's Rd was being removed on safety grounds (could topple over). The other pruning was general tree maintenance. Renata

Dear all, yesterday myself, my Ward Colleague Vikki Mills and the Cabinet member, Cllr Barrie Hargrove met with council officers. Tree maintenance on highways and in parks/open spaces is different. We have asked that trees that are being pruned or pollarded or reduced on pavements are treated differently to those in parks and open spaces. In both instances public safety is the most important issue. A tree on St Aidan's road has needed to be removed due to it being unsafe, (leaning and evidence that it could uproot). Trees that are diseased are also removed, as they are or could become unsafe and also to protect other trees. On highways, tree root spreads are an additional issue. They can cause problems for nearby properties and subsidence of the highway (this is part of the reason for the crown reduction and pollarding works). We have requested that in the future that when pruning and pollarding works in parks and open spaces are done, that these are done only when really necessary for safety or tree health etc. Renata

Council Officers have said that they are still looking into the Underhill Rd issue, and will respond once they know! UncleBen, I'll ask about the fungus and your other questions, Renata