sglanzer

Me too - can't see how the system can fail to crash at 5pm under the weight of anxious parents all over Greater London!

Am in primary school application for our son, and am just wondering if anyone has any information that they think may be at all reliable about which schools in ED and nearby in Lewisham are contemplating bulge classes in reception? I'm assuming that whichever ones do so might be good fall-back options if our very over-subscribed first choice doesn't come through. There seem to be a few rumours around on the site, but I'd love to know if anyone knows that an extra class is reasonably likely at any of the schools?

Having recently bought a house and looked at both SE22 and SE23, I've felt very happy with our decision to go for the ED side of SE23, on the hill behind the Horniman. It's remarkable how much price per square meter seems to drop once you go over the SE23 boundary - we are just one street out of SE22, yet our house was pleasingly considerably cheaper than similar ones in East Dulwich. On the near to Dulwich side of SE23, the gardens are bigger, the views are often amazing (we can see st paul's) and yet you are still within a short walk or very short drive of Lordship Lane, as well as the lovely Horniman etc. Also with kids, a very big thing it has to recommend it is great schools, particularly Fairlawn. Nunhead also looks attractive to me for similar reasons.

Hello Our son, aged 3 and a half, is also starting next week and we also were surprised not to have received settling in details. However, my other half has rung the number on the website and got a response from their deputy manager this morning. There's also a mobile no. which got us the manager over the summer when we weren't quite sure if we had a place or not. In case they don't get back to you, we were told that you can go for as many settling in days as you like next week (they are free). New arrivals to come at 10 on Monday, 930 the other days. Send a packed lunch if staying for lunch - they are happy for it to be leftovers etc. Not sure if they expect you to stay for the settling in - we are planning to drop and run but our son is quite a bit bigger than yours and already an experienced nursery attender. We'll be sending him with a change of clothes, not sure if they expect anything else. Maybe see you next week!

As a simpler and more parsimonious option, at my son's 3rd birthday, we booked John from Fruity Tunes: http://www.fruitytunes.net/parties.html I would definitely recommend, and know that at least two of the parents present subsequently booked him for their children's 3rd birthdays. Show is mainly based on songs, with lots of participation, dancing around, puppets, bubbles etc. Gentle and engaging, and very much geared to younger kids, so nothing too complicated and any younger sibs can enjoy too. Also willing to do a relatively short stint - minimum 30 mins, we had 45 - which again I think is appropriate for kids who are just 3.

How about a proper Italian deli where they make their own pasta? Haven't yet found one of those in and around ED - otherwise I think it's got high quality food shops pretty much covered.

Fireman Sam in our 3 and a half year old's case. This is a bad choice, as he is incredibly preoccupied with throwing water over things and people, thinking how he could start a fire, and trying to turn the hosepipe on. So if I could swap to Thomas, I would, even though the books are remarkably tedious!

Double posted but can't seem to remove!

Hi I agree re helpful people Honor Oak - anyone with a buggy seems to find a helper pretty much immediately. Even though it's two trains, from an accessibility point of view i wonder if you might actually find it's better to get the overground (east london line) and change at canada water for the jubilee line. The ELL carriages are not unduly crowded in the morning and very wide so no problem getting on with a buggy. Then there is a lift down to the jubilee line at canada water - the jubilee line carriages are again very wide, though more crowded than ELL - and also a lift up from the jubilee line at London Bridge to the slightly quieter Borough High St exit. On the plus side, we've just moved to Honor Oak/Forest Hill area with a three year old and are finding it really pleasant (though we are still trekking to kennington for some nursery days).

Indeed encouraging! My son is a bit older and has just a year to go before school, so as well as having fun, I'm hoping it will prepare him for school a bit. Do people think it serves this purpose too and do many children seem to stay on right up to school age? (We just moved into the area and have probably missed the state school nursery boat, so may not have much choice).

Hi I'd love to hear some views about the pros and (if any) cons of Buds pre-school and how it might compare with local state school nurseries. I can find a couple of enthusiastic comments on the forum, which is encouraging, but it would be great to hear from some other people with experience of it too, Thanks very much!

Gumtree also resulted in a very good nanny indeed for us - possibly less grand than the ones who read the Lady, but highly competent. About one in ten of the replies you get is likely to be any good, but you get loads, so that's plenty. 2 or 3 months in advance. Nanny sharers are surprisingly not so easy to find though,unless someone you know would like to do it, so it's probably a good idea to start looking round for someone to share with as soon as you possibly can, and it may work well to select with them as you then both feel equally involved from the outset in making important decisions.

Thank you for the suggestions re meeting up with these members of the awkward post-toddler/pre-school ageband. I and I think at least one of you could do 3ish at Horniman Sandpit this Friday. Or museum if wet. Anyone else interested in that? Do pm me if so.

Trinity in Clapham has food to match most grand restaurants in the West End, and a much more friendly, South London neighbourly atmosphere. The chef's table by the kitchen is particularly nice for a group. Chez Bruce in Wandsworth is a great restaurant too, though much harder to get a table.

Thanks very much - all great places, many of them part of what has attracted us to this area. We'd be especially interested in any other suggestions about playgroups/classes etc. where he might meet kids of his own age on a regular basis. I'll take a look at SE22 mag and other local websites too. Hopefully at some point he'll go to a local pre-school/nursery school, but we are a bit in limbo at the moment having moved after the main applications phase, so he might be later than smoe of his peers in getting this type of place.

Dear all, Just wondering whether the people who post on this wonderful forum have any recommendations for playgroups, classes and other places in SE22 and SE23 where there are plenty of pre-school 3-4 year olds around? We've just moved to the Canonbie Rd (close to Forest Hill/E Dulwich/Nunhead junction) and would love to find some good places to take our 3 and a half year old son on Weds, Thurs or Fri when he has a mixture of parental and nanny care (he goes to day nursery Mon/Tues). In Clapham where we lived before, there seemed to be relatively few places where older pre-school kids tended to go and I'd love to find some good places locally to meet up with other kids close to his age and their parents Thank you very much for any suggestions!