dulwichmum

This is because Emma Thompson said that she does this, isn't it? Smug Emma Thompson who in fact lives next door to her mother... Just because some celeb says something, it doesn't make it true. Kylie Mynogue recently claimed that her youthful looks were down to her use of cold cream (OHMYGOD!) it is all just PR spin - clearly! Before Gail Porter's marriage broke up and her hair fell out, she was claiming that she had a super fabulous relationship and full-on social life. Our babys were the same age when she was draped all over magazine covers claiming that her sex life had improved since she became a mother - literally days before. After it all came out it was tales of Prozac and abandonment. Why do famous women feel the need to pedal this kind of trash? They just make it hard for everyone else. Emma Thompson never even washes her own damn hair (stomps foot). I know because we share the same hairdresser. I really wish she would just learn to brush her own teeth AND as for Emma and childcare, I wouldn't let her walk my dog.

Tigerlily nanny agency at Victoria cover London and the South East. Ask for Claire - she has young kids herself and is just amazing.

Holy hell! That is shameless. It goes to show you, this is the only site to watch!

I would love to see a Carluccio's there. That would be terrific!

Check out this site - you can select by age! Tup Tup toys. Its terrific.

Yes indeed. Au pairs are not appropriate for kids under two and a half.

GRANDPA IS NOT PURPLE! (actually he is...)

Dear sanity girl, I completely understand your situation. I was pregnant during high summer the first time and the second time I was enormous all through Winter. H&M is great for bits and pieces, but do check out Isabella Oliver online - their clothes are sensational and the sale is on now! http://www.isabellaoliver.com/maternity-clothes/uk A couple of really well cut tops/dresses will make you feel human, and a few well chosen items can be worn after baby is born too, without looking like maternity wear. Mama-la-mode are having a sale too, and much of their clothing is 75% off. I still wear some of the clothes I bought from them and my youngest is 7! http://www.mama-la-mode.com/

Well sweetie, if I were in your slingbacks, I would be using those two word immortalised by Sir Alan Sugar; "You're fired"... No-one poos on my dog, not ever. I have a cockapoo you know.

Holy hell! No-one has mentioned this exam to us. Are you sure?

Dear Legalbeagle, What I want to know is where was your au pair when this was going on? And if she was on the trampoline with your older child, where was your damn housekeeper? I won't stand for this kind of thing. It is a slippery slope you know. Let the help have too much rope and I will hang every one of them...

Dear Ann, If she wants to stay at JAPS, then there she will stay. It is a shame, because on reflection, I think that co-ed is the way to go. I think that it is good for girls to be around boys, it is more balanced. I went to an all girls, independent school myself and it can get very cliquey (did I spell that properly?). My daughter adores JAPS. They start to mix the classes up when they move up through the school so bullying is not an issue apparently. Freya's teachers at JAPS have been stunningly good. One teacher plus two classroom assistants per 18 girls. She has been thoroughly challenged and adored every minute of it. I chose JAPS over Alleyns because I just thought that it looked like a more child friendly environment for the youngest children. In Alleyns, it seemed to be a tiny classroom and a yard to play in. JAPS had grass and rabbits and a playhouse. I was really impressed with Alleyns, I still am, and I have stayed in touch. The head master is fabulous. But we would have to do the assessments again if we wanted to move. Lovely Pebbles, No, once your child is in, she stays in - I believe. All the way through to her UCAS application forms for Oxbridge and Imperial Medical School (bats eyelashes). Freya will probably want to work on checkout 3 in Tesco, and you know what, I really don't care what she chooses (grinds teeth). I just want her to be happy (crosses fingers). This school makes her happy.

Yes, I have friends that live along there and they had no problem either.

sillywoman Wrote: > Nah, any old CofE, actually I'm not even sure it > has to be CofE - check, but I have a feeling it > could be any faith? > > DM, you may have been outside the Parish boundary, > but you won't have been outside the 'catchment' > for DVI as there isn't one. You can go to the catholic church from what I remember - St Thomas Moore even, but then you have to justify to Fr O'Connor why you are not applying for St Anthonys. It is coming back to me now, we were on a road split by the parish boundry (I got an application form with a map on the back from the school), but the rules were changing the year after we were looking for a school place for our first child, and there was speculation that you would be able to apply from anywhere if you attended church. I wonder if that happened. We would not have had a chance of getting in that year by distance. My friends who live a stone's throw from the centre of the village had big problems as I said. That was probably 2005?

Dear Sillywoman, My children are now 7 and 8. The year I wanted to apply for a community place at the Dulwich Village Infants (I believe that this is the school for the youngest children as opposed to The Hamlet) I went to the school and got the application form and found I was on the wrong side of the road and therefor outside the catchement area. This was my experience and I can only talk about my experience. My good friend lives on a road that I would consider to be close to the centre of the village, and that year, her daughter did not get a place at the school until the end of September, from the waiting list, as there was a big intake that year and her house was not as close as others. The child did get in eventually, but it was after the school year started. I have another friend who did not get her child in at all, and their address is Village too. Perhaps if she had an older sibling already there? New Mother, Everyone calls the school JAPS, not JAPPS. I realise that someone on here claimed otherwise recently,but just because someone is confident in their assertion it does not make them right. My daughter is currently at the school so I do actually know this for a fact. My daughter is doing well at the school, the teaching is terrific, the parents all motivated. My daughter was offered a place at every school she applied for and others in her nursery school were not. My daughter is bright, but not any brighter than plenty of other children that I know who did not get offered a place. I think that a lot of the great results that JAPS gets is down to the culture that there is at the school. The parents are all motivated and interested and encouraged to socialise and engage with the school at every opportunity. Interestingly, many of the girls from my daughters nursery who were not offered a place early on, have joined the school in later years and are at the top of the class, so I think that indicates how difficult it is to assess a child for a school place at such a young age.

Hi ClareC, If you pop into the Hamlet and pick up an application form you can check the exact catchment. The line literally cuts streets in half and is quite complicated. However, the closer the better really, I have friends well inside the catchment that didn't get their kids in. I am not sure about The Charter. Perhaps Southwark has a page on their website with the details?

My children were both delivered to the sound of Radio 4, naturellement!

My midwife told me that she delivered a baby to "Things can only get better" by D Ream - the woman had been pushing for hours and this song came on the radio. It really lifted her and the birth was amazing, no, SPECTACULAR. See how it goes, bring a radio, have an open mind!

manicmouse Wrote: I think > that rather than not being as good it's just a lot > less pushy and "exclusive". The kids come from a > wide range of backgrounds and races which for us > was important and something that is lacking in the > other schools in the area. A lovely mix of > parents too - not all filthy rich and driving > Chelsea Tractors! This comment is hilarious. None of the parents get to chose which schools their kids get offers for, it is simply the luck of the draw. You are making so many assumptions and your comment screams of sour grapes. Get over yourself. We are all just parents trying to do the best for our kids.

Keef dear heart, I will always like you. I am still shocked by the councillors assertion about Southwark's numbers of cared for children as though it is evidence of quality of service. In case it has escaped his notice, Southwark is a borough with some of the most deprived areas in Europe. It therefor is no surprise that we have marked inequalities in health and access to healthcare, indices of deprivation off the scale etc. I have never attended a child protection case conference and heard or seen any sign of a local councillor - busy with their spreadsheets admiring the nice rows of data. Southwark's child protection services are an accident waiting to happen and the fact that Mr Barber is not aware of this doesn't surprise me. He clearly knows as much about Southwark social workers/caseloads/services as he does about age appropriate behavior for children - probably off at some meeting, furthering his career while his wife raises his kids alone. A woman who argues or debates with him is a whinger - nice! This forum is well known for its debate and banter. If you cant take the heat...

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No, it isn't illegal to ride on the pavement for > the small wheel sizes involved and age of the > kids. > I really think any reference to the terrible > McCann case is unhelpful in the extreme. Where did that comment regarding the McCann's come from James? You are the one bringing it back up again. I mentioned them in the first instance because in my opinion, this is a further example of poor parental judgement, where the parents enlist the support of the press and politicians in a way that working class parents could not. Get over it. This is a democracy or had you not processed that? The parents at Alleyns have every right, as part of this community, to notice and raise alarm if some children are not being protected appropriately. Isnt there always uproar when people ignore the evidence in front of their faces and some tragedy occurs? As for this constant discussion of the threat of being investigated by Southwark social services, in my professional experience, it is virtually impossible to have a child placed on the at risk register in this borough. I have been involved in child protection cases in Southwark where children had broken bones, cigarette burns and evidence of sexual abuse, and the social workers attitude could be summed up by the word "inertia". They are overwhelmed with work and too much of the surveillance is left to the health visitors. Boris Johnson and the government backing up this family is nothing more than spin and softening the public up for the inevitable cuts in social services locally. YOU KNOW IT!

Mark O'Donnell is a fabulous head teacher. Without question he has done the right thing. The children's welfare is his primary concern. To be fair, none of us know exactly what has gone on. As someone who has written for the Telegraph etc, I would never place any weight on the value of what is actually reported in the newspapers or on the TV news. I have had cause to discuss child protection issues with Mark O'Donnell (and yes, I may not be spelling his name correctly) in the past - I have 15 years experience in this area, and he is, without question, a balanced and measured individual, completely desserving of his position at the head of Alleyns. I think that he is head and shoulders above the heads of any of the local schools, and no, my kids do not go there.

Actually, as we are being rational, there is no lollipop lady crossing from the school onto the parade of shops outside the Village infants school. She only assists kids across Turney Road. The children then must cross Calton Avenue (a busy rat run, congested up with parked cars) and then cross a road again outside Alleyns - with their view of oncoming traffic regularly obscured by school coaches.

The parents are about to be interviewed on the BBC News. Every morning I see the lollipop lady and she seems to only help kids to cross Turney Road.

Sean dear, Say "Dammit woman" again, several times...(swoon)