oimissus

does anyone know the situation in Ireland? An Irish friend who's husband is a teacher recently (well, about 3 years ago) returned to live there as their education is meant to be one of the best in the world, and they use very good textbooks there which means more time teaching and a better work/life balance for teachers. I can't actually remember if her husband was a primary or secondary teacher, but if it works in Ireland, why not here?

my veggie 4 yo would only eat cheese (at a push) or jam. If there's just the one veggie why not ask his mum what he would eat? Miss Oi has been given cheese or jam at every party we've been to, either specifically for her or as part of a mixture of sandwiches on offer.

agree with scooter. Miss Oi acquired a balance bike from a friend but she really never got on with it (too heavy) so we'll just go old-school and get a bike with stabilizers, but the scooter has been great.

The Herne pub? We are going to a whole class party there soon so I guess you can hire out the hall out back.

the Timber Lodge wasn't secure and it was very busy when we went so younger ones were getting stuck inside things, and there's so much of it where you can't see them, no chance of sitting with your mates and having a chat while the kids play. And the fountains were rubbish - they came knee high to my 4 year old at the highest - given that the previous week we'd been to Somerset House where the fountains get to about 10 feet high, that was a big disappointment. You'd been fine at the mo as it's not hot but the biggest issue for me was the lack of shade, we went on a scorcchio day and it was awful. Most of the playgounds round here are better.

I have to say I was so underwhelmed by it! And the playground is not secure, my niece wandered off and we lost her for a heart-stopping 5 minutes. Victoria Park is way nicer if you want to be east.

so, based on heresay you have come on the EDF to bitch about a school that you have no first-hand experience of??? What's that all about?? Their system actually sounds quite sensible, I had not heard of this before.

what do you think goes into publishing a book?

I agree that 800m seems rather low and yes, the bulge class issue would need to be addressed (do they bulge in Wandsworth?). I've just had a look at the (very brief and not terribly informative) article in the ES, and at the mo they are consulting on it, so it's not a done deal. But I also think that the reasons behind parents moving into school catchments needs to be addressed, if parents really feel that not all their local schools are up to scratch. Whether it's in their heads or an actual reality, the underlying issue needs looking at too. I think we in this area are so lucky having the forum as you can get to know, from parents, teachers, governors and local councillors, the reality of many of the schools that you might not otherwise have considered for one reason or another. And most of us not only want to our children to go to a good school, but also have to look at onward travel to work, wraparound childcare, getting younger children to nursery - the list goes on. Hopefully any debate on the EDF can be used to inform Southwark should they choose to have a look at this themselves.

ooh, hadn't thought of them, thanks - but having just checked online, unfortunately they only do adult ones!

does anyone know where I can get a decent rain poncho for a 4 year old? Miss Oi will be riding to school on the back of Mr Oi's bike and we thought a poncho would be the best thing but I can't track any down (ideally I'd like to actually see it in the flesh before buying). thanks.

but you could argue that a sibling policy creates that situation (in part) - that because half of a schools places could be taken up by siblings, who get in regardless of whether they live 100m or 1000m from the school, the only way to guarantee a first (or only) child getting in is to move closer and closer to the school. And presumably one reason this policy has been brought in is to do exactly what you say - to stop parents moving near to a school, getting a place for child 1, then moving further away (which may have been the intention all along) once the place for both that child and any subsequent children has been secured. (I'm not saying that's what you've done, btw, but I bet some families do do this.) There are good arguments on both sides. With the squeeze on primary school places there are going to be winners and losers. But just dismissing people's concerns with a 'tough' seems a bit of a harsh response, and one that I could throw straight back at you, should Southwark bring this policy in.

this policy doesn't stop that happening, just that parents who chose to move out of the catchment of their older child's school need to bear that in mind. Why should another family who live closer to the school be 'inconvenienced' by a sibling whose family are no longer in catchment? Bear in mind that this policy would only affect those who have moved more than 800 km from the school. Those who were less than that when child 1 got in will still have a sibling place for child 2, as will those who move but remain 'local', if you like. I should think in most schools the majority of siblings will be fine.

I guess if it's on distance, the idea is that if you move out of catchment once your eldest child has a place at school X, you shouldn't expect your younger children to get in. Which seems fair enough as they'll be stopping children who do live nearer the school from getting a place. I have sympathy for parents who end up with children at different schools, but equally it's pretty frustrating when you're applying for child 1 and see at least half the reception places disappear as they go to siblings. One school near us a few years ago had it's entire reception taken up by siblings! (I believe there were 30 places and 33 siblings.)

can anyone recommend somewhere good for Sunday lunch for us - including Grandma and 4 year old Miss Oi. Oh, and 2 veggies, one of whom is Miss Oi. cheers!

we were given a balance bike but it's been far too heavy for Miss Oi. We're going to get her a bike with stabilizers, worked for all of us in the 70s!

I'm guessing that Sol isn't British-born so new to how things work educationally over here?

I'm not saying that children won't or even shouldn't read these kinds of books, the question was, should they be stocked in a primary school's library, to which I think the answer is no. Some children will be fine, some won't but the fact of the matter is these books are YA books, that's the section they'll be in in the library or a bookshop, not in the children's section. I was reading stuff out of the teenage section in the library way before I was a teenager, but they were still in the teenage section, not the children's. And yes, my issue with Twilight is not anything to do with sex or violence, it's Bella and her dreadful passivity. Sookie Stackhouse is a far punchier heroine (though a 10yo should definitely not be reading those!).

you can swim in the afternoons at the Peckham Pulse. We used to go to the Horniman a lot, in fact at one point we went every week! Or get some good wet weather gear for you both and head out come rain or shine - if you go to the woods (Dulwich/Sydenham) you're fairly well protected.

yes, the premiss behind the Hunger Gmes is really very grim - children set to kill each other off as a game once a year? That's a lot darker than certainly the early HPs, if not all of them.

I would be very surprised at a primary school stocking these. Not so surprised at a 10-year-old reading them, I alays wanted to read stuff that was 'too old' for me. The main issue I have with the Twilight saga is that Bella is the most awful passive character. Have a read, it's turgid stuff. But really, it's YA stuff, so not for a primary school to stock, I would have a read and then have a word.

well, they're wrong about that, quite a number of children are still in nappies at 3. I would leave it for a couple of months and try again then.

is it the norm these days for girls' PE shorts to be cycling shorts? Just sorting out Miss Oi's kit for starting Reception and my internet browsing has brought up both kinds of shorts but more cycling than 'normal'. thanks.

we just use blue tack, works perfectly! We have paper, card, paper plates all stuck up.

we set off at about 5ish and don't stop till we get to Exeter (so M4/M5), which has taken around 3 hours in the past (the loos at the service station are full of sleepy kids getting dressed and brushing their teeth!) and then head off from there, get there at lunchtime. We're heading to just south of Falmouth.