Coach Beth

Here, here! I agree completely with Hollybush - there are many good schools in the area - Bellenden, Bessessmer Grange and Goose Green to name but a few! The only way to decide is to visit, speak to the teachers and the Head and go with what your gut says.

I have lots of postive things to say about the school - I've said quite alot on the forum before so I don't want to bore regular readers! These include: aspirational/positive leadership from the Head, clear feedback onto the progress my child is making, a great PTA and good community of parents, and a fantastic music programme lead by a music teacher based at the school 4 days a week. Anyway if you google Goose Green School you will find other comments in other discussions by myself and other parents. I think the fact that the school has one of the highest Sats results from last year at 81% (combined) speaks volumes about the positive changes brought about at the school since the latest headteacher has been in place. When you are looking around schools, ask what the Sats score was for last year - Sats results can vary widely and it is one indicator (but certainly not the only one!) of how well a school is doing as it shows the percentage of children who have reached the government's expected level of achievement by the end of Year 6. Anyway, there is a tour of the school tomorrow at 9:15am followed by a chance to have a chat with parents of children currently at the school. And check out the new school website at http://www.goosegreenprimaryschool.org

A great place to take this would be to the Mums in Business meetings that happen every 2nd Wednesday at the month at 8pm at the Daisy Lets offices on Lordship Lane - it is a very supportive group and many members have gone initially with ideas for either businesses or self-employment items and receieved support and conscutive feedback to help them take their ideas further. Claire, one of the orginal members is a great case study - Daisy Lets was born and nurtured out of the group!

Get in touch with the headmistress of Goose Green School, she has been trying to work with parents and also the council to sort out the problem. She has held a consultation with parents about the problem of traffic at school pick up and drop off and there is over-whelming support amongst parents for the introduction of a voluntary one-way system at school drop of and pick up so traffic comes in one way and out the other which should improve the traffic flow. She has also been onto the council about them providing support in regards to providing traffic wardens at key times to discourage poor behaviour of car drivers. I'm sure she would welcome your imput - her contact details can be found on the school website http://www.goosegreenprimaryschool.org

If you fill in all 6 choices, you will automatically go on the waiting list for all 6 of those choices (however, you can put your name on the waiting list yourself of any school after the allocations but it's easier if it just automatically goes on). So if you don't get your 1st or 2nd or 3rd choice, at least you know you will automatically go on the waiting list for those schools. Also, if you only put down 2 or 3 choices and you don't get in to any of those schools (for example if those schools are over-subscribed as indeed all the schools in East Dulwich have been in the last year or so) you will automatically be allocated any school in Southwark where they have places. This will not neccessarily be a school near to you and in previous years, parents have been allocated schools near the Old Kent Road and near Queen's Road Peckham which are very difficult to get to - this happened to a friend of mine who decided to just put down two schools. Both of those schools were over-subscribed and she was then allocated Peckham Park School, near the Old Kent Road. She then got her son in eventually to Goose Green school where my son got in as well by getting him on the waiting list but it was a stressful few months before she got in

It was great to see more boys turning out for Tuesday's class! We need 10 boys to keep this class in East Dulwich so if your boy is interested in street dance, please come and check it out this Tuesday at 5pm at the Goose Green Centre - it's a really fun class, the teacher is great and my son would miss it (and on the selfish side, it's a 5 minute walk as opposed to a bus ride!)

Surely all children - whether they are academically or musically gifted are not should be able to have a decent education? Also, I thought the banding system meanst that academically able children would be identified and would be more likely to get into a school of their choice? I also think the numbers going through on music are small at most schools - for example Peckham Academy has a performing arts specially and I believe that just 20 pupils on their intake come from special application. I do think that if we are going down the route of certain schools having certain specialities like sport, music and art then it would be daft if children who are good at those specalities and want to pursue careers in them aren't able to actually get in due to distance and so on. And the question about primary music education and coaching - perhaps the children weren't coached but perhaps children from that school just have an excellent music teacher! I've been very pleased that the teacher at my son's school (not the school mentioned above I think!) has been teaching all the children to read music from year 3, he has set up a band and a choir and my child in year 2 listening to Brahams! The teacher isn't doing it to coach the kids but given them a decent music education at primary school - which again all children should have. Anyway, that is my 2 pennies - and since I don't have to worry about my son going to secondary school for a good few years, it's probably better to leave the debate to folks who are in the thick of the process right now! Best of luck everyone!

I should have mentioned that if you aren't sure where the school is or want to email the office to request tickets, this link takes you to the school's contact detail page on the school website. http://www.goosegreenprimaryschool.org/contact.asp

Goose Green PTA was awarded a grant from the Dulwich Community Council to run a 'Maths, Magic and Mystery' workshop for families in the East Dulwich area. The idea is to help parents and children discover the fun and magic behind maths and the workshop will be highly interactive, involving children and parents alike. We are running the workshop on the evening of the 4th October, 6:30pm-7:30pm. It will be led by local author Rob Eastaway who wrote the bestselling 'Maths for Mums and Dads'. All children (from any school not just Goose Green) from Year 1 to Year 6 with their parents and carers are welcome! We'll have a creche for younger children and juice/biscuits will be provided. You'll need to get a free ticket (we have limited spaces so the event needs to be ticketed) from the Goose Green Primary School office so drop by the office (entrance to the school on Tintagel Crescent) anytime from 8:30 - 4:30pm.

My son has joined a great street dance class on Tuesday, 5-6pm, at the Goose Green Centre for boys - it's run by Get Dan'n'Dance and it's lively and fun. The problem is we need to have more boys to keep the class going! You get a free class and then it's about ?34.00 for the rest of the term (if you were to join at the beginning of the term it's about ?45.00 I believe but as we didn't join till after the term started it was less!) You can call Dani on 07904 424504 for the exact information but do come along and check out the class next Tuesday!

Is there any way to put pressure to get the traffic lights and crossing at Grove Vale (near the junction with Oglander Road and opposite Goose Green School) up and running ASAP? For us parents taking their kids to the school from that side of East Dulwich getting to the school has become a nightmare - the nearest crossings are 5 minutes away and it is very dangerous at rush hour to try to get across without the lights. I haven't noticed any workers working on the crossing or the traffic lights this week. Surely they could put up temporary traffic lights - or at the very least use a lollipop person to help the children and parents cross in the morning and afternoon?

Hello - I second the recommendation for Nutty's Children's Parties - we had a Super Dan party for my son when he was five - it was great! My friend Catherine also runs children's parties for 3 - 6 year olds - you can check out her website at http://www.catherinegrimaldi.co.uk/parties.html

I think it's really not good if the station was to be without an attendent. Ok, they aren't patoling the station platforms but there is at least someone there should you need to call upon someone for help. And you never know when you might need to call upon the help of the station attendent. Earlier this year, I was on the platform and witnessed a woman lose her shoe which fell onto the track! It sounds strange but it was a sort of sandle type thing and as she walked to the edge of the platform she somehow must of sort of kicked it off. Anyway, she was there with one shoe on her foot on her way to work and somone got the attendent who had this pole thing and used it to get her shoe. He said that people lose all sorts of things down on the tracks like phones, bags, etc.

My friend Catherine runs children's parties for 3 - 6 year old's and she's been getting great feedback! Check out her website for more info: http://www.catherinegrimaldi.co.uk/parties.html

I second this recommendation - I recently bought a pair of shoes there for my 6 year old boy and I think it's a great addition to the indoor market as well.

My understanding is that children who are under 12 can see 12a rated films if accompanied by an adult. I would have taken my son if he was 9 - he is 6 now and actually isn't that interested in Harry Potter. But I took him to see the Green Latern which is rated PG 13 with another mum friend and her 6 year old boy and they enjoyed it (except for the kissing scences - wherby they both went 'yuck!' and hid their eyes) and suffered no ill consquences. I think these things are guidance and if you know your child and what they will and will not be affected by you can follow your own wisdom - if she isn't ready or would be scared you made the right decision for sure!

My son went straight from a balance bike to a normal bike without stablizers. When we bought the bigger bike, I didn't think he would really be able to ride it without stablizers but he hopped on it and off he went. What I've noticed is that kids who use a balance bike do get the idea that they need to be able to push off with their feet first, balance and then pedal. Whereas I've noticed if they get used to stablisers, it takes awhile to get that they can't just pedal from standstill. Balfe bikes have a range of balance bikes on sale.

Just noticed this thread and thought I'd respond with the info now on behalf of the PTA You can drop the vouchers off at the school - entrance is on Tintagel Crescent - reception open from 9am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday. The postal address is: Goose Green School, Tintagel Crescent, London SE22 8HG THANKS!

Another cost that should be considered is insurance. Academy schools will have to cover and sort out their own insurance - this can be very costly indeed.

At the Goose Green Primary School Summer Fair this Saturday (12 to 4pm)- which is being held on the Green itself - there will be over 50 stalls, many of them featuring local craftspeople selling all sorts of lovely things. So maybe you'll find something there that would make a unique gift for teachers et al?

and the headteacher.....

Childminders have to go through professional training and OFSTED inspections - and therefore are better able and prepared to cope with a number of children than those of us who have not done so. Nannies look after children in the child's own homes - whereas childminders tend to look after children in their own homes (although sometimes will go to yours).

Budge classes are generally for one year only - as you can imagine, it would mean that the school would have to be drastically extended to fit in 120 pupils each year as they move up each year (i.e. if schools kept taking budge classes eventually each year in the school would have to have 3 classes/120 places not just reception class). It's not sustainable.

I can recommend Danny above - my son loved his 'Super Dan' party for his birthday!

Hiya! I'm also an American living in the UK (I was born near NYC but my family moved to Nova Scotia Canada when I was 10 so I'm also a Canadian). I've been here just over 20 years so I'm not so in touch with the current education system in North America but my brother is a teacher in Canada so I've got some idea of the differences. It is true that the state system in the UK has more of an emphasis on testing and assessment. All state schools have to follow fairly rigid criteria on that - as New Mother points out, all school are required to follow the National Curriculum. My sense of many private schools is that they will also have a focus on academic progress and testing. The exception to this will be private schools such as the Steiner Schools - there is a Rudolph Steiner school in Greenwich. From what you say, the Steiner approach could resonate strongly with your own approach to education. However, it would be definately worthwhile visiting both Goose Green and Bessemer Grange - talk to the Headteachers, look around etc. I've heard good things about Bessemer - lots of positives around the creative nature of the school and overall school spirit/approach. Our experience at Goose Green has been positive in terms of creativity - this week was Art & Music week at the school where music and art at the school was showcased. I was very impressed with the level of music education at the school (music is sidelined in the National Curriculum so it's true the level of music education can vary from school to school) where all children learn to read music, sing in choir, play in a brass band or samba band and where subidised music lessons are also available. There has also been an artist in residence and all children contributed to an art exhibition which was really great! Anyway, PM if you do arrive in ED - would be nice to meet up with a fellow North American in the area!