nunheadmum

I'm lucky that my employer is really family friendly but we're a small office (with no vacancies - sorry!) so it is easier to be adaptable. I've considered moving but the family friendly bit is so convenient that I'm reluctant to give it up. When I was looking before, I was told to apply for full time jobs and then once the job was offered, ask for part-time. I think your luck with that approach may depend on how easy the role would be to fill from the alternative candidates. I've never quite had the confidence to try that approach but I suspect it may be what I'll have to do if I do decide to move on. Good luck with your hunt!

If you look up London Suzuki Group they should have details of teachers. Michiko is lovely but quite technical. Clare Raybould teaches at our school too and I'm told she's great with younger ones and uses lots of games etc. I've also heard that Margaret Omoniyi's daughter (of Margaret's Music - on Facebook) is also teaching violin using Suzuki and is meant to be really good.

My kids love Carddies http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dtoys&field-keywords=cardies&sprefix=cardies%2Caps%2C153 Simple concept but we took them on holiday once and they just hit the spot. Small, creative, fuel imaginative play.

Thanks. Next question - is it any good? Is it just a revamp along the lines of what was there or have they done anything different? We've got 3 kids to entertain - 6, 7 and 9, the youngest being a visitor - and weighing up the novelty of something different over the known quantity of the Adventure Playground at Peckham Rye Park. Obviously trying to create the perfect afternoon to convince out of townies that who needs to go anywhere else!!

Is the playground open yet? I don't use the park that much but remember seeing on here a discussion about it being re-done. We were thinking of going down this weekend for a change but maybe not worth it if it's not open.

Usually 2 weekly. 2 sides of A4. A calendar of up and coming dates (class trips, big in school events, parents meetings etc). A short note from the head (or very occasionally other key person eg.governor) highlighting something that's going on or the school has been focusing on etc. Notes on various things going on around the school - sometimes a note from the actual group itself (e.g. PTA note re summer fair, a message from After schools club etc) or a paragraph about some housekeeping bits (e.g. reminder re parking, lost property) etc. I have the say they've become a lot more helpful over the past couple of years after feedback from parents. It really is where I look to see what's happening at the school. Not always 100% perfect but a big improvement.

I missed this thread first time around but, living on Homeleigh, I'd be interested to hear what can be done on Athenlay. So often there are idiots speeding along there at ridiculous speeds and the sight lines are dreadful. We've mentioned it before to Gavin and Renata when they've come round knocking on doors asking about any concerns. Did Renata ever come back to anyone after her post in May?

Can you phone the GP and ask? They can possibly advise if they do it or where you can get more info.

I'm not sure whether there may be a difference between using it for supervised sports activity and perhaps it being used as a playground extension, which could be more difficult and raise lots of issues. Certainly using it for sports activity seems totally logical and discriminatory if other schools make use of it. Although there would be a responsibility on the school to use it responsibly and not have a detrimental impact which is out of balance with that caused by other schools. But you would think a solution could be found!

Thanks for all the replies. I feel for those who have had to rehome pets due to allergies - that must be so hard. My sister got a cat and then developed awful excema but lived with it for years so I've seen the problems cat allergies can cause. Looks like private tests are the way to go as any reaction to date has been minor which, from the sounds of it, the NHS won't be interested in.

Does anyone know how best to go about getting my daughter tested for a cat/dog allergy? She got very itchy eyes once when visiting my sister, who had a cat. Both my kids are at the age when they'd love a pet and a cat seems the most practical option but obviously we need to answer the allergy question first. It's not an allergy that is causing a problem at this point in time (as we don't have a cat, she may not even be allergic - it could have been something else) so I don't know if the NHS would see it as something they need to address. Or if they did how long it would take. But it sounds like the do-it-yourself options are a bit hit and miss. Has anyone else dealt with this before?

LondonMix - fewer and fewer Ivydale kids are getting into Habs or Prendergast and more and more are getting Harris Girls. As the year groups start to hit where the massive surge in children started to show, (probably from this/next year's intake onwards, where bulge classes started being needed at the primary intake) the problem is only going to get worse as Habs and Prendergast have more and more local kids to fit in, leaving a much smaller catchment area. The change in the Harris Girls admissions policy could really hit us hard! Whether you like Harris or not, at least it was an option we had which we may no longer have if we're over 1km away from a spot closer to ED than Nunhead than the school is.

Amanda - I think violin is about the only instrument I don't play, having experimented on most at some time or another. All at a very amateur level but I recently started piano lessons again with a vague hope that my practicing would encourage the kids. I think you're right though about the style of music. My eldest does really respond when she gets to play more folk pieces. Do you know of any live folk sessions that are accessible to kids? Even just to listen to. Sadly most of those I've seen are all evening gigs and in pubs at that. An afternoon session like the Sunday big band stuff at the Ivyhouse would be ideal but I don't think anyone does anything like that with folk music around here.

It's worth noting that the distance is measured from the corner of Shelbury Road and Colyton Road - so further towards ED than the school is situated. So not sure if 1km from there covers all of Nunhead or not. Better than 100% lottery I guess.

I think I saw water in the waterplay area at Ruskin park. Not sure if it's enough in the middle bit but certainly fine for walking in if the remote stops working.

Yes but who gets free prescriptions isn't always fair. I get free prescriptions because of one drug I need to take daily. Because of that one drug, I get everything free. I now can also get free antihistamines for mild hay-fever, paracetamol for when I've had a few vinos too many, plasters for when I get a blister with my new shoes etc etc. But I earn a reasonable salary so is this really good use of government money? For those who need it, it's a good scheme and should be helpful if it frees up GP time but there needs to be some level of control to try and make it more targeted.

Katgod - sacrilegious or what!!! But totally understand where you're coming from - I'm dubious myself on it but it's the approach used at school and I can see good and bad in it. I try to implement it with a pinch of salt! I'm swithering on whether a change of teacher / approach would help as they do seem more willing with their piano which is normal teaching and the teacher is more laid back. But it could be the instrument more than the approach. And equally I think there is something good about learning the discipline and the ear training in Suzuki. Argh - can someone fast forward me 5/10 years in different scenarios so I can see which one is right???

Thanks for the info on the summer courses. I'll need to contact them to see how Suzuki levels work v grade levels. Becca L - I'll give you a PM if the DYO looks like an option.

Thanks everyone for the input. Rather glad there wasn't an outpouring of folk telling how being made to practice has scarred them for life! Our scenario is that my kids are 9 and (almost) 7. Both I'm told are musically quite able. I started my eldest on piano in Year 1 as she was showing an interest and could pick out a tune on her toy ones - and a neighbour started giving lessons, which made it easy. She then wanted to play violin but I persuaded her to try recorder which I thought was more flexible. But a year on she still wanted to play violin so I let her swap but on the condition that she stuck with it for a bit and didn't keep flitting between instruments in the hope that the next one doesn't need practice. We do Suzuki violin so I sit in on her lessons and she clearly enjoys being able to play. Her piano teacher also says that she's a joy to teach and does well. I really would like to get her playing with other kids as for me, that was what made music fun - I stopped playing at school when the school band was cut and these days I've been playing in a big band for 10+ years, because of the friendships I've made. But there's nothing happening at her school on that front and she's too shy to try any of the summer holiday orchestras as she's scared on not knowing anyone. (Anyone got a 9-ish year old violin player she could befriend before going?) The ED Academy sounds great but they don't do violin unfortunately and it's a big step to change instrument just to be able to do it. I'm quite open to the idea of her changing instrument if I thought she really didn't like the instrument. But it's the idea of having to put in a bit of work to progress that seems to be the issue. She's currently working towards her grade 1 on piano in the hope that she can get a bit of a sense of achievement out of passing the exam and therefore get a bit of impetus to try and practice/improve further. I can see that practice on a solo instrument can seem a bit futile unless there's some outcome - be that an exam, playing in a group, being seen to be good and therefore 'cool' or whatever....few kids of 9 will have the love of music needed to practice for the sake if it, I suspect. I think she'll thank me in the long run. I suspect there's no easy answer. My gut feeling is to try and keep her doing it for another year or so and try to get her to try an orchestra or get something going at the school. Or try and find some way to get her to play beyond the bounds of formal lessons and practice - she enjoys for example playing around on the ukelele, so if she could do something less formal on the violin, that may help. We've done the rounds of kids music concerts but they don't really inspire the kids. I think they'd be more interested in other genres. Does anyone know of any child-accessible folk at the weekends/holidays? We often take then to the Jazz at the Ivyhouse on a Sunday which is great and goes down well. Thankfully my youngest enjoys trying to show how she's much better than her sister so generally she doesn't make quite such a fuss - yet! But she does have the benefit of a friend who also plays violin, which helps. I think they both get enough out of it to make it worth persevering for a bit longer. If I can only find some group option before too long I might manage to stop it feeling like such a chore.

I imagine I'm not the only one struggling with getting kids to practice and being torn between being told it's doing them good but having the kids tell me they hate it - even though I can see that isn't the case all the time, it's just the practice they hate and having to (in their view) give up TV time to do music activities. The girls are musically able so I'm reluctant to let them give up. Sometimes I do wonder if they'll thank me long term or not as it causes so many arguments. I'm aware that I gave up music as a teenager and really now wish I hadn't. Am I fulfilling my wishes via my kids? But I know others who say they're so glad that their parents made them practice as kids when they wanted to give up as they're now really appreciative of it. So, when you were a kid and doing music lessons - did you want to give up, your parents didn't let you and you're glad? - did you want to give up and still don't forgive your parents for not letting you? - did you want to give up, your parents let you and you regret it? - did you want to give up, your parents let you and you're perfectly happy with it? - did your parents manage to find some amazing way to make it fun so you wanted to do it...what's the secret? Not a very scientific approach but hoping it may help me decide. Thanks!

It's the only holiday club that my kids will willingly go to! Always really good quality activities. A bit expensive but worth the money.

Molly, I think a lot of the problem is often that things seem to go on a journey around the school before they get to the cupboard. Probably by well meaning staff trying to be helpful. It might help if anything separated from its owner was put in one place at the end of the day.

My not so practical daughter went easily from balance bike to normal without stabilisers. She would go back and forth between the two bikes for a while before the balance bike was truly given up. But we were surprised how well she took to it.

James from Pressplay (www.pressplay.org.uk) did a brilliant circus party for my 6 year old. A great option for active kids as he kept them all engaged - from the full-of-energy kids to the reluctant-to-have-a-go ones. Well worth the money.

Thanks for the suggestions - both here and PM's over the weekend. Unfortunately we were a little pushed for time so ended up going for the Peter Jones option which my daughter thought was great - I agree with Edanna that it's a bit overpriced for how basic it actually is. But it filled us up and my daughter loved having a look at all the 'sparkly jewellery' - even if her ?2 pocket money didn't stretch to buying any!! Hopefully next year we'll be a bit more organised and I'll make more use of the suggestions. Thanks!