Growlybear

I spent many of my formative years in Henekys - I've got some very fond memories of the pub, and met Mr G there too. DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I remember Henekies Pub Bromley 1974 ish. > Really mad place. Angels starting their bikes up > in the back bar. > > Buying my Quid Deal of good old Afghani Black :) > > Foxy

The Horniman have a number of volunteers who work in many areas of the museum. They are often students who are building up experience of community or voluntary work in preparation for their university applications. My daughter worked as a volunteer at the Horniman for around a year when she was in the Sixth Form, and most of the time, she was in areas where she was in close contact with the public, and children in particular. Mick Mac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Pugwash Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Are they staff or are they volunteers? > > Staff I imagine - why would they be volunteers?

I don't agree that all little girls want to be princesses and feel grown up. At 8 I would never have let my daughter wear any type of make up or nail varnish, and it's not something that she would have wanted either. I have always found it very disturbing to see little children wearing clothing and cosmetics that are way too old for them.

I never, ever left my daughter in the car alone. I met someone several years ago whose car was stolen, with a baby asleep in the back, while she had left the locked car for a couple of minutes to pay for petrol. Thankfully the car was abandoned very quickly and the baby was safe, but it takes only seconds for a car to be stolen. Your children are the most important things in your life, so why take even a minute risk with their safety?

If a parent is following the formal Complaints Procedure, then the Headteacher would have to meet the parent. But this is very different to a request by a prospective parent for a general discussion about the school, or to a request by an existing parent to talk about an issue that could be resolved by talking to a class teacher, deputy head etc. If the formal Procedure is being followed, the parent would have made this clear to the school in writing, and the Headteacher would be aware that a formal process was being followed. I haven't seen anything in any of the posts in this thread to suggest that the school's formal Complaints Process is being followed by parents - just general grumbles that the Headteacher hasn't made himself available to meet people when requested, and of course the allegation made of corruption. Although it's unfortunate that the Headteacher wasn't available for the open day, I have no idea of the reason for this, and I think it is totally unrealistic to expect him to meet individual prospective parents who may or may not send their children to the school. As a couple of people have said in this thread, the Headteacher is available at the gate in the mornings. If I had a child at Goodrich, I would much rather he spent his time improving teaching and learning standards and getting to know the children than spending time in meetings with parents that could well be handled by other members of his staff.

I'm a little puzzled by Medusa's bizarre post. All schools have an agreed Complaints Procedure which should be available from the school, either on the website, or from the office, and which parents should follow. The steps in the procedure should be followed, ie meet the class teacher if appropriate, discuss the issue with the Headteacher, and then raise the concern with the Chair of the Governing Body if the problem is not resolved. Once these steps have been completed, a parent can then request (usually in writing to the Clerk to the Governing Body)that the complaint is considered by the Governing BOdy's Complaints Committee. Details of a complaint would not be shared with the full Governing Body at this stage, because of the need to ensure that there are enough governors available to take part in the Complaints Committee who have had no prior knowledge of the concerns being raised and who are therefore impartial. Once the Complaints Committee has met and reached a decision, then it would be usual for a brief report to be made to the full Governing Body, and for any recommendations made to be discussed. Ofsted would not generally take up a parental complaint, particularly if the parents haven't followed the proper procedure. In respect of the comments made earlier in the thread regarding the expected Ofsted judgment, schools and governing bodies should be self evaluating on a continuous basis, and there is an expectation that schools will know whether they are outstanding, good etc. The Ofsted judgment should therefore not come as a significant surprise if the school and governors are doing their job properly. Given the Headteacher's previous experience and background I would expect that he would be able to form a very accurate judgment of the likely outcome from the next inspection.

I know the Head at Goodrich from his previous school, and can say that he is one of the most inspirational headteachers that I have ever come across. He turned his previous school round into a happy, thriving environment where all the children were given the opportunity to achieve their full potential. His passion for improving children's life skills was so apparent, as was how deeply he cared for the children, many of whom were from extremely deprived backgrounds. It was extremely touching to see how much the children looked up to the Head and how many of them clearly adored him. If the Headteacher of a school is an important part in making a decision on which place to accept, then in my opinion, you couldn't possibly do any better than accepting a place at Goodrich.

You definitely automatically go onto the waiting lists for lewisham schools that you gave as higher priorities than the school you have been offered. All offers are made centrally and the schools have no information or influence on who ismto be offered a place.

Lewisham maintain the waiting lists for their schools centrally - individual schools have no say in who is offered a place. The normal admissions criteria are used when allocating places from the waiting list - ie looked after children, siblings, distance etc. and the length of time you have been waiting is not taken into account.

Bubblebob - I really do think it would be a good idea for you to visit Turnham when the schools go back next week. I really do think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Bubblebob - I really would think carefully about the offer you have had for Turnham before rejecting it. It is an excellent school with very dedicated and hardworking staff and a lovely atmosphere. Results are very good and a new Executive Headteacher, who is also the Head at Stillness Juniors, will be starting next term. Personally, I would have much preferred to have sent my child there than to a Harris school with no track record opening in temporary accommodation.

I've been through all types of vacuum cleaners over the years, including two Dysons and a Miele, but by far the best cleaner I've ever used is also the cheapest - I bought a Hoover Hurricane HS2200 for ?35 from Amazon last year and it's brilliant. I thought it looked quite cheap and flimsy when it arrived, but it's proved to be as robust as any other I've had, is very very light, and also has incredibly strong suction. It copes with cat hair far better than any other cleaner I've had/

I'm not in the least bit interested in magazines like this, but I would struggle to find them offensive or vile.

Kelvin Grove and Eliot Bank really aren't very far if you live between Fairlawn and Horniman, and are both excellent schools.

There have been several telephone boxes that have been converted to community libraries, and I think it's a nice idea if they aren't being used regularly. I was quite surprised to see that permission was given for the Brockley telephone box to be converted, as I thought almost all of the remaining K2 phone boxed had been given Grade II listed status.

I have also had a very, very positive experience of the Breast Care Unit at King's, and the vast majority of staff are wonderful and so caring. All of the treatment I have had at King's relating to my breast cancer has been excellent. However, my experiences of A&E couldn't have been more different. When my husband was admitted last year by ambulance after he collapsed, I really can't believe that he could have had worse treatment at any other hospital. The nursing staff were unbelievably rude both in A&E and the ward where he was moved overnight. It then took five months for him to receive a follow up appointment despite the intervention of PALS. I have had several experiences for my own medical emergencies at A&E which have also been dire. I can't think of any circumstances when I would willingly go to King's A&E when there is a choice of Lewisham and St Thomas'.

Unfortunately I've had a lot of experiences with local hospitals over the last couple of years. I've found that the Breast Unit and Oncology staff at Kings have been amazing, although the treatment I had at St Thomas was in a completely different league altogether and couldn't possibly have been better if I had been a private patient paying thousands for my treatment. I've also had several experiences of the A&E departments at Kings and St Thomas, and less recently at Lewisham. On the two occasions I went to St Thomas A&E I was seen almost immediately, and treated with complete dignity, respect, and professionalism. The treatment at Lewisham was great as well. But I've been to Kings on two occasions in the past two years for myself, and once with my husband when he was admitted by ambulance, and the treatment on all three occasions was abysmal. I recognise that the A&E staff are under incredible pressure, but the way my husband was treated, having been taken in with a potentially life threatening complaint, couldn't really have been much worse. Apart from a catalogue of incompetence from the medical staff, the nursing staff were incredibly rude and uncaring towards both of us. After standing by my husband's bed for two hours I politely asked a male nurse if there was a chair anywhere that I could sit on as I was not feeling well because of my cancer treatment - he returned a few minutes later and actually threw the chair into the cubicle at me. I've spoken to several people who have had similarly awful A&E experiences, although to be fair, other people who have had complications with their cancer treatment have had a much more positive experience.

My experience with Dulwich Hamlet was that the quality of teaching was so high that children were very well prepared for the Key Stage 2 SATs, and many of the children in my daughter's year group went on to public schools and selective state schools. My daughter was offered a place at Newstead Wood and was also offered maximum scholarships for Alleyn's and Old Palace without private tutoring.

We moved to East Dulwich/Forest Hill in 1976 and it was a lovely place to live then. There were still some good pubs, property was cheap, and the area hadn't started to get ruined by gentrification. And like others have said, Peckham was still a good shopping area. I really started to notice the changes in the mid 90s, and sadly East Dulwich has changed almost recognition since we first moved here.

The Horniman is a lovely museum for children, as is the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

My daughter did the journey to school in Orpington for 7 years and it really wasn't a problem at all. She spent the first 2 years on the school bus which was organised by the PTA, and which ran from Crystal Palace to the school gates. After that, she travelled by train. The children who use the train and bus build up another set of friends as well as their classmates, and my daughter always viewed the journey as a very social start and end to the day.

I don't use buses on a daily basis, and never use trains or the underground. It would be a long way out of my way to go to a station just to activate an online purchase, and would actually be much easier to top up at a newsagent. My point was that topping up online isn't necessarily a solution to people who may otherwise need to make an occasional cash payment for a bus fare when they've not been in a position to top up an Oyster card.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > You can top up your Oyster Card online in addition > to being able to do so at News Agents and > stations. > > Whilst it's great to be able to top up your Oyster card online, it's not much help if you don't use trains or the underground and only use buses because you have to activate the top up at a machine before it's credited to your account.

I don't travel to work by public transport or use buses on a daily basis, so I'm not in a position where I need to top up my Oyster card that frequently. It is very rare that I travel by train or the underground, so don't can't top up my card on line and update it at a station. Most of my bus journeys tend to be for hospital and other medical-related appointments, and I generally catch a bus from the stop almost outside my house. If I haven't realised that my balance has fallen below the minimum amount until I get on the bus, I am perfectly happy to pay for a single fare in cash, rather than get off the bus, walk to the nearest newsagent, and then be late for my appointment. I have yet to be on a bus that is delayed in any way by someone who is paying a fare in cash; the only delays I have seen are caused by people trying to get enormous pushchairs onto crowded buses without folding them down. I think it would be a great shame if cash payments are banned on buses and have responded to the consultation.

I thought the bollards looked a bit messy and unfinished when they were first done a year or two ago, but still a huge improvement. I saw the man painting them this morning, and I think they are looking lovely now.