prdarling

Chill out Barry...I really don't think Tor was immigrant bashing...who on earth has got time for that when we are all sick to the stomach over being allocated a school which is so far away we'd have to leave the house at 7.30am to have any hope of getting there in time for the bell?? If I may be so bold as to speak on her behalf, I'm fairly sure she just means that as a (bloody hefty) tax paying member of the British public, it's not too much to ask to send your child to a school she can walk to 400m away, rather than one 2 miles away, which necessitates a couple of buses at least. I am in total agreement. There is no way I can get my little one to pre school and my eldest to Bessemer Grange which is completely in the opposite direction and then get myself off to work. None of this is feasible or financially possible as the only way to make it work is for me to get a nanny or similar or to give up work.... Meanwhile I can't park outside my own house on Ryedale after 3pm on a weekday for all of the parents driving to get their kids fom Goodrich. It's just a shambles

Molly this is exactly what sends me over the edge. You can't move round here for cars dropping off at Goodrich and now they expcect me to drive miles away to drop my son off and no doubt in several years time, will expect residents around Bessemer to drive to bloody New Cross. It's a shambles. Am sure parents there are very happy etc etc, but my local school is less than 5 minutes walk away. It's a joke

Mind you, EDmumof5 - you must have a sibling place...unless i am totally thick??!

Be interested to hear where you live edmumof5 and Trish??? Toast - Tor lives 4 houses closer to Goodrich than I Liquid dinner for me tonight.......

clux my son isn't due to start till January so maybe there is hope but I am very very upset and stressed wiz i'm glad to hear your daughter and you are happy wih the school - that's reassuring but I just can't get past not being able to go to a school which is 2 minutes walk from my house. It seems ludicrous that hundreds of parents drive to Goodrich from God knows where and I would have to drive to BG.

Tor yes it is me...we have been offered Bessemer Grange. Don't even know where it is. Yes it's wine o'clock in my house now. Especially as have just found out that BA are striking so my long weekend of luxury with my husband which we booked a year ago is now off. Pales into insignificance in comparison though Ryedalema - my boys are 4 and 2 and a half Fuschia yes it's my closest school - am on Ryedale but at the Forest Hill Rd end I have just spoken to Victoria our new councillor - she told me to email all my details to [email protected] the labour group are meeting tonight and she will try to find out as much as possible for me. Obviously they have just taken over so everything is up in the air. Am completely shellshocked

Tor - I think you are my neighbour...are you on Ryedale with 2 boys?

Which one toast?

Surprise surprise I haven't got a place at a school I wanted. Am feeling slightly nauseous. Can anyone let me know the next steps For God's sake I live in Ryedale - is that really too far from Goodrich?

Victoria please can you PM me. I need your help Thanks

I'm feeling very very anxious...been awake since 2am - ludicrous I know

Any idea when we get the results Victoria?

DS1 was done at 6 months (as we were off to high risk area)- zero scar, zero side effects - not a pin prick in sight DS2 was done at 8 months ish when we got the call from the HV. It was red, angry, sore and oozed unpleasantness for months. I don't think it bothered him that much but I fet so bad for him as it did look sore. He has a circular pea sized scar which is still pink (he's now 2 years 8 months) Would prob do again for imaginary 3rd child...

Vick a bulge class is an extra class of 30 children added to the Recetion year, due to ED (and other) schools being drastically short of spaces Last year Goodrich which normally has 90 kids in Reception, had 120 This year Heber which normally has 60 kids wil have 90 and so on Helps to ease the panic in the short term but in the long term it won't really help as the schools that bulged last year will probably have heaps more siblings this year but are back down to their original number of places... We just need more schools

Reviews are supposed to be done at 2 years and 3 and a half years according to the red book. I'm not really concerned, i just dug out the books the other day and noticed that my 4 year old has missed his last one and my 2 and a half year old is about to miss his! My little one has knock knees poor lamb so i want to get advice on whether it will resolve itself

Maxi Cosi Priori XP came out top in Which? survey. We have found it excellent

I am with the Forest Hill Group Practice - does anyone know if the HV sessions are still on WEdnesdays mornings and whether I need to book a slot for a routine 2 and a half year check or if I just ned to turn up? Thanks

Mine loved Baby Einstein DVD's. They kept them entertained for ages and my 4 year old still loves watching them now. Baby Neptune and Baby van Gogh particular favourites A cheap option is making a treasure basket. Get a wicker basket with low sides so they can get stuff out. Ours is full of old water bottles with coloured water (food colouring) or glitter/pasta, wooden pegs, metal curtain rings, loo rolls, hand whisk, sea sponge, empty cup a soup box, loose pieces of pasta they can put in and out of boxes etc. Am sure you get the idea!! The more textures the better. They love posting things so make a letterbox out of a cereal packet and give him things to post through the hole. If he can nearly sit up, these things might work if he's propped in his high chair? True though, the attention span is limited at 4 months!

I think the OP may be too late for a school nursery? Even if she were really lucky the earliest her son would get in would be September and if he's already 4, he'll either be starting Reception then or in January 2011. May have more luck with a private pre-school dependng on waiting lists

Can't really help if you are looking at free play groups which you would attend with your son, as they do all seem to cater for babies but you could always think about something like Buds pre school which he could go to for a couple of sessions a week 9am-1pm. I think its about ?25 a session however you must be entitled to 15 free hours a week as your son is 4. Not sure about how busy it is..certainly some days are busier than others but may be worth a try?? I have a 4 year old and a 2.5 year old there and they love it. PM me if you want any more info

Ditto what someone said about it being quite scary! I was lined up waiting to go in with all the other heavily pregnant mums and partners and all we could hear was some poor lady screaming her head off and doing that transitional mooing that you hear about but don't believe you will really do. There were a lot of nervous glances and shuffling of feet! However it was all made better by seeing one of the midwives at the reception desk cuddling a baby that must have been only a few hours old. I had never seen such a new baby and it made everything more real and much more exciting to Mr Darling and me. I don't think you can pay for a private room like you can at St Thomas' but if you have a straightforward delivery you'll want to get home ASAP anyway - I had 1 night on a ward of 4 beds after DS1 and it wasn't brilliant but nor was it horrendous. I went home 2.5h after DS2 was born, straight from Room 12, which incidentally is the one with the biggest pool in...always worth knowing just in case you can request it!

As far as I can see the Lib Dems are all about excuses - it's so blatantly political it's ridiculous. James Barber et al are just coming up with nonsense at this stage. James has said on this site that one of the reasons Southwark is taking longer is that they are organising bulge classes while Lewisham is not - well we all know that Fairlawn has a bulge class. Last night I even had one LD councillor at my door suggesting that Lewisham have released their places early (err no, on time) because the application process had to be completed earlier than Southwark (err, no both were 29 January). They can't get their facts right on what must be one of the most crucial issues to the ED electorate and it looks to me like they are making it up as they go along. I have ZERO confidence in them.

Thanks Fuschia for the clarification

Fliss I'm afraid having a nursery place bears no relation on a reception place. This is why you apply to the school for a nursery place and the local authority for a reception place. I think they try to hammer it home in the literature but it's obviously not as clear as they think. I do feel for you, it won't be nice if you have to pull your son from the environment he's familiar with but many of us will be dealing with the same issues - all of us whose kids go to non-school nurseries for example. The whole nursery/school business is heart in the mouth stuff! At least it should be straightforward for siblings (frantically trying to pin a rusty old silver lining to a looming black cloud)

Hmm maybe so but I still don't see why we have to wait until after the elections until we get our results. Many London boroughs are coping with similar situations and can manage to get their results out in April. I don't feel that JB has given any satisfactory response to this matter and I like most of the other mums I have spoken to along the way don't think that, and I quote the good councillor "Having bulge classes and the distraction or purdah and supporting elections is reason enough to add to the confusion. I simply don't get it. It's a very poor explanation at best, a pitiful excuse at worst