eco79

Kitty, the problem happens when one of your quartiles is over subscribed. Say you've got 100 kids trying to get a place at the school. Under previous systems if they all lived close by, they'd get in, end of story. But now, 29 of those kids are in the lowest quartile say. There's only space for 25 of them on the school rules. So 4 kids can't go. They might have named that school as a first choice causing problems in choosing another school, and that other school won't be their closest. Tricky times when you're 11. But the big issue is, when an Academy starts, they are always seen to take over a failing school and improve it. Everyone thinks....WOW, they must have such good facilities, a beautiful building, better teachers, brighter management - when actually all they did was ensure their intake was cleverer than last years by their tricky and not well publicised admissions policy.

It's not whether we have a new primary or not James. We obviously need one. It's your repeated comments about how amazing Harris are. I'm trying to open up for people, exactly why academies with a selective admissions policy [otherwise known as fair banding] can turn around their results so swiftly, show massive improvement to OFSTED and gain their outstanding award. They've acquired their 'good name' at Secondary and now using it to expand into the Primary sector. I don't feel comfortable with it. We will therefore never really know if Harris are any good, because they've never been playing the game on the same level playing field as a true comprehensive.

I'm also concerned that a very emotive issue, one of school places for our children has requested support without being hugely clear what type of school we're all voting for. The title of this thread should say 'New Harris Academy primary for SE22'. Everybody wants a new ED primary....not everybody wants another Harris School.

Just to change track a little, the school where I taught in Islington, became an Academy maybe 3/4 years ago now. We were a fully comprehensive school allowing children in based purely on their distance from the school. When the sponsors took over, and we became an Academy, our intake was based on quartiles. To put it simply, the intake of the school in Y7 would look like this.... 25% capable of achieving A*/As at GCSE 25% capable of getting B/Cs at GCSE 25% capable of getting D/Es at GCSE 25% capable of getting below E grade. Now that would appear fair, but actually what happened is if the school filled up the lowest quartile, it didn't matter how close you were to the school, you couldn't come. And when they didn't fill the top quartile, they opened the catchment area to the whole of London. They therefore fiddled with the improvement of their results right from the start, by improving their intake and neglecting local students. So, having a look at a Harris School admissions policy, they also 'admit students representing all levels of ability among applicants for admission'. So I imagine a similar thing is happening. I know this doesn't necessary impact on a Primary School as this is Secondary policy, but it is obviously easier for schools to improve results if they improve the intake of the students, this leads to better results at OFSTED and everyone looks amazing. I left that Academy in Islington swiftly, and work for a school that gives places to students of all abilities, even if one year we end up with no students in the top 25%. Am I making sense?

Yep, Chris at Aerials Installed is great....moved our Sky dish from front to back in 40 mins by climbing over the roof. 020 8659 3772

I definitely second Roald Dahl stuff. Very happy memories as a kid, being read Danny the Champion of the World with an aniseed ball for me and all my brothers. Dad's philosophy was he would read for as long as the sweet lasted, and so we really savoured our sweet then straight off to brush teeth and bed. This being the same dad who taught us how much fun trying to peel a potato was while leaving the skin in one long unbroken spiral....he would then let us all 'practice' peeling potatoes, usually on a Sunday morning surprisingly. What about the Redwall trilogy books by Brian Jacques? [Redwall, Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior]

Please forgive all ignorance, but can you be a lady rabbi or a lady imam?

I've learnt to not get him dressed and then pop him in it, while I grab our things to leave the house....a code brown always arrives! Any time of day. And yes Ruth, some of them have been very...shall we say thinly spread, coating most of his body.

Is it just my child who always poos in the Jumperoo?

Canela, You've said what I've been thinking all thread. Going out for dinner when we were little happened maybe 2/3 times a year. My mum and dad had loads of us, and it was SUCH a treat, if we'd misbehaved my mum would have been distraught...as it was a treat for her too. She normally made an entire Rathbone's loaf of butties and we shared can drinks between us by counting how many sips the other siblings had taken! I wonder whether increasing affluence has brought this change in our community about? My little fella has been to numerous Sunday Roasts in pubs [always well managed, usually in a sling having a nap!], but we're the only people with a baby in our group of friends. But as soon as our children are [hopefully] numerous, we will be the buttie brigade too.

Yes.... 11-1pm http://www.nct.org.uk/branches/brixton-dulwich-and-streatham/events/autumn-brixton-dulwich-and-streatham-branch-nearly-n-0

Trashy but I really enjoyed it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jul/05/the-unit-next-box-set

'Brody' has signed up on a massive contract for series 3,4, and 5! How on earth the plot can last that long I have no idea?!? However, excellent tips on Damages having extra series....loved 1 and 2. Other guilty box-set pleasures have been 'The Unit', think Desperate Houswewives meet SAS action.

I went to this cafe yesterday, and was really disappointed. Yes, cheap, amazing cup of tea [always key] but I was the only person in there and every table was filthy and full of used crockery. Girls behind the counter just having a chat. Is it run by the council, as in part of the Burgess Park regen? Such a lovely location.

A cup of tea if ?2.40! Normal tea.....as in a teabag, hot water, and a splash of milk?!?!

As a pram pusher, it's my opinion that you have priority. And every time this situation has arisen I have got off the bus without being requested. Although I can tell from the grateful reactions this obviously is not usually the experience of wheelchair users.

Cheers midivydale *stops sweating profusely with anxiety*

Our babies were titchy wee and quite definitely too young for strollers.

Exactly my point laney1. It doesn't hugely matter if I'm a trumped up, self-entitled mother with a pram the size of a citroen C5 [someone, jump in here to say I'm not :)], but I enjoy having a coffee and talking to my friends on a weekday morning. If I can't do that at the Gardens then I'll go somewhere else. He lost weekly business from a large group of mums that day. And if he's ok with that, then the place we go to now is making a roaring trade.

On the buggy front, the last time they challenged us about the prams we all jumped up to fold prams/put them in the garden etc, and the owner said....no, no, no I don't want you to do that, but you need to think about these prams. We didn't know what he was on about as we were trying to fix things. Also to point out, this was a pre-arranged group, who had asked the staff to use the back room on a Tuesday morning for coffee with our [then] tiny babies. We stopped going.

The Gowlett usually has Pride on?

http://www.luckydipdisco.com/child%20party%20menu.html This man, in my opinion, is a legend. He DJ-ed our wedding, best dancing ever, but he has kids and so has branched out in to kids parties. At my wedding he was running round like a nutter with a balloon machine and leading the Conga, so imagine he's a right laugh with kids. Too much fun.

Fridays is Cheeky C's in the morning and Bea's Baby Bop in the afternoon....for our family anyway :) Details at www.edtots.co.uk

Thanks everyone, I'll head out today with some little hope.