katgod

Thanks. My children are in southwark schools soveon't sit the Zjewisham test although my favourite school at present us in Lewisham. I fear the combination of distance and bands will defeat us- but I will try anyway. Anyone know if bands flex yovrefectvthe applicants or fixed? Will try to read the attachment above over weekend to see if it helps!!

Thank you. Renata, what you describe for Harris sounds ok, but if that is what the Lewisham schools do I fear what we will get next year. Also I am still not clear if the bands are fixed or reflect the local intake. As local achools improve, if the bands are fixed are we going to be shipping in less well performing kids from, say, Clapham, to fill the lower bands? I think it has to reflect the local reality not some fixed range. Bawdy I am glad to read you were impressed - I was too when I looked round, and also relieved that you were not aware of the banding- maybe I am worrying too much! And Texas thanks for pm. Anyone know what the timeframe would be for the Hospital site school? Any chance up and running for September 2015 :-)?

thanks. I 'get' charter doing some sort of test to put the children they have admitted on the basis of distance into ability groups by subject. I still don't quite get how it works for the others. If I live in Southwark and apply to a Lewisham school, my child has not done the Lewisham test, so is therefore at an inherent disadvantage? or is there some other way that Southwark children get scored? It does seem as if the Lewsisham schools apply distance within the bands - that is what I don't get. Do they look at the results of the NVR and say right lets offer places to the 30 closest by distance boys who scored over 90% in the NVR, then band 2 is the closest 30 boys who scored 80-90% etc.... Pleased that Habersdashers at least flexes to reflect the intake - but if still based on distance not sure that achieves the egalitarian state that people on the other thread seem to think will happen?? Still totally confused tbh.

Renata - so the bands are determined after the places are allocated? So it is distance first, then if you are one of the closest 180 you get a place, and then the 180 are ranked in order and split? how is that fairer than just distance? How does that work? I think what Mariababe says makes more sense, Year 5 results sent, but it does sound as if there is a disadvantage in being in the top 2 bands? Why can't the bands flex to reflect the results of the local schools - where is the incentive to do well if you stand more chance of getting in if you perform worse? That is what I am struggling with.

This keeps cropping up in the threads on Haberdashers and Charter, but I don't want to hijack those. Can someone explain to me how it works. I have seen the the Lewisham schools have 5 bands of entry so there is a mixed intake. I have a few questions - would be great to know the answers from those wo have been through this already; I am in Southwark, so does Southwark send the SATs results to Lewisham, or is there some other mechanism? School places allocated in April so SATS all taken and marked by then? If my child is in say the top band, and there are lots of chldren who really well in SATS, does distance then get taken into account? ( So the catchment for band 1 could be different to the catchment for band 2?) Are the bands fixed, ie Band 5 is those who get level 3-4c, band 4 is level 4B-4A, up to band 1 being level 5A+? Or is it done on a percentage range, so the top 20% of Lewisham children go in band 1 , next 20% in band 2, so if everyone does really well the bands are flexible and can cope? I think Harris has the same system (but based on their own test, not SATs), and my concern is that if the ED schools produce lots of bright children, the bands could work to their disadvantage because some bands will be oversubscribed and others undersubscribed. Thanks for any light you can shed on bands!

There's a thread in the main forum too. The one i'click club building is to be demolished, few more details in main forum from one of the local councillors. No reply to the suggestion that the council try to get their (our) money back on the useless playground over there. I hope they choose a different contractor and designer.....

Had a fun time at the Fun Day at the adventure playground today. They ( the council? Not sure quite who it was but she was very friendly)were canvassing for ideas for a revamp of the old swings/slide/climbing frame playground near the football pitches, but also the disaster of the new "playground" by the one o'clock club. There were questionnaires to be filled in and pictures of possible new stuff. All exciting and am pleased the old part is going to get a revamp and that the other bit might get the things it needs/ improvements to make it a more fun place to play. Would be interested to know if anyone was better than me and managed to ask any sensible questions like who or when?? ( and can share)

Pleased there will be a new school. Steering committee was created from those who volunteered. The ones from my children's primary school are not elitist or snobby. They are people who cared, read the debate and volunteered to get involved. Those ranting on here now could have done the same, but they didn't. I can only speak from the experience of the local primary my children attend. Some parents were in the steering committee. This was communicated to the parent community of our school. Had I wanted further info I could have asked them. So far as I was concerned their brief was to get a non selective co-ed non faith school closer to reality. They've done that. It isn't a done deal because the decision is with the DoE. I am grateful they got involved and progress made. I think this is a 'can't please all the people all the time' moment. I have no idea of the politics of the parents involved. I think it is unfair to assume they are involved in a great Lib Dem stitch up.

Bornagain's chicken pies went down very well here this evening- thanks!

Purple H&M fleece on Crystal Palace Road at about 195- between Silvester and Whateley Roads. Hope Matilda finds it.

the baton to banniser approasch described above was beyond me and hubby's DIY skills. so we put the stiar gate across baby bedroom door so there was a safe zone. no stair gate on actual stairs. three children and multiple visitors and no issues. Stair gates are not compulsory.

the kids pool at Elvedon is pretty good - the 5 year old and the 3 year old would be fine there with you in charge of the baby - little slides, jets etc that is arranged in such a way that be doable solo as all shallow, esp if 3 year old has a floatation jacket on - they do provide them there. the big slides will be too big for children anyway. You could do the lazy river with 3 children as most adults can stand up and with floatation devices the children just hold on to go and gently woosh round it. Again that could be done solo. I'd be a bit wary as the clubs and acivities really add up - the playgrounds and cycling are good, but the swimming is thae main thing and if you don't think you can manage 3 of them in the kids bit not sure if worth going tbh. the kids section is separate from the main pool - share the same changing etc, but quite distinct once in, and no chance of accidentally floating off into trouble. Look at the pictures and plan of the kids section. I would not pay for Centre Parcs if i could not use the pool.

This is why there are so many Citroen Picasso/VW Touran/Citroen C4, Renault Espace type cars around ED- because theY have 3 separate seats in the back instead of the usual 2 and a hump. No suggestions - we changed cars when the third was due.

Polhill is so good coach trips stop there on the way back from holidays in west country. Very easy to while away a morning there. Either down A20 or through Bromley. And the plants are in my experince good quality and last.

build in decompression time if you can. the walk from the bus stop etc to clear your head, get cheerful and dump your work stuff. I find the worst eveningas are the ones where i TRY TO DO BLACKBERRY AND BATHTIME AT THE SAME TIME. oF COURSE TO MANY READING That will seem obvious.BUT WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA. So just accept that 6.30 - 8.30 WILL BE BED AND BATH AND DINNER OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEED TO DO, AND IF NECESSARY PICK UP WORK STUFF LATER, RATHER THAN TRY TO DO BOTH. Even a sneaky PEEK AT BLACKBERRY gets SPOTTED, THEN THEY KNOW YOU ARE NOT concentrating and it can easily unravel. Ocado is your friend. It take a while to get in the routine but is saves so much tooime and effort. I also highly rate J&B Impress ironing service. They collect from the house and deliver back the next day. Not all our ironing goes there, but the big nasty stuff does. Apologies for random caps. You are doing what lots of families do - albeit the other way round - one person full time, one person parttime/shift/work at home etc. Don't try to do everything.

Yes calamine cream, not lotion. Thicker, less drying.

would going to school in the other village scupper chances of local pals as he gets older/ If all the kids in your village are at the village school and youson isn't will he get left out? And potentially mark you out as not just 'down from London' but 'too good for the local school'? Just putting the other side - local friends are really important and as he gets older and goes out and about by himself - guess there is not a steady flow of buses between the villahes? Altho beach schol does sound great - but suppose you are not excatly going to be short on beach time if you live so close anyway??

bit concerned about removing the staggered junction - surely that makes it safer for pedestrians which is what most of the school traffic is.

Glad you found new premises Daya - we love your shoes.

Just snuck in and found one- Magic Tree House series by Mary POpe Osborne, there are 3 or 4 in the series. My daughter is a good reader but they bridged the post ORT gap and a friend's dyslexic son a bit older found them great for building confidence. Also Amazing Esme and little house on the prairie and anything not about fairies or animals is what my daughter likes,!!!

Wow. A new school with even less space than Goodrich and Heber. Because we have not moved on since Victorian days. Or learnt any lessons about space or exercise. And a controversial chain gets to take over yet more education. Really quite sad about this.

London eye. With boat trip on Thames clipper. We did that as starting school treat and worked v well.

Houses and flats. the planning notice is attached to a lamppost very close by.

Lots of working parents use school nursery - but perhaps when the child is a sibling. we used private nursery for number 1, but with 2 children and now 3, nanny/au pair is our childcare choice and school nursery fits in well with that. If you use it you are just moving the choice of wrap around forward a year - you still need this sorted in a year's time so might as well do it now? Chilminder seems most popular option.

Beano and Dandy are big hits in my house - not exactly great literature but it is reading and the format makes it easy. Tin Tin and Asterix similarly. My son started on them and my daughter now loves them too. Re reading their dad's old Beano annuals from from 1980s and a subscription to the comic. Pippi Longstocking? I find Rye Books has a different querkier range too - there is a nice adventure series about 2 children with super short chapters that weer helpful in bridging the post ORT gap for my children - apologies have forgotten what they are called - but the man in Rye books is most helpful.