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Very happy with Home Cert and would highly recommend. Kurt was very professional and thorough. I will definitely use their services again.

We are holding an 'Information Meeting' on Sunday July 20th at 6.30pm for families interested in finding out more about 'Small Acres'. The venue: Peckham Rye Adventure Playground, Homestall Road, London SE22 0NR. Please send an email to [email protected] to register your interest. If you would like to visit our website for more details on the school here is the link: www.smallacresschool.org If you would like to access some interesting articles and further information on democratic education and the 'Small Acres' approach, here is the link: www.facebook.com/smallacresschool

As discussed previously on this forum, a new alternative primary school has opened in Peckham Rye Park called 'Small Acres'. Many of you have asked for more information, including a website. I'm pleased to say that the website has recently gone 'live' and here is the link: http://www.smallacresschool.org

I would recommend Hepburns in Blackwater street as well, They are very approachable and thorough-we have always dealt with Nick Harper who I couldn't recommend more highly,

Thank you to everyone who came along to our 'Information day' in Peckham Rye yesterday. We had a great response to our posting on the ED forum and thank you for all your emails expressing an interest in 'Small Acres'- it's great to see that so many local people are interested in 'democratic' education. For those of you who couldn't attend yesterday, we are holding another 'information day' on Saturday March 22nd at 2pm. If you would like to register for that day, please send an email to: [email protected]

Hi Jessie- In response to your query about the OFSTED website- the Small Acres URN number with OFSTED is 140270. OFSTED have been to Small Acres to do their preliminary inspection and as a result it is now a fully registered alternative primary school.

OFSTED came to Small Acres 6 months ago to do a preliminary inspection. The result was that the school was approved and consequently registered as an alternative primary educational setting.

I was just about to reply to your question about the fees and also the question about OFSTED and the post disappeared. Thanks for letting us know it is now in the business section!

Hi Sribble, I'm sorry you've found a lack of transparency and clarity in previous posts. With regard to the Facebook page, it is purely a platform to share information about democratic education. As I have said, we are in the process of developing our website which should be 'live' after half term. I will post a link to the website once it is up and running and hopefully that will give you all the information you require. In the meantime, we have been holding small informative meetings with families who are interested in our approach. We haven't felt the need to post lots of information on the East Dulwich forum as our belief is that if families are looking for an alternative, democratic education for their child and want to find out more after visiting our Facebook page they will get in touch for further information. This has been the case with the families who are already part of the school and it has worked very well up till now. Once again, my apologies for giving an impression that we are unwilling to share information or be clear about what Small Acres is about- that was never our intention. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like any more information.

My son attends the school and has 'special educational needs' so I have personal experience and an understanding of how 'Small Acres' has handled our application and his needs. I would like to reiterate that every child is offered a trial at the school, regardless of whether they have been deemed to have SEN or not- this is to ensure that the setting and the approach suits the individual child and can meet their needs.

Regarding 'Special Educational Needs'- every child is offered a 2 week trial at 'Small Acres' to see if it is the right setting for the child and to make sure the whole family are happy with the alternative approach. Prior to setting up the trial, we welcome families to come and discuss any specific needs or concerns they might have. If a child has a 'statement of SEN' from the LEA, this can be discussed prior to setting up the trial to ensure Small Acres would be able to address and support those specific needs. Hope this is clear.

If you send an email to [email protected] we will be happy to send you an information pack including the OFSTED URN number and answer any particular questions you may have. In answer to your question about the school being democratic and fee paying: If you would like to see other models of established democratic fee paying schools, I suggest you look at Summerhill in Suffolk(www.summerhillschool.co.uk) or Sands in Devon (www.sands-school.co.uk). There is a lot of information on their websites about democratic education. The Small Acres website is currently in development so hence the reason for sending the link to the Facebook page prior to the website going live. Also, if you're interested in the approach Small Acres is following, I suggest you google Peter Gray who has recently published a book called 'Free to Learn'. He makes several references in his book about a school in Massachusetts called 'Sudbury Valley'. There are some very interesting 'you tube' interviews on both Sudbury Valley school and Peter Gray's theories on 'Play- based learning'. We look forward to hearing from you by email if you would like us to send you any specific information. Also, if you would like to come to the information day on Saturday, please mention that in your email so we can register your interest and send you all the details. Thanks again for your interest.

'Small Acres' is an OFSTED approved democratic school for 5 to 11 year olds based in the Peckham Rye area. It is an independent fee-paying setting offering 3 days a week for those wishing to 'flexi-school' or 5 days per week for those wanting a full time place. If you would like to learn more about their approach, you can visit their public Facebook page: [www.facebook.com] where there are numerous interesting articles to read. Also, if you would like to find out more about ?Small Acres? they are holding a ?Parent Information Meeting? on Saturday 15th February at 2pm. To book a place or to request any further information please send an email to: [email protected]

I wanted to put another good word in for Dan (3rd Man Services) on 07870467207. Dan has helped me on 2 different occasions and each time I've found him really helpful, honest and hard working.

Just to add that Round 2 with Saied has now taken place so I thought I'd update my recommendation for the work that Saied does. He worked so hard and the results have been fantastic. We now have a cleared garden which is ready for new planting. We have already planned to ask Saied to come back in October. He has given us lots of suggestions which we are excited to put in place. If you're looking for a reliable, hard working Gardener who really knows his stuff and is a real pleasure to have in your home I would suggest you give him a ring. His number: 07538 760 671.