samstopit

Bonaome the intention is for the new secondary to open in 2016 in temporary buildings and to move to the hospital site in 2018. Haberdashers are working to these dates. I would hope that Charter would do the same if they are approved by DFE. If your child is in Y4 you should be ok.

Otta, if there are people with young kids who want to see a Harris primary on the hospital site, they are being very quiet indeed. There has been a lot of noise about this issue and not one person besides James has said that they think it's an acceptable idea for this school to coexist with the proposed secondary on the hospital site. Possibly there are some families in Nunhead who would welcome a Harris Nunhead Primary if it was in Nunhead, but not on the hospital site. The people I know who are supporting the secondary school campaign are very aware of the whole picture, it's pretty offensive to all the work we've done to suggest that we are only thinking about our own situations.

So James, you think it's acceptable to shave 2,000 square metres of space for a much needed secondary school to allow space for a primary school that nobody wants? This is the secondary school that you attended steering group meetings on, where you were adamant that a secondary school and a health centre and nothing else should occupy the site. Remember? How you have changed your tune since Harris came into the picture.

Here is the letter that Tessa Jowell MP wrote to David Laws in october: http://www.tessajowell.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CHAP0101901140379010100413.pdf Hope that link works. The idea of two 'constrained schools' on the site makes my blood boil. We need to keep the pressure up on this!

Tessa Jowell has tweeted a link to an update on the Harris web site which confirms that Harris Nunhead has been put back to 2016 subject to a site being found and consultation with local families. http://www.harrisfederation.org.uk/26/future-projects/20/harris-primary-academy-nunhead

Hopefully you can see the attached. Great that it's front page news!

Looks to me like the change to the southwark plan is a positive one, since it specifically states a secondary school, not a primary. The SPACESouthwark petition is at 497 signatures. Please sign and share widely. https://www.change.org/p/david-laws-mp-don-t-squeeze-two-schools-onto-the-dulwich-hospital-site

Brand new guy, as a steering group member I can assure you the intention is to share sports facilities with the community. I can only speak for the Habs campaign of course.

The problem is that the really pressing local need is for a secondary school, and the only available site is the Dulwich hospital site. People who have worked hard to get a bid for a secondary free school before DFE are not at all happy at the prospect of a primary school on the site which will take up much needed space for sports facilities and outdoor activity. The fact that the primary school is billed as a school for nunhead and isn't considered necessary according to southwark's local projections just makes the situation even more infuriating. The petition now has 333 supporters. https://www.change.org/p/david-laws-mp-don-t-squeeze-two-schools-onto-the-dulwich-hospital-site

Mikeb - my apologies, just realised that the letter from Harris was attached in the post that you referenced.

The text of the letter from the Harris Federation to the Parent Steering Group is attached. You can see it with the full header and footer on our Facebook page - New Secondary School East Dulwich. We posted it on Facebook along with our reply on 25th June. The letter which Mike B posted is the steering group's reply to Harris. The parent steering group is independent of James Barber - we have no political affiliation.

Thanks Otta. That's true.

Tessa Jowell has just posted on the family room thread thanking for all the correspondence on this. She will be passing it all on to David Laws. Nearly 300 signatures on the petition. James - I would second mrs lotte's point. Listen to your constituents.

I've emailed my MP about this. Worth doing if you feel strongly - a Minister has to respond to an MP who writes to them about any issue. Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) [email protected] Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) [email protected] Also a good idea to cc Peter John, leader of Southwark Council [email protected]

There's a petition doing the rounds asking David Laws MP, Minister of State for Free Schools, not to put a primary school onto the Dulwich Hospital site. There's a lot of support for the Hospital site to be used for a secondary school and a health centre. The proposed primary (Harris Nunhead) would be co-located with the secondary school, meaning the Hospital site would be cramped, with less space for sport and outside space. Petition here: https://www.change.org/p/david-laws-mp-don-t-squeeze-two-schools-onto-the-dulwich-hospital-site Here is a letter from Tessa Jowell MP to David Laws which gives the background: http://www.tessajowell.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CHAP0101901140379010100413.pdf

In case anyone following this thread hasn't seen it yet, there is a petition circulating asking David Laws not to squeeze a primary school onto the Dulwich Hospital site. Whether you support Charter or Habs or just want a secondary school, please do sign this so that we get a secondary school with decent outside space. http://www.change.org/p/david-laws-mp-don-t-squeeze-two-schools-onto-the-dulwich-hospital-site

Signed. There is a twitter feed too @spacesouthwark where you can retweet the link.

Bonaome, thank you for circulating this. The more emails and letters David Laws gets about this the better. Renata, I think you are right. Can we request the evidence that was used to justify this new primary school?

Habs is proposing a 6 form entry secondary school plus a sixth form. And hopefully a decent amount of outside space. ... Which means no room for a primary on the site. Those who follow us on FB / twitter will have seen today's article in Southwark news. See attached.

I honestly don't know why charter are leafleting their existing catchment. I could speculate but would rather not on here. I agree with you that it's not appropriate for you to support their bid. The campaign for a new school for East Dulwich should be engaging families who don't already have access to co-ed secondary provision. Hopefully somebody who knows more about Charter's plans can answer your questions about how they will manage applicants across both sites. I'm aware that they plan to share facilities.

I'd have to add to Cora's point that if you feel strongly about one school or the other it might be wise to only tick the box about first choice for one school. I suspect that after a few years the Charter catchment around the hospital site would tighten and many families in ED would be out of catchment. If I thought the Charter bid was going to solve the lack of provision in ED I'd support both bids.

Katgod, if you scroll back to page 17 of this thread at the bottom of the page mariababe posted a document which explains the way Habs do banding in their lewisham schools quite well. Several pages of discussion about banding follow that post. Please remember that Habs can do admissions differently in southwark in response to consultation. Feel free to email questions / suggestions as suggested above or come in person tomorrow.

I'm sure if you email them they will take you off their list. Thanks for posting that reply. Makes interesting reading. Habs haven't made a final commitment to banding by the way, they are genuinely consulting on the admissions procedure. If they are the successful bidder they will consult again on admissions. I've been assured by the Habs project team that banding doesn't lead to local children being denied a place, especially for a popular school where local demand is likely to be high. The intention of banding is to ensure a comprehensive intake.

Great, see you tomorrow I hope.

In case it's of interest, the attached is a 'heat map' showing where the supporters of our campaign live. The yellow star is the Dulwich Hospital site. The vast majority of supporters live East of LL / Peckham Rye and the outskirts of Nunhead. These are the areas not currently served by a co-ed secondary school.