James Barber

Hi ITATM, All our local secondary schools operate banding except The Charter School. So it would be odd for a new secondary school to not operate banding. Hi EDmummy, Both ED Harris Boys and Girls Academies are full.

Hi Penguin68, Yes, Southwark Council sell council properties worth over ?300,000 when they become vacant. These rules are the policies from the Southwark Labour Party who currently lead Southwark Council. It means that all council properties will be sold as no properties are on the market for less than ?300,000 in East Dulwich ward. Clearly this threshold needs to be raised if we're to keep any council social housing in East Dulwich. Effectively without changing the threshold this will social cleanse the area. We currently have around 800 East Dulwich ward council tenants. One argument might be the receipts for such sales could be used to improve the remaining stock. But the council is sitting on close to ?100M of unspent receipts.

Yes, and we all want the fairest possible admissions polict resulting in the most comprehensive intake possible. This is fair for the school and importantoly other schools. Banding is present in a number of existing Southwark schools. So it isn't anything new to the area.

Hi ITATM, It's a but more complicated than that. They have to fully consult, etc, and open to challenges etc. But for the proposed Haberdashers' Aske's East Dulwich College we anticipate it consulting on banding and distance within banding after the usual things like looked after children, siblings, etc. The reasons the last Labour government and current coalition government aren't allowing local authorities to have free rain to open council schools is because many councils around the country are doing a very poor job of it. Any well run council can attract the free school provider they want and have the bonus of central government paying all the capital revenue bills. Hence why doublnig Ivydale Primary School not a great decision - takes it to twice the optimal size for primary school - and will costs Southwark Council tax payers ?5M for the priviledge

Hi Ant, Can you please email me more details - it's the border between College ward and Village ward so keen we pin point it precisely for officers to explain their plans. Hi Sue, It is good. How about your street joining in?

Lovely piece of casework. Residents on Heber Road asking about how to enable kids to play on the street - http://jamesbarber.mycouncillor.org.uk/?p=2461 Today's Southwark News lists 4 dates, 1 a month starting Sunday 25 May 2.30pm to 5.30pm, where Heber Road between Cyrena and Landcroft Roads will be open for kids playing on the street. If you'd like this to happen on your street please get in touch so we can help you organise this.

Hi TE44, That is being planned but the Goose Green Fair seems a great way to continue a process of engagement I started last December publicly.

Hi Biped1, No one has turned education into a market. As Belle has said it's trying to ensure we have the support of the community to create an outstanding new school. That any questions or concerns are fully addressed. I'm rather proud of all the effort going into trying to be as open as possible and accountable. Hi Otta, Hopefully next to. We are very lucky that two such great school providers are so keen to create our new school. To think until 8 weeks ago the council said no new school was needed and we had no provider. This has become one of the projects I'm proudest to have initiated and been a key part of.

This coming Sunday is the Dulwich Festival Goose Green Fair from 11am to 4pm. The East Dulwich Secondary School Campaign will have a gazebo there. The campaign steering group will be there along with Habderdashers? Aske?s Federation staff and some of their year 9 prefects as ambassadors. I really hope you can come along and say hi, ask searching questions about what we and Haberdashers are proposing, and how that fits with your expectations for a great new school to join the area's other great schools. And if anyone can help us make this happen please do get in touch. We can never have too much help. Even just helping blow up balloons from 10am!

But Green and Blacks in date chocolate ?1.99 on Sunday. Bargain.

Hi Carbonarra, I'd also suggest that if all schools were comprehensive via banding as you've suggested then attracting good teachers would be easier. Part of the reason for previously launching a campaign for a new free school and more recently secondary school was to ensure we were in the driving seat rather than a 'nutty' provider. That's also why we greatly encouraged Dulwich Hamlet to follow this route

Thanks Rosie for covering for me last week on the forum. I had large evening work commitments unsually last week. Back to normal.

Yes, accepted into the system to be considered. I've amended my original post for clarity. Many thanks VicCraven for clarifying.

The planning application has been accepted into the planning application system to be considered. You can see all the planning application details and drawing etc here:http://planningonline.southwark.gov.uk/AcolNetCGI.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=9554210 VERY EXCITING another step has been taken towards an East Dulwich cinema. If you support or object ot this planning application please email [email protected] and copy me. Subject line would ideally state 14/AP/1101

I've a week of evening meeting and work mayhem so will be OOO this week. Cllr Rosie Shimell has kindly agreed to cover for me on the forum.

Hi unlurked, I wouldn't call a 4,000 person petition to save the former East Dulwich Police station losing it without a fight. The first proposals to close it were from Val Shawcross and Ken Livingstone. But ironic that it was closed by Boris Johnson on a campaign ticket of not closing this police station without providing a proper alternative. But once closed June 2013 it's then a matter of getting the best possible use for the site. WE need more local schools. So after a lot of work we've ensured it's going to be used for a new primary school rather than housing aggravating the need for more schools.

The Educational Finance Agency appointed their technical team earleir this month. They're now working on the design and Project Plan. My understanding is that they'll submit planning applciation early summer after consulted with the neighbouring area. Hopefully demoiltion will occur in parallel once plans submitted. Building then starts early Autumn.

No I'm afraid that doesnt make sense sillywoman. Banding works by selecting the closest child based on distance from the school in each band. You can't cream if you operate such an admissions policy.

I get why people don't want a tube station. With it would come controlled parking, house price rises, busier area. Flip side would be most people who work being home that much more not fighting their way across town to reach London Bridge station and then the cattle trains out to Peckham Rye or East Dulwich and vice versa. Personally Id prefer another 30 mins in bed of a morning and being home 30 mins sooner. But not so much that I want to move.

Some weeks ago I was asked about whether a second ticket machine could be installed at Denmark Hill station due to congestion. I asked Lib Dem GLA Assembly Member for help. She contacted TfL first who referred her to the Train Operating Company. They relinquish this station at the calendar year end to a different TOC. But they were sorry for any queueing - and highlgihted it's in their interest to sell tickets. They will monitor queueing and try ensuring staff with hand held tickets machine are their more often and look to open a second ticket office window. If this doesnt solve the problem then they may recommend the next TOC installs a second machine. She plans to meet with them again around June. So please do feed problems to me by email and I'll brief her about ED resident views.

Hi KK, I'm not aware of a loop hole. I am aware of people like Caffe Nero having very deep pockets. I and my then ward colleague Cllr Richard Thomas appears as the plannign appeal against Caffe Nero. Caffe Nero were able to attend with several planning barristers, and entourage of their experts. Southwark had an officer a lawyer and two councillors. But we won onthe airconditioning and lost on the coffee shop due to an inconsistency in the council evidence.

Hi ITATM, The parents steering group agreed criteria over several meetings and a working party between meetings. We shared the criteria with both schools and asked them to tell us how they fulfiled that criteria. We then applied that criteria. We then published our take on it after people repeatedly asked what our thinking was when it was clear The Charter School also didnt accept our decision. I personally would have preferred that we hadn't felt the need to publish it. But we are where we are. Not sure how you can suggested Haberdashers' cream talented children when they have a banding system to ensure a comprehensive intake. They have taken on failing primary and secondary schools in really disadvantaged areas. This doesnt look to me as a federation looking for easy success. Hi Sillywoman, Yes The Charter School has been a success which is impressive after the William Penn years. They have been very protective of this hence the unfortunate Champion Hill Estate admissions appeals that Charter fought tooth and nail to avoid admitting children from a nearby area. It will take a number of years before that part of our community feel the Charter school operated a fair admission policy. It takes a number of years for schools when they changed to be fully recognised for making change happen for the better.

Hi clockworkorange, So owners propose large rent rises to existing businesses. They close. Property sits empty for a few months. The owner bring in a non shop business. At some point high street like Lordship Lane stop being high streets and start to wilt as only people wanting to buy a house or a coffee visit. Doesn't sound like a recipe for long term success. Lordship Lane has a remarkably low number of void properties. Keeping at least 50% of properties as A1 is a key part of that which is why we have such policies in place and cross-party have defended this from being userped.

Hi ITATM, What do you mean the highest two bands? Band 1 is the lowest ability band. intexasatthe moment Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > " They explained they'd seen dramatic improvement > in primary school SAT scores but stable scores in > non verbal reasoning scores used for banding. " > > So no change in results of non verbal tests used > to place pupils in bands ? But pupils transferring > from the feeder primary school gain 25 out of 61 > places in the top 2 bands . Even though their > success rate in the banding tests remain stable ?

Hi 281102, Yes, the DfE may be influenced. Not sure 'may' is an assertion. Either way I will amend when I receive your email 281102. I'll amend the score taking into account the latest supporters. Hi Scruffy Mummy, Not quite up to the DfE yet. Applications have to be made. The site needs to be secured. Hi bawdy-nan, Well, yes and no. The DfE can only decide based on bids received. So if we weren't submitting the bids then the DfE would not get to decide. So we are all a critical part of this process. Whatever happen we need a new secondary school. Hi edanna, I've always been clear that I would seek support and if sufficient support was present then find a provider. I've stated repeatedly that if anyone doesn't think the provider we were going to choose was for them then to let me know and I'd log their withdrawal of support. I could have taken a different approach as we did when no provider except Harris Federation were interested in supporting a free primary school bid before the support materialised. Once we had clear support providers who had refused were suddenly interested. But as we have sufficient Harris secondary schools already I took this riskier approach. Hi stateeducation, I'm sorry for any negativity about The Charter School. I regret this. Much has been in response to suggestions we hadn't considered their desire to be our provider fully, etc. We spent a lot of time and in my case holiday days making sure we did.