intexasatthe moment

Just a blip in the usually excellent admin of the forum ???

Oh yes please Foxy ,how kind ! I keep looking at the home bit of Yahoo email but there doesn't seem to be what I need . This is a recent problem on this account - the owner of which is a bit of a random clicker so I imagine some tweaking is needed .

Regarding the Kingsdale thread - the message from Admin about posters details being given to the authorities etc . If it was neither a light hearted /jokey response nor a rather threatening message - why was there talk of the police ? Libel is a civil matter not criminal isn't it ?

Not just me that's baffled then . Some comfort .

From what I understand albert different year groups at Kingsdale can have very different experiences . I think the higher years have had a very different time from those just recently joining the school . So those who have good experiences find it hard to believe that anything could be amiss at the school .

As will be obvious I'm not very computer savvy but I have an email account - Yahoo/btinternet with subaccounts for family members . One of the sub accounts can't open attachments though they used to be able to. They download but no dialogue box opens asking if you want to save or open the attachment . I can open attachments - even forwarded ones from the sub account that can't . This is all on same machine . Does anyone have any advice . I've tried "reconfiguring " the rogue account .

I agree it must be difficult to be caught in the crossfire . Just think Admins post was phrased in an unfortunate way . But maybe ,being human and doing this in their free time ,they're tired and not perfect .

I'm sorry but your post came across as very heavy handed . You would know but I can't remember anything other than references to the sudden drop in GCSE results . There may have been opinions expressed as to the cause - so I can see that might be libellous . I don't recall any posts stating that x or y happened ,so I can't see that any lies ( as you call it ) were told . "embellishment " is tricky isn't it ? I imagine there will be a lot of gaps in the EDF if exaggeration becomes a reason for removing posts because they might be libellous . It must put Admin in a difficult position - presumably requests for "embellished " posts will have to be removed if you're asked to do so on the grounds that they are libellous .

And does anyone know why the school had to change GCSE exam boards ? The Ofsted report seemed ( to me ,maybe I've misunderstood ) to imply that this was partially responsible for the drop in results . Poor kids who sat exams last summer ,it seems so unfair that their grades were affected .

Curmudgeon you say " Seems a good thing there's been a high turnover of staff to me. " But surely these teachers were working at the school when the results were good ? They left and the re results nose dived . Why is it good they've left ? Have I missed something obvious ?

and what do you mean "apparently from Kingsdale " ? Does that mean you don't know who has contacted you suggesting the posts are libellous ? Do you think they were libellous ?

either you're having a larf admin or you're trying to intimidate .

Hope it's back on . Does no water = no heating ?

Decathalon at Surrey Quays have a great selection of ski mittens etc for children .

The Parking Shop in the Old Kent Rd is now closed . Southwarks web site says you need to apply by phone or on line http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200220/on-street_parking_permits/484/visitor_parking_permit_booklets

Perfectly possible for the LA to consult parents and take their views into account . Though whether the outcome of any consultation would actually reflect parents/carers views is another matter .

The "tendering" need not be entirely related to cost . The system with the old style original Academies where sponsors were taking over existing buildings and school communities was that they put forward an expression of interest to the LA setting out their suitability as sponsor and outlining proposals for admissions criteria ,curriculum ,SEN policy etc etc . The LA would then decide which sponsor they wanted to go with . Probably irrelevant in this case as Southwark would no doubt go with Harris because of its size and track record . I doubt there would be any consideration of accountabilty ,monopolies ,eggs and baskets .

The first Academies were given funding over and above that available to equivalent community schools . Some of their success was attributable to that . Success starts the ball rolling and improves intake . Succesful schools are what we want but I want them to be run by local authorities and I don't want an education system that is fragmented by a myriad of opague admissions criteria and where schools are fighting to corner the best intake and improving exam results by any means at the expense of education and teachers health . Feeder primary schools and all through schools will ( IMO ) further complicate and divide the system . I don't want an education system where we return to Victorian values of philanthropy where power ,money and politics have an ever increasing influence . Harris may well be a" good " philanthropist but that doesn't make the system acceptable to me . And although he has built a huge machine to run his schools what will happen if he becomes ill or infirm and can no longer provide leadership and input ?

TopTree - how long do you think I should allow from CC to Chelsea Bridge on the 137 ? Want to arrive at Battersea Park by 8.20 ish ?

Thank you TopTree ,that's a possibilty - with a good book !

The tfl site gives no detail other than a general warning . Does anyone know where I can look ? My interest is in travelling to the Chelsea Bridge entrance of Battersea Park . Train is one option ,but wanted to explore 44 bus from Victoria over Chelsea Bridge ( they weren't travelling to Victoria tonight ,don't know why ). I'm assuming that Nine Elms Rd will be closed tommorrow - or am I being too pessimistic ?

londonmix - I'm sure you're very capable of putting forward an argument that my objections are unreasonable without any further detail . I'm just expressing my views . Which are that I have reservations about Academies - for instance I'm not reassured by being told that the DfE will be assessing the curriculum when a sponsor opens a new primary school . The current political intervention in the curriculum by Gove seems uninformed by teachers and people with expertise in schools and education . He has appointed an education minister - John Nash - whose only qualification seems to be the fact he is a sponsor of an Academy .http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jan/10/gove-appoints-john-nash-education-minister If you look at the link I posted earlier to the curriculum think tank you will get a flavour of Nash's ( or his wife 's ) thinking on curriculum . You may be completely in harmony with his approach but I am unhappy that the curriculum at an Academy ( Pimlico ) and the new primary he is opening is now shaped by his idea of a curriculum . It is obvious that the government shares his approach . I appreciate that I am referring to a different sponsor and a different Academy - but the point is that Academies do have this freedom .I feel that they are unaccountable and that as chains like Harris get bigger that their freedoms and power will increase . The alternative Academy preferred by the Roke primary is indicated in the link I posted as Riddlesdown Collegiate http://www.riddlesdown.org/ . I'm sorry I can't be more articulate than this - my excuse today is that I'm still recovering from being caught up in the Vauxhall nightmare this morning . But the truth is I'm pretty inarticulate at the best of times !

Seems odd that the DfE insisted on Harris as sponsors when Roke primary were wanting an alternative sponsor if they were forced to become an Academy . http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jan/14/parents-fury-academy-takeover?INTCMP=SRCH I'd say wrong rather than odd ,but that's because I believe parents and teachers should be listened to . And - not a criticism of Harris just flagging up the freedoms Academies DO have with curriculum - Pimlico Academy is developing it's own special curriculum . The sponsors wife has set up a curriculum think tank which favours a fact based /knowledge rich education - so for example it seems that instructing young children on primary and secondary colours is preferable to letting them loose on a paint box and making a mess . "If you were to give a young child a paint box, a brush, water and paper and ask them to paint a picture, what would they discover? That water makes the paint wet, that the brush can only hold so much paint and that you need to keep dipping it back into the paint box, that the paint box soon gets in a mess and that the paper is soon filled up with a muddy puddle. Compare and contrast this with teaching a child about primary and secondary colours and how to mix them, explaining the colour wheel and showing how the use of complementary colours can enliven a painting. How much more a child would discover and how much more harmonious the painting would be. " http://www.thecurriculumcentre.org/blog/ Perhaps Pimlico's sponsor and his wife have lots of educational experience and knowledge ,but I have been unable to discover what it is . And the sponsor has now been appointed by Gove as an education minister . My point is that Academies are not accountable and that they have a lot of power . I'm sure the response from many will be that Harris Academies are a different kettle of fish and that we need have no worries . I'm afraid that I do still worry .

As per JB's "As for Local Authorities. Under the Localiam act their is nothing to stop them applying to central government for the ability to create new schools" that's what I'd like . Does being a registered charity somehow confer kudos or legitimacy to an organisation ? Or even prevent that organisation from benefiting , financially or otherwise .

Well of course even qualified Health Visitors can be cr*p. And some Health Care Assistanys can be great . But doesn't change my basic belief that there is too much reliance on less costly .less trained ,and not adequately supervised Health Care Assistants .