intexasatthe moment

Would have thought that Academy @Peckham has room to expand - their playground lokks bigger than the footprint of ED boys .But in any case with new Aylesbury school opening I presume less pressure on places in peckham .

Thanks Red Devil . Maybe the conditions did change ,don't recall any notification but perhaps it was in some small print which I should have read . Will look at link for Dave Godden and ask brokers if I can reclaim cost of report . Thanks again .

Can anyone recommend a structural engineer to look at cracks and advise on cause ? Is it normal practice for insurance brokers to request engineers report ,photos ,quotes for repair to accompany claim ? Cracks have reappeared 2 1/2 years on since works carried out to correct subsidence under previous claim - when inspection carried out by firm appointed by brokers with no prior submission by me from structural engineer .

Louisa can I ask if the boiler got fixed and ,if you were happy with the service ,which central heating person you chose ?

Who was it stolen from ? You don't own the space outside your house do you Louisa ? As has been pointed out before I believe . And I agree with StraferJack .

grabot my plan would be to take a less short term view ,to stop focusing on the perceived need to have a school within walking distance and to take the longer route of getting Southwark to open another school . And in the meantime encouraging local families to get together and apply en masse to The Academy at Peckham - a local school with loads of space ,excellent facilities ,co ed ,non faith and just waiting ,as Kingsdale did ,for an injection of middle class families and their children . To look further afield at other schools in London and to stop regarding being able to walk to a local school as such an important factor . Many of us have accessed other schools which have entailed travel ,and those of us with children who have problems with organisational skills have found that in the long run this benefits their child in developing skills which will help them cope in the world after school . I had to travel with my similarly challenged son for the first few months of his secondary school career - we didn't sit together and it meant difficult choices regarding my working hours but I made it work because I had to . And the benefits to him in learning how to use public transport in London outweighed the disadvantages to me . And to campaign for the re introduction of the ILEA so that there can be a London wide strategic plan for education across London . Or is it preferable that a few more million pounds be spent when the parents in the Nunhead/Ivydale want a secondary school they can walk to ? There's not a limitless supply of cash ,if it's spent in one place it can't be spent elsewhere . I appreciate that these are long term aims and less palatable than an immediate gratification of wishes , but this short term , what I want is more important than any other factor is what has led to the current situation . And yes I do know what it's like to have a child and try without success to get them into my local preferred primary and secondary school .

"an ideological argument that is not benefitting anyone. " I love the idea that discussing the wider implications of spending millions of pounds doesn't benefit anyone . But the " anyone " would be the parents in East Dulwich who have children who are coming up to secondary school transfer ,wouldn't it ? It's exactly that very narrow focus that 10 years ago saw no one concerned about Southwark handing over all secondary schools to "sponsors " like Harris . So that we now have the problems that we do today - a fragmented education provision with schools determining their own admissions policies and competing against eachother .

But vacancies in other local secondary schools - Academy @Peckham and other good schools - Deptford Green ,Pimlico Academy ,Forest Hill Boys and Sydenham Girls with their coed sixth form within perfectly reasonable travelling distance . And no doubt others . And a school run by Southwark which I note that James is now saying is possible but would take longer .

Somehow there are things about this campaign that are beginning to sound wrong to me . This fear of " bussing out of the area " , a Dulwich school for Dulwich kids that they can walk to . Why so intensely local ? Especially against a background of there being vacancies at a school which is ( for example from the hospital site ) one 10 minute bus ride away . This is secondary school ,not primary school . This is London not some isolated rural village . I agree with bornagain about the lack of a strategic plan . It seems as though the current system is weighted ( as always )in favour of those who are articulate and can shout loudest . They'll get the attention and a shiny new school . Surely such an approach will lead to sink schools in deprived areas and thriving schools where admission is down to people buying into the area in affluent areas ?

But in order for the home owner to have their parking space the access to it needs to be left free . So no net loss or gain but the home owner has guaranteed a space for themselves .

I appreciate that but the main driving factor is surely shortage of places . New schools opening purely to give some people an alternative would be a huge waste of tax payers money .

Thanks Shuggy . Actually I guess a potential sponsor school might not want their involvement known at this stage in an effort to stave off worried parents of their pupils fearing that the school might overstretch itself and that their children might somehow suffer in the process . JB - I'm fairly sure The Academy @Peckham isn't oversubscribed ,and that surely isn't far for ED parents to travel .

I must say I'm racking my brain as to why the names of the potential providers has to be kept secret . Would the one/s not chosen be upset ? I wonder too if we could know the subject matter of the discussions and what the facts sought are . But I'm sure I'm being naive and missing things .

Actual Gas are brilliant - 07841866330 . Very professional and not a trace of being patronising . And Peter Bennison also excellent .

sure James will be right back at us with a clear explanation .

oh dear ,owner less than helpful ?

Inclined to agree about approaching Charter . Seems odd to approach Haberdashers and Prendergast . But maybe there are reasons .

I'm sure mention was made up thread of two sponsors that had been approached . Can't find it now which is odd . Think one of them was Haberdashers but I could be wrong .

Education is such an important subject and so many people seem to know so little about the political influences ,the way admissions policies work ,the current role of the LA 's admission forum etc that a discussion about a new school is bound to be wide ranging . I don't think people should be upset by this or worry that the thread is being derailed . I would like to see a school with an admissions policy based on fair banding ( ie banding which would result in an intake whose make up reflected the national ,not local ,spread of attainment ) with geographically defined areas within which a lottery system operates . I would like the payscales of all staff including management to follow NUT scales . I would like the management team to be small . And I think TE44's comments are very valid . There is a need to try and include people in this issue and to accommodate those without twitter and facebook accounts . Maybe provide more detail here ?

Bexy ,no helpful comments to add I'm afraid ( though I've heard that sand or similar thrown on to a cat is a better deterent than water ) but just wanted to say what a nightmare . I feel your pain . We keep our 2 cats in at night and provide a litter tray .

They shouldn't all be that different . They should have professionalism in common .

Do remind me James who initially replaced Southwark ? Some building firm wasn't it ? And how did they do ? Thank goodness the Lib Dems saved us . All such short term plans and views . Like now ,people are so anxious for a secondary school ( to serve local children ) that they'll pass over the small print of the provision in the name of " pragmatism " . But if the details aren't right 10 years down the line there will be more problems . So many people are anxious not to have another Harris school one wonders how we ended up with so many . Oh yes ,politics and spin . I bet that helped .

Simone I don't know what role the steering group has ,would be interesting to know what it considers it's remit to be . Is that something you could tell us ? Would members for example need to have some familarity with the Admissions Code or would this not be considered to be necessary on the basis that the sponsor would act in accordance with it ?

Well as you say the admissions policy will be up to the sponsor to determine . It does worry me that admissions policies are not clear ( as the law requires them to be ) and that detail is not given ,creating a confusing and opaque situation . Kingsdale holds the prize I think for the least clear policy ,especially for people hoping to get in after the first round of admissions . Oh well ,we are where we are . Loads of schools all doing there own thing ,determining their own admissions policies ,the LA playing no definitive role - think of all those upheld appeals that challenged The Charter Schools definition of a safe walking distance and the legal challenge had to be mounted by individuals with no support from Southwark . All with the aim of climbing those league tables .

The point I'm making is that banding on its own and without geographical elements added in ,like Bacons College for example won't ensure that places go to local people . Harris give very little detail about their banding system - for example it would be interesting to know whether they are dividing up that years intake into 9 equal bands or whether the higher bands take a greater number with the individual bands being unequal in size . Dividing up a nos of people into equal size bands is what you are referring to I think but there are different types of banding . "Banding 1.25 Pupil ability banding is a permitted form of selection used by some admission authorities to ensure that the intake for a school includes a proportionate spread of children of different abilities. Banding can be used to produce an intake that is representative of: a) the full range of ability of applicants for the school(s); b) the range of ability of children in the local area; or c) the national ability range. " Schools Admissions Code D of E