edbloke

Sure I?m not a resident on the estate, so the issue isn?t personal to me, but I think it?s a modest proposal and good reuse of an existing underdeveloped land. The proposal matches the height of Campbell Court but is a quarter of its length. Under planning policy, no one has a right to a view, nor a right to not be disrupted by the noise of others getting a home built during reasonable working hours. Neighbours only a right to light. Studies in the submission will be required to confirm the impact of this. If all surrounding buildings were three stories, the argument against this proposal would be stronger. In this context though, with so much green space all around and the desperate need for more council homes, I support it.

Or there is SuperKids Swimming School at Dulwich prep. Very small groups like 3-4 kids. Teacher just next to kid in the water. They honestly transformed our gods relationship with water and get them to do things we never could as parents. I think the peer pressure of having a couple of other kids in the group helps too. But it?s almost 1-2-1 as each kid takes it in turn. It?s about ?8-10/lesson, can?t quite remember, but results are priceless! Good luck.

I?d appreciate some personal experience from parents please who have teenage kids, especially girls, to understand how much responsibility you gave them, at what age, to be free to meet up with friends and wander around East Dulwich, and beyond. Specifically daytime activities here but evening requests will no doubt come soon too, so would really like some hindsight from others who have been there first.

We tried Ourpact which works across Apple and Android but found it a bit of a faff so defaulted to the ?Find My? app on the iPhone, and it works fine as a tool to quickly verify location. Life360 appears more clever, constantly tracking, so if you want more info like ?where your child has been?, rather they ?where they are now?, it?s worth considering

A personal experience here of East, but with only one kid at secondary, no insight into other schools with which to honestly compare first hand knowledge. We have had a kid at Charter East since September 2020, so with Covid, their experience has not been normal, irrespective of the school they attend. Charter East and its teachers have done an amazing job though at maintaining a decent education throughout, in our experience, given the unique circumstances. My biggest grumble is discipline, or lack of, which is a lifetime away from the Primary experience. I understand this issue has been exacerbated by lockdown for many kids, so is unlikely to be isolated to this school. So the teachers are having to clamp down in an extremely ruthless approach to try to instill a collective understanding in the pupils of what is right and wrong, how to behave in class, how to respect others adults and each other etc Sad it?s needed and this causes stress to our kid, who we understand is well behaved, but many other pupils are struggling and can be quite disruptive. As noted above, the Head of Chsrter North is now head of both schools. Many of the teachers at East came from North but with this change in leadership, I would expect to see more alignment in their approaches to all disciplines of teaching and school environment. The teachers are very approachable. This was a key concern for us in the transition from primary - how remote everything suddenly could become versus primary. But we can, and are encouraged, to make direct contact with teachers, especially their tutor, and routinely get very quick, considered, appreciative replies. It?s a brand new school building so it doesn?t suffer from years of underfunded maintenance issues or lack of equipment. The facilities really are brilliant and only getting better, as the remaining structures are built and sports areas complete. What would our kid?s experience have been like at Charter North or anywhere else? We really don?t know and never will. So many elements affect a kid?s happiness, especially as they go the through puberty! Reality is, we are blessed in East Dulwich to often deludedly think we have a choice of school for our kid. They are all decent schools. But in truth, there is little choice, unless you live in the absurd sweet spot overlap between Charter North and Charter East?s catchment. Best advice I can give - you should sssume you kid is going to the closest school. Accept that and embrace it, cause it?s the choice with the most likely outcome of the process. This also means their friends will be local too, which helps with forming friendships at this key age in life. They can walk to school together, come home together from the first weeks. Second advice - despite what I?ve just said, make sure you fill those 6 choices on the form, which ironically will likely involve putting schools far from home, otherwise the choice may be taken out of your hands. All in all, Charter East is not perfect but I don?t expect anywhere is - It?s a South London comprehensive. So despite a few grumbles, it?s bloody good and if you live close to it, I?d recommend you stop overthinking it, cause it was meant to be.

A cynic may find a correlation between installing LTN?s in the area, in advance of the ULEZ expanding, so as to coerce drivers onto a reduced road network, thereby making fewer cameras more effective.

I?m glad something is being done at that junction, as it?s on an key route for kids to two schools and is not a friendly place to cross. Whateley Road though will only ever be safe to cross, if 100% of drivers respect the 20mph speed limit. Sadly many drivers don?t. If they did, I guess all these works would not have been required in the first place. Whether building out kerbs and losing a load of parking spaces will make drivers slow down, only time will tell. Having looked at what has been built, I very much doubt it.

I barely use my old car, but it?s still useful to have occasionally, so that?s our plan. Autopay and take the hit if caught when we use it, rather than fork out for a replacement car.

Sorry to hear about your son. Hope he fully recovers. For any other cyclists reading this, there is an app available, on iPhone at least, called ?fill that hole?. Not a name you will forget. Simple to use, quick to enter details including photos / location et and from my experience over many years, results in a repair within days. Southwark repairs seem quicker than Lambeth. It?s good to know 2mins of my time, hopefully can save a fall like your son?s.

Correct but I can?t agree that they are carbuncles. Despite losing a bike, this city is a better place with single parking bays used for a storage device for 6 bikes, than another polluting vehicle. Abe_froeman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Was this from one of these green carbuncles that > the council have been spending thousands of pounds > on?

These lockers clearly offer little deterrent or resistance, especially as this locker on Cyrena Road (between Whateley and Silvester) had the upgraded lock added. I wonder if the perforate ends are a problem? They enable these shysters to scope out bikes worth stealing. Reported to police.

I used this guy on Tuesday: https://trustedtraders.which.co.uk/businesses/boiler-bunny-heating-limited/ Decent price, honest and came same day for a boiler repair. Just what we needed.

?the developer / builder responsible are the most incompetent organisation that I have experienced in my career in the construction industry.? Big accolade there, in a crowded field! Does anyone have pictures to share? Sorry I ain?t getting out much at moment.

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Sat 7th March, toilet paper all sold out. Lots of people clearly sh*ting themselves about Corona.

As a still undecided voter, I have tried this quiz. https://uk.isidewith.com Multiple choice questions, some more UK-centric than others. Nonetheless, I found it useful, as it removes any emotion from the choice and gave me a clear list of parties sorted by whose manifestos most align with my beliefs. Might be useful for others in my situation.

Tadpole39 - shocked to trad your post but glad and unsurprised to know Bessemmer?s team spotted the issue. We put Bessemer as our first choice for our eldest kid many years ago. From memory the school was the least-subscribed in Southwark at the time. It was also far from home. Why did we choose it? The facilities, with the different aged playgrounds, the friendliness of the staff, the artistic vibe, the outlook from all the classrooms over JAGS ever green playing fields etc. Yes it was a trek to get to in the early years by pram and pushchair, rather than round the corner to our local Victorian school, but no regrets. Now the kids cycle and scoot, 1 mile can be done in 10-15mins easily. Sure it?s not perfect but I doubt anywhere is. I think they could be more frequent with homework and more strict with uniform. The Execuative Head isn?t a ?listener?. But experience shows if you take any issues to the teachers or direct the Year Heads, you will be heard and responded to. Our kids have each really bonded with all the teachers and assistants they have had, not wanting to leave them at end of each year. The teachers are generally young, enthusiastic and appear fully devoted. I can honestly say our kids routinely, day after day, they come back home having had ?a great day?, which for us is priceless. I know other kids at private schools and I?m yet to be convinced they have learnt anything more at primary age. To conclude, our kids have thrived at Bessemer and I hope yours do too!

I?ve noticed those charging points and wondered the logic of positioning a cluster of them together on what must be the least populated street in se22... I guess it?s cheaper to install them in groups but one charging point on different streets in the area, each with a dedicated parking space, would surely benefit more residents and the environment.

To be completely honest here, I?ve had a couple of private messages on this topic from Renata since the opening post but no useful info has been forthcoming. The only thing I can therefore regrettably conclude is that unlike other councils, Southwark are choosing not to share the historic max catchment distances of local schools as it would so blatantly confirm many resident?s suspicions -?there are huge swathes of the borough, including areas in the heart of East Dulwich /SE22 (despite the arrival of second Charter), where parents haven?t got a chance of securing a preferred school on the distance criteria.

On the contrary, the Lewisham map is very useful. Thanks Peachpie. If it were to have a drop down option to reveal those catchments over the past say 5 years, then it would also reveal anomalies and trends, helping families make informed decisions. I?m amazed that all councils aren?t compelled to have this info readily available. The amount of time parents and kids collectively spend visiting ?unreachable? schools is likely to be shocking.