motorbird83

northernmonkey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bet we can all have a good guess which one it is > though! If so they don't seem too bothered about > perception sadly! Exactly-- I'd bet a huge amount of money on which one it is. They are taking the piss. Deduct the deposit and only pay the difference if there is any. They are breaking the contract and an extremely aggressive and unethical manner. This nursery is so heartless and the absolute worst.

Our nanny had the equivalent of 4 weeks holiday in her contract of which she could choose two weeks meaning the other two weeks had to overlap with our holiday plans. We planned together and made sure our holidays fell within the two weeks she selected so that we didn't need to hire emergency cover. Any other holiday we took on top of the 4 weeks (we get 5 weeks off from our own jobs) she was paid for even she didn't have to look after our daughter. She didn't work any bank holidays. I think that's pretty standard and also fair. Your nanny shouldn't be taking her holiday so it intentionally doesn't overlap with when you are off. However, you should be explicit and proactive about this. Ask when she wants to take her two weeks so you can overlap before booking all of your own annual leave allowance.

What are your opening hours? We will do a shop and drop some stuff off.

I think if you took a private test you don't have to isolate -- so you can leave the house to do outdoor stuff-- but the bubble's teaching would still be online as not everyone will have done the private test so most will still need to self isolate. I'm not sure if everyone is supposed to get a government test as standard now but previously due to capacity constraints that wasn't the advice.

If I've understood your post correctly, your son found completely isolating difficult when a case occurred in his bubble. School isn't the only reason your son may have to isolate before things return to normal-- any contact could cause it via the tracing system. Home schooling seems quite extreme as a solution to reduce this possibility. If his class has to isolate again due to someone in the bubble having Covid-19, perhaps next time opt for a private test so that you can still leave the house etc even while he is remote learning to reduce the impact on him. That way, any isolating periods would just be like homeschooling anyhow rather than being totally shut in. This may not be an option because of the cost but ultimately it might be cheaper than investing in all of the books, equipment etc you'd need to properly homeschool.

Is there a link where we can donate cash rather than a laptop? This is very disappointing on government's part as its clearly going to exacerbate disadvantage. I get the country's finances are a mess but these types of issues should be a priority.

A number of schools are offering virtual open days via zoom in which you can get to know the head and ask questions. Harris ED has one scheduled for next week. I'd suggest you ring the schools to see which are holding these as an alternative to traditional visits.

Almost all of the schools here are good to very good though they all offer different things, particularly ethos and co-curricular opportunities. The list below isn't in any order: 1. Harris ED and Heber (both of these are very oversubscribed so you'd need to live very close to get in for reception)- both offer specialist teaching in music and art and quality foreign language teaching which is unusual. Harris has a reputation for being more academic between the two but they are both very popular among parents. Heber's grounds are better as Harris's footprint is rather small. Also Heber shares a lot of facilities with Alleyn's private school further extending what they provide. Harris also has access to Alleyn's sporting grounds. 2. Judith Kerr which aims to get the children fluent in German, offers great music and performing arts and has some of the top academic scores in England (50% of its places are allocated via lottery); 3. Dulwich Village Infants Church of England (which is easier to get into than people think) is another popular option and the furthest distance non-church place is about 1km by September) 4. St John and St Clements- great progress scores and great music programme. I know many people happy there!

My daughter does Baby Ballet and really enjoys it. They also do tap lessons.

As you've heard the 5 year old won't have any childcare costs except wrap around care after school as all the state primaries in the area are good and most aren't oversubscribed due to expansions and new openings in the last few years. The big exceptions to this are Harris ED and Heber which do have fairly tight catchment areas. Look at the Starting School in Southwark brochure and you'll see many schools offered a place to all on time applications. The brochure at the link has lots of useful information: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/primary-admissions/about-primary-admissions For your commute, depending on exactly where your husband will be working taking the London Overground (aka the Gingerline) to Shoreditch High street might be your best option rather than trying to get to Old Street underground station. You can catch direct trains there from Peckham Rye Station, Denmark Hill Station and Forest Hill Station and depending on where you house is a 45 min commute is definitely possible. These areas all border East Dulwich so you can live in ED and commute via one of these stations or potentially locate in one of these neighbourhoods (Forest Hill is cheaper than ED and also has good schools). Childcare for your 1 year old is going to be your biggest issue. The fact that you don't need a full time place will be a big help though and if you are willing to take a Monday and a Friday, which are the quietest days, then you might be able to snag something. I'd get in touch now with a few nurseries and get your name on the waiting lists. If your youngest will be turning 2 shortly after you arrive, you might be better off getting a place on the nurseries attached to one of the local private prep schools like Herne Hill School, Rosemead, or Oakfield and then applying for a state school nursery place for your youngest when they turn 3. As others have said, Rightmove will give you the best idea regarding budget for housing but ?3,000 or more will probably be required. How much you spend is like asking how long is a piece of string. Even excluding childcare costs, housing costs, holidays, clothes, gifts, parties etc your budget would need to factor in how much you like to go out, what you like to do, what type of insurance / subscriptions you need and want, how much you spend on beauty treatments etc etc etc. You'd need to give some indication of your lifestyle for anyone to really give advice on this. The neighbourhood is very walkable and most of the things we do are on foot. Still, I don't know anyone who has two kids locally and doesn't have a car so I'd budget to get one. This is mostly for logistics on the weekend for things like swimming lessons and then running to a birthday party or ballet or whatever. Good luck with the move!

Thanks Mrs D!

Hi, Does anyone here have a recommendation for someone who could install some new fencing for us? Many thanks!

We've had an overall positive experience at Gumboots. Feel free to pm me with any questions!

I've had both my children at Tommy's with post natal follow up with the community midwives from Kings after being released from hospital. My second daughter was born 3 days ago so fairly recent experience! St Thomas's was great and the Kings Community midwives post natal care has also been very good. The main reasons I picked Tommy's over Kings are: 1. St Thomas is one of the top hospitals in the country for neonatal and maternity care. The most complex cases get transferred to Tommy's from far and wide so the level of expertise and equipment etc is much better than Kings if something were to actually go wrong or your baby was ill 2. Its more convenient for my work for prenatal appointments 3. You can pay for a private room if you want to rather than go on to the ward (subject to availability unless you are going fully private) Good luck making your choice

What a great idea. I've PM'd you. I'm also due this summer with my second!

My information is a bit out of date as my daughter is now 3 but no one in my NCT group registered for nursery before their babies were borne and everyone found a place at a good nursery. I know because we all started looking shortly after our babies were born. Back then, if you don't need the place for a year then it was entirely possible. Gumboots where I got my daughter in may be the only exception as from memory they didn't have any full time places (we only needed 2 days a week though as we mixed nursery with a nanny) but I'm pretty sure you have to put the date of birth of your baby and their name to register so I'm not sure you are meant to register before they are born!

I don't think its an independent versus state issue either. Children's mental health is an issue across the board, one that's exacerbated by social media and other pressures that didn't exist for previous generations. I think its just about finding the right fit for your child. Some schools (independent or state) have better pastoral care than others. Also, what one child might feel as pressure, another child will thrive in as the appropriate amount of challenge. I'd say not forcing your child into a school that's too academic for them and also thinking about their individual temperament is all part of the process of selecting any school in either sector.

ESPH on Lordship lane has various pilates classes on the weekend.

I have friends with children there. The actual staff are meant to be lovely but they've complained the management aren't great. Most recently they changed food preparation policy without informing parents and then were less than forthcoming when challenged about it etc. Life is too short. I'd avoid. And to the poster who said all nurseries in ED would behave as Piplings did about the deposit I can assure you that's not true. My daughter's nursery held her place at no cost when I informed them I couldn't start at the agreed date due to unforeseen circumstances they were sympathetic to. They also have a hardship fund for children whose parents fall on hard times. And they are OFSTED outstanding.

Hi all, My daughter is starting preschool shortly and looking at the term dates I realise there is often a month or more gap in between the Spring and Summer terms. What do people with really young children (3-4 years old) do with their children during these breaks? Are there local 'camps' that operate during half term and term breaks? I feel really naive for not having realised how this all worked before.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what's happening at Alleyns. From what I understand they are expanding their intake at 4 (reception) and reducing it at 7 (year 3). The school will essentially be two-form throughout rather than starting as one-form and then growing to two-form from year 3. The total number of pupils moving the secondary school will therefore be unchanged. Children aren't allowed to take the coaches until Year 3 from what I understand and as year 3 total pupil numbers won't increase, there should be no impact on the total number of coaches either. The expansion in pupil numbers may result in people driving for the reception intake. However, that intake is usually quite local. To the poster who suggested the geographical spread is widening as locals are foregoing the school for state options should keep in mind that demand for all school places has gone up. Alleyns has about 200 applications currently for the 18 reception places.

Their T&Cs are what raised alarm bells for me on a number of points. We ran a mile after getting them and don't regret from what we've heard.

Hi, Sorry it didn't work first time around! https://www.nannytax.co.uk/employing-a-nanny/paying-your-nanny/gross-vs-net Good luck!

Discipline issues and poor results of a school are a reason to raise standards not for changing admission arrangements, surely. How far are away are the schools that people are concerned about?

Hi, Use this free calculator to see how much you can afford to pay. For different monthly salaries (gross or net) the calculator breaks down the total employment costs including employer NIC and pension obligations. By my quick analysis can roughly afford to pay just under ?15 per hour gross / just over ?11 net per hour. Nannies often think in net hourly wages rather than gross salary. /forum/read.php?29,2031173