motorbird83

Renata tends to have information on the LA schools before they are officially published. She is one of the councillors for nun head so do a search for her and then send her a message. While some schools are academies a number are still LA schools-- Heber and Goodrich among them. Good luck

Hi, We are at gumboots and can recommend it highly but I believe the waiting list is very long. I have friends with a son at Piplings who are also pleased. You might have some luck with the nurseries that are attached to prep schools as these sometimes have spaces-- you should ring Herne Hill, Oakfield and Rosemead though I'm not sure if these pre-schools have full wrap around care that replicate 8-6pm nursery hours Good luck!

A lottery doesn?t help a school fill places if it?s undersubscribed... I understand it?s much more popular now anyhow The distance / sibling point seems a bit of a red herring. There are enough schools within a reasonable commute. The issue is that schools that parents desire the most can?t let everyone in. The solution is to make all the schools as desirable as the most popular ones or make access to the most popular schools a lottery (if distance is seen as unfair criteria) within a reasonable geographic catchment like 2 miles. A petition for anything else I think is a non starter politically.

*Oscar* I can't understand what you want to happen. The only way for your family to be prioritised would be for someone even closer to the school not getting in and being forced to go to a school 3km away. Given all the schools are full there is no other outcome unless you want everything to be done via lottery where everyone has an equal chance of admission irrespective of where their house is. There is an argument for removing sibling priority at secondary level but no one could really think children in care and with special needs don't deserve priority selection for schools.

Thanks to those who have sent me PMs!

i'd second ESPH and you can get class booklets

Hi all, I was wondering if any parents at either of these two schools could let me know how the schools approach differentiation for the most able and those with learning differences? If your child is very bright have they been challenged and progressed faster than the rest of the class? If your child has needed extra support, how has this been handled and how strong is the SENCO provision? TIA

We had one for our daughter and she slept really well in it from birth to 6 months. Can?t say what she would have been like without it as we bought it before she was born so always used it. I does give newborns that cuddly feeling though so I can see why it can help with sleep and our girl was an amazing sleeper. I didn?t use it for cosleeping but have friends who did and thought it worked well for that though I don?t know if that?s strictly recommended!

There is Lingotot's in Forest Hill that does Spanish for babies and preschoolers on Saturday mornings. Its songs and stories entirely in Spanish.

Hi all, Our daughter loves swimming and is currently doing Waterbabies. The good is that she has no fear of the water but she will actually dive in without an adult now despite not actually knowing how to swim! Its making me nervous so I'd like to speed up her swimming progress. Waterbabies is fine but it doesn't feel like the group lessons are aiming to actually get them swimming independently yet. Has anyone done the Parent and Toddler swimming lessons at JAGS? Would you say that your toddlers were able to swim by the end of them? TIA

East Dulwich leisure centre does baby swimming though I can't recall what age they start from. We've done waterbabies and its great despite the trek to Forest Hill from ED. The 176 does stop right outside though so its pretty convenient.

You need a babysitter service or a nanny. Most nurseries won't take a baby that young and and the baby is too young for an au pair. Like the first poster suggested, you'll be better off arranging child care and flexing your meetings around that rather than the other way around.

Gumboots-- its Ofsted Outstanding and our daughter has thrived there over the last 12 months. Normally it has a very long waiting list (they closed it for a while) but I think they have some new places that have opened up recently based on a flyer I saw. We looked at most nurseries in Dulwich and it was by far our favourite. The fact its run as a charity (and therefore is reasonably priced as its not-for-profit) is an added bonus. Great management, ethos and learning.

You're better of speaking separately to a financial advisor. Most law firms will outline the rules of inheritance tax but won't give you advice. William Bailey can advise on various trusts and outline the rules regarding the allowances, spousal exemptions etc.

William Bailey do wills.

Are you asking so she can decide where to live? Virtually all the state schools locally are good. Some of the differences between them are down to what you value / where you think your child would thrive. Some schools have better language programs while others have fantastic arts and sports facilities. No state school has the resources to be strong across all co-curricular activities. They all also have different ethos and different wrap around care options. Harris ED and Goodrich are both popular schools and I know parents very happy at both. I'd have your sister start there and read their Ofsted reports, browse their websites, etc

I didn't like Piplings either hence why I'm at Gumboots! Still I have friends whose son is happy there.

Our nursery Gumboots has extensive outdoor areas and the children go out rain or shine. The older children grow their own vegetables and the younger children go out twice daily for exploring the outdoors and playing. Piplings also has very impressive outdoor areas and when we toured the woman in charge said they ran it as a semi-forest school approach. Why don't you try to visit both of these options and see what you think.

I think Judith Kerr does so you should try them to see

Could you consider nanny-share with another family? That could end up being circa ?6-?7 an hour for the hours beyond the end of the after school clubs (many of which charge by the way). If you have space in your home, an au pair could also be good choice. True au pairs are really young girls without childcare qualification looking to live abroad and improve their English. They can only work with children over two and typically only 20 hours a week but the total cost would be providing room and board, language lessons and pocket money (?80-100 a week). Good luck!

James thanks for your work in securing the new secondary school which supplies much needed secondary spaces for the future and will take pressure off other secondaries which is a benefit to all. The final decision on the admission arrangements was the only fair and appropriate way to allocate spaces though naturally has disappointed some. I hope you stand for office again in future.

It's amazing - my daughter loves it and spent longer there than she ever has at any other playground. We live 10 min from both Dulwich and PeckhamRye park but I reckon this playground means we'll be picking Peckham regulatory now. It's really great for little ones.

Our daughter has been at Gumboots 2 days a week for 6 months and started at around 11 months old. My mother at first and now a nanny does the other 3 days. Its a long wait for a full time place but if you are returning to work part-time it may be feasible to get a place if you are flexible on dates. The nursery is very focused on serving the community and has a friendly accessible management style and a very inclusive and warm environment. Its rated Ofsted outstanding and my daughter has developed very close relationships with her key worker and another staff member in the baby room. She runs in on the two days a week she attends and is very happy and excited though the settling in did take some time as she was only there 2 days a week which makes getting used to things slower. They do a great range of age appropriate activities which the parents are sent pictures of as par of the weekly newsletter and includes lots of art, playing with textures / unusual materials and messy play. The management also send a weekly menu to parents in advance and its really varied and adventurous with lots of vegetables. There were two main things that really sold it to me though: 1. The nursery has amazing outdoor space-- each age group has its own separate play area and the kids get to grow their own vegetables, pick them and eat them 2. They have a no phones policy. I visited three places where the staff were on their phones ignoring the babies while we toured and its horrible to see. Forcing staff not to use phones creates so much more care and focus which children under two particularly need to thrive. Good luck with your search!

Depends on what you want. The free NHS courses are more informative but NCT is great for making friends. I still see my group fairly regularly and out thread is still very active even though we've been back at work for a while now. It was invaluable having the support and social network while on maternity leave.

We pay about 75 quid a day for nursery and ours isn't anywhere near the most expensive in East Dulwich. Our daughter is under 2 though which is the most expensive age. She does nursery two days a week and a nanny three days a week starting later this summer. Once you have two kids, a nanny is probably cheaper or comparable in cost but with more convenience. Good luck making your decision. Its painful but this really expensive phase finishes after a few years.