Mrs TP

I'm a teacher at a Lewisham primary. One of my class parents has decided to home school their child due to the pandemic, but ultimately does want them to come back in the long term. From a legal perspective, it is not counted as a prolonged period of self isolation and we have had to take the child off roll - otherwise it would be continuous unauthorised absence. At the moment we have space and would have the child back, but the place is not reserved and could be offered to anyone else eligible for it in the meantime.

One thing worth considering is if the new school does the same exam board if continuing a subject. One of mine changed schools for 6th form and took Spanish A Level, having done really well at and enjoyed GCSE. We only realised after she started that the new school used a diff exam board to her previous school for Spanish. This put her at a huge disadvantage, as she had studied different topic elements of language to her 6th form peers in the new school. For her it wasn't a continuation of studies as it was for her peers. There was a lot of new learning from scratch and the teachers perceived her as 'behind' / 'not v good' from the start. It was good six months in before they started to hit on topics she excelled in but were new to the others. It was a shaky unnerving start for her but overcome in the long haul. Studying new things is fine but only if new to all and all starting from the same point.

A relative who lives outside of London told me they are not allowed to put kitchen oils / fats or pet food in their food recycling bags. They still get free bags from their local authority and excluded kitchen items are specifically listed on the bags. I checked out the Southwark website guidelines and it does not show fats and pet food in it's list of accepted items. Have I been doing it wrong all these years? Anyone else? A revelation to me.

Private nurseries tend to do full day attendance but will also operate a settling in process. This will vary between nurseries but as a rough example over a 2 wk period building up from 1hr attendance to full day attendance. School nurseries take children for morning or afternoon sessions. Private nurseries are usually open for most of the year perhaps having 2 wk breaks over Christmas and the summer. School nurseries only operate in school term time and only take children aged 3 turning 4.

Southwark Council should deal with this - check out their website.

Thanks - good the driver seemed ok - it looked like such a bad smash.

Does anyone know what happened to the crossing lights and crash barrier on the Paine & Hunter optician side of the pelican crossing outside the co-op? The lights have taken a massive whack, knocked down and head missing. It was fine yesterday (Sat) and trashed this morning.

That's annoying. This is slightly vague but we walked past a flat at the Goose Green end of Crystal Palace Road yesterday, for sale and part of one of the bigger houses. Hubbie was thinking it was the whole house and was curious as to how much they are but when he googled it, it was ?650K so obvs a flat. Many of the roads around here are a mix. Somewhere like Underhill and immediate surrounds have predominantly big houses. Elsewhere roads can be a mix of larger and small properties.

We went to Corsica in an Oct a few years ago and it was definitely winding down for the winter. Restaurants were not offering full menus and it was basically what they had left in the kitchens. The outdoor non-heated swimming pool was freezing and too cold to swim in but we did brave the sea and think it was warmer. There were still plenty of tourists and the days were pleasantly warm but did need long sleeves / warmer tops in the eve. Loved it have always wanted to go back to that part of the world and Sardinia.

Are you sure it's cats and not foxes? Fox poo is beyond stinky and they are just as athletic and sneaky as cats.

Ah I went past what looked like the aftermath of a road traffic accident outside Nandos Camberwell (Cold Harbour Lane side) yesterday mid-afternoon. There were several police cars there and I had been aware of the helicopter buzzing around. Guessing that is where this all ended.

I said to call one if you are not coping - i.e. you need one / it's an emergency. Go patronise someone else.

If you are coping any local cab firm will take you. If you are more advanced and not really able to sit in a car position call an ambulance. Good luck!

I just walked down to the post office collection place in High Shore Road SE15 and it was like being in a Hitchcock movie with thunderous skies and being bombarded by the flying ants.