DenmotherSmith

My eldest son started at the Harris Boys school when it was just starting out. The experience of being one of the first in a brand new environment was brilliant and has given him a closeness with the staff, his peers and the building that was so good for his confidence. I also find Harris very good for listening to parents much better then the senior leadership at my other kids LA Primary school. I would really encourage any prospective parents to take this opportunity.

Thank-you for your reply Derek, it's great that this has been a year long exercise, I'd like to understand more as to why you chose today to announce your plans? It would be great if you could explain further, is the hospital site a strategic option you had considered for some time? is there the possiblity of expansion on Charters current site or surrounding buildings? It would be sad to see the desire for a new secondary scuppered by a bun fight between possible providers and their supporters.

Yes Charter, why didn't you go down this route before? Perhaps the charter governor busy posting here this morning can explain why suddenly after many years not reaching out to other schools or federating with struggling schools like Askes has demonstrated , they decided the morning it is announced that Askes will open a school down the road they realize it is something they wanted to do for ages. What exceptional sour grapes, and really not the best grounds for a new school venture.

Renata/James Can you shed any light? In Southwark's School place Strategy Update it states "7. This shows that whilst the proposed overall number of additional places will meet the forecast demand, the distribution of places indicates pressure in the north of the borough. Conversely there are sufficient to excess places in the south with the addition of a 2FE Harris primary free school in Nunhead recently approved by the Department for Education to open in September 2015." What is the proposed site for the Harris Free School Nunhead? And won't the free school and the expansion of Ivydale lead to an increases in places beyond demand, thus creating future funding issues for both schools if they are undersubscribed due to demand being in the north of the borough? Surely a free school or an expansion is needed not both?

Hi Belle My six year old son had a very large hole in his ear drum (not due to grommets but glue ear and repeat infections) which had resulted in around 25% hearing loss. He had the surgery to repair it, which took around 2.5 hours. He had the surgery in May and by the end of August his hearing was back to 100%. Since then he has had no further ear problems. post op there was no swimming (or showering without sufficient protection of the ear) till we got the all clear in August. That was three year ago and he has had no problem, ear infections etc. since. He can certainly hear very well , when he wants to.......)

Many thanks for all your messages and advice, I will send the deputy a more thorough email prior to our meeting tomorrow. EDMummy, you are right a close network of friends he could rely on is what he really needs, then I think the name calling would be easier to ignore but he says he has no friends at school. He does have a very good group of close friends in the sport club he goes to, so at least only in school he feels friendless. I am also finding the relentless 'mum I just want to go to another school' every night very hard, not only is an alternative place hard to come by but there are no guarantees it will be perfect, kids can be mean anywhere. Bornagain I agree re teen talk but I think its the 'gay boy' jibe that makes it feel more of a personal taunt. I do have faith in the school they are good with this kind of thing, it's a very caring place. Its just very hard to send your son off to school everyday looking utterly miserable.

My son is in year 7 at a local secondary school, after a good start he has spent the last month coming home very upset, often in tears as he is constantly being called 'gay boy' or you're so gay' by several members of his class. I have spoken to the school and arranged a meeting with the deputy for this week, but have only told them so far that he is unhappy. My son is adamant that he does not want me to mention the 'gay' comments as he thinks any attempts to tackle it by the school with bring yet more attention to him as the source of the complaint. He just wants to move to a different school. Perhaps he is being singled out because he is a rather 'pretty' feminine boy and very articulate. He is trying so hard, asked to have his hair cut to look more boyish!! but all to no avail (apparently new hair cut is also gay). I think its the cohort for his year, I have an older child at the school who is very happy and had no such problems. I know the school will try their best, but son says after this even if the bullying stops he will never be able to be friends with them. He just really wants to move schools. His father thinks he should wait it out as they will soon be bored of giving him grief. Anyone had a similar experience? Any advice on what to say to school, should I tell them what is being said or not as son requests?

> 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 . > Though I dislike the insinuation that the middle classes are the holy grail for state schools, I agree that there is more to the future of secondary provision then a new school, more people need to get on board with the schools that are available now, this proposed school could take years, and may not be available to current year fours or threes, I supported the EDEN project (new secondary for east dulwich and nunhead) over a decade ago, that school was years in the making and became HBAED, not everyones desired outcome. If groups of parents get behind local schools (and within two miles is local) it benefits everyone. I am not against the new free school, I respect the enthusiasm and time steering group members are putting in, it really is not an easy task. But it could take years, and still many local kids may not get places. If I have learnt anything from my sons secondary transfer experience its get behind your local schools that are available to you, your children and the community can all benefit.

Thanks for all the fantastic advice. Have made appointment with GP. Appreciate the PMs nice to hear there are things working for others he can try.

I wonder if the feedback from this forum re a new secondary school and the numbers signing up to support a new co-ed secondary could be used to encourage Harris to adopt a more co-ed approach to Harris Boys and Girls? They could do more extra-curricular stuff together ( I have sons in HBAED)....... Just a thought. (Might need to redact all the "anything but Harris" comments in thread or else Lord Harris might cry......

It certainly is. Free schos are destined to be a playground for niche groups..... So uncomfortable when something you disagree with is your only option.

My fourteen year old son is really suffering with very spotty skin with as he says a 'gazzillion blackheads'!. He tries very hard to keep his face clean, is using the Neutrogena spot clear range, drinks lots of water and has a very healthy diet but all to no avail. It is really getting him down so I am considering finding a dermatologist and /or going to the GP. Has anyone any experience of this or a local dermatologist they could recommend. If there is a product that has worked for your teen I would love to hear it. He has heard a lot of "this is just a teen thing, it will get better" from me and his dad but his confidence is taking such a hit I just want to help him. Any advice most appreciated.

I agree that there seems a very misguided approach to school places provision in southwark. The council is asking Ivydale to expand to a 'mega' primary 4 form entry school and when those kids leave year six where will they go? There is little appetite for Harris and single sex schools, the new parent led free school on the hospital site will no doubt end up like Charter with a small catchment, Askes proposed change to admissions will also leave Ivydale kids less likely to gain places.No doubt leaving Ivydale with a sparse year 5 and 6 as families move away. Is anyone at southwark education thinking their ideas through?

Pulled from the Sutton report liked by TE44 "Schools that wish to achieve a comprehensive intake should use random allocation, in conjunction with a catchment area, or banding as these admissions policies can help schools to achieve an intake reflecting a wide ability range. One way of doing this, while making sure that those who live very close to schools are not unduly disadvantaged, could be to introduce both ?inner? and ?outer? catchment areas" Hope the steering group have the courage to do something similar.

Thank-you James for clarifying. I still think distance based admission is very open to abuse, and to becoming extremely small as the school and its 'fabulousness' is recognised by parents. I wonder James if there is information available regarding the numbers of children in year four who reside in a one miles, two mile three , etc., geographical radius of the Dulwich hospital site? Though naturally not all these children would need or want to attend the new school they could all potentially be attendees. These kind of figures could give those deciding the admissions criteria an idea of how many children would possibly benefit/lose out from the various types of lottery/distance admission polices they may be considering. I understand the frustration with lottery places i.e. you could live next door to Kingsdale and not get a place. But equally frustrating is an influx of renters very close to the school who all pi** off once they have a place leaving poor old long term resident who lives round the corner without a place. I think there must be a better way. Perhaps there is an Admissions expert (LEA perhaps)who could help the steering group construct the fairest policy?

I really do not see how distance based admission can result in a much larger admissions foot print? If that were the case then Askes and Charter would have a bigger catchment 'foot print' then Kingsdale which they clearly do not. Happy to have it explained to me though if I have miss-understood. This really is an opportunity to take on board all the pros and cons of various admissions strategies and come up with something new that serves the majority of applicants fairly. A mix of geographically liked lottery and distance based could work together. I believe Harris Crystal Palace uses a mix of distance and lottery.

Thanks for that info James,If I apply that distance to the postcode of dulwich hospital than that still leaves Nunhead (where I live) way out in the cold! I really feel that admissions is key to fairness,so when in the process will that be decided? Is it decided by the partner or steering group or public consultation? Thanks

I have been receiving the steering group emails ( I have a child in year 4) it looks great and very exciting that a new secondary school, with local community involved, might happen in time for my son. But then I look at the previous experience of Charter with its tiny catchment and the huge prices of houses close to it, and the willingness of so many to 'bend' the rules by, divorcing or renting or whatever else to get a place and I just get a sinking feeling that this new school will go the same way. The only chance this school can be really a local school is if it has a lottery admission within a set radius of maybe 2 miles. Then EVERY local child has a shot, not just those whose parents are wealthy or cunning enough to play the system. I also have much older kids and was involved in the EDEN project and saw local parents short changed. I don't know what Charter's furtherest distance was this year but doubt it was much over 800m. If a new school goes the same way (and any successful well run school will) anyone around Heber or Goodrich, let alone Nunhead won't stand a chance. Agree with previous posters that admissions is key and should be decided at the earliest point possible in the process, that way local parents can determine if the school will be something they can support because their children actually have a chance of attending.

I have two sons in HBAED, years 7 & 9, both happy and like school. The eldest throws himself into everything and consequently gets more out of school life, he settled in easily and is very at home there. The younger is a little more cautious and less gung-ho in his attitude to school so his experience has been different, but both are making excellent progress. There are some aspects I am less keen on but they are out weighed by the positives. I find the interaction with senior leadership excellent at the Parent Voice meetings, they are very open and responsive and not at all defensive. It is also very local, they cycle home in five minutes, leaving plenty of time for life outside of school. It is the major difference I have noticed with friends kids that travel further to school. Hours spent traipsing to school and back every day can be very draining! It's also a small school, with vertical form groups, which really builds on the sense of community, everyone seems to know each other!

I would imagine that James is not in a position to say who will or will not be operating any new schools,and that will be very much out of his hands its just a shame he fails to make that clear or in fact anything clear in his posts.

I have two kids at a local Harris secondary school, and they love it. They are happy, motivated, have good friends and many excellent teachers. I find the staff responsive and engaging, able to treat parents like partners in their child's education. I am can only speak from a personal experience , not the preferred EDF method of read it in the paper, heard it in the playground, my nan knows someone who teachers there source. For those of you that love a link check out this one about Harris Westminster six-form collaboration. http://www.harrisfederation.org.uk/uploads/campus/38_31_13543-harris-westminster-sf-prospectus.pdf

I can remember being desperate for 'good' birth stories after the long traumatic birth of my first child. I was a little young (23), a little naive about the hospital birth experience, and had a long labour I really did not feel in control of. Two years later number 2 was the most perfect at home delivery I could of dreamed of, 4 hours of calm where I really felt in control of my body. So good in fact that number three appeared two years later and then number four! Sometimes think if I hadn't had such lovely empowering labours might not have got all the way to number four!

I suspect its a Harris school you are dealing with. I suggest you email the head and the Federation CEO, Dan Moynihan. I too have a child at a Harris school and a fellow parent had a serious issue which she felt the school head did not deal with adequately, she contacted the CEO and he was very robust in his action. Good luck.

Hi there I'm a real humidifier obsessive, I suffer from sinusitis and they really help with sleeping. The best I've found is the Bionaire BU6000(John Lewis) it's super quiet, plus it's reasonably attractive. So many I've tried are giant noisy blue lights!

Thanks for your post Medusa,I do take it as a very bad sign, but in the present climate of results and league driven teaching what is the alternative? Jump ship and trek miles for a more 'creative' school, stay and fight to have these options on the agenda? I am really aware of this being their one shot for that beautiful enriching primary experience my oldest had. Great to see Goose Green are so enthusiastically embracing performance, lovely when the whole school community turns out to see a show.