Shaggy

Thanks everyone. Looks like it's Crystal Palace it Pickle, though it's a bit shallow. Lobbying them for at least one after school session is a good idea Fuschia. I've already emailed them to ask.

Hi Forum. I've just discovered that the Friday evening rafts and rascals session at The East Dulwich pool has been removed. It was a great session as the 6pm -7pm is just a bit too late for my five year old. I think it is a real shame, but Imsuppise they have their reasons. However I still want to take my daughter swimming at least once a week after school (we are usually out and about at the weekends.) does anyone know any good after school sessions? I can't find any as, quite reasonably, the pools are booked out with swim school.

PBe.jones Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So Shaggy, you would drive Calais to St Malo in > one day, but not East Dulwich to St Malo? Yes. On the way out I can get a cheap later ferry and start in France early in the morning when I'm feeling fresh. Typically we will leave ED at six PM or so after a day at work. Also, the autoroutes are great early in the morning. If you leave at 7 you can be half way there before traffic builds up. If you drove from ED you'd have to leave very very early to do that. On the way back I don't feel comfortable doing a very long drive on the right hand side of the road then a 90 minute drive on the left. I've driven thousands of miles in France but I'm never comfortable at point when I change sides, and don't like doing that when I'm tired. Also, I don't like chasing a crossing. it just adds stress to the end of a nice break. If I'm heading to a stop off by the port, it doesn't matter if we take a detour and do something fun, we will still make the crossing. But mostly it's because I don't want to go the wrong way round a roundabout in Kent. Whether coming back from Burgundy or Brittany we always have the same debate in the car -- shall we just push on home? But we always decide it's not worth it. I do all the driving though. If you are sharing it might be different.

Been there, done that. Calais to St Malo is a nice, easy drive on good autoroutes and easily do-able in one day with a lunchtime stop at Honfleur. Go any further round than St Malo and you are on N roads which are a tougher drive. To be honest, wouldn't drive further than St Malo - Calais in one day. We do it this way: On the way out we get the Dover Calais ferry as cheaply as possible and stay overnight at the Ibis Budget in Coquelles for about 30 euros. Then we head off before eight the next morning and are on the beach in St Malo by early afternoon. On the way back we are a little jaded, so we leave early and head to the Ibis in Calais stopping off for a few hours at Honfleur. The next morning we get an early, more expensive Eurotunnel and are home in ED for about one in the afternoon.

As a parent of a primary school aged child and a former teacher, that's not really all that impressive. Just sounds like most schools. The reason why there are small class sizes is because they are undersubscribed, so that'll change. I would hope that all teachers would be friendly to parents. Don't mistake that with them being happy in their jobs. Also, at the moment it appears to be a school with fewer than 50 pupils, so brilliance should come as standard. Mariamadeit Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We turned down a local school in favour of Harris > last year, the advantages as I see them to Harris > over other schools are: > 1. Much smaller class sizes but the same or > better teacher ratios (though it looks like the > new reception class will be full) > 2. Teachers and teaching assistants (some of > which also hold teaching qualifications) are > friendly, good at their jobs and committed to the > school (the first head left as a result of a > Harris internal reshuffle which is not expected to > happen again, he is still involved in the school > and one teacher left unexpectedly over easter, as > explained above). > 3. The Head is experienced and full of ideas for > reaching the target of outstanding when OFSTED > visit, she is balanced and approachable and is > very well liked by the children and parents. She > is at the school gate almost every day and is very > hands on with the children. > 4. The open plan nature of the reception class > allows for free flow between the two areas and the > space is changed regularly with various activities > set up for the children. The space is far bigger > than other classrooms I viewed on open days. > 5. Although the outdoor space is small, children > do have access to more space (tennis courts for > PE) and it is very well set up with various > resources, parents were involved in planting and > developing the space. > 6. As it is a small school, the children know > each other, there are no issues with much older > children bumping into little ones etc as I have > heard can be a problem in other schools. The > teachers know all of the children well. > 7. The resources, books etc are new and well > cared for and the Head has been adding to the > resources regularly, my son particularly enjoys > the building area which has toy cement mixers, > bricks, hard hats etc. > 8. The PTA has recently been set up and has been > very successful in raising extra funds for the > school, which shows the commitment of parents to > helping the school. > 9. With the small number of children, lots of > trips have taken place and are due to take place > including zoo, farm, library, wildlife centre > etc. > 10. The Head of our school and the Girl's school > have been working together to ensure that the best > opportunities are provided for our school, for > example, at Christmas, the children performed eir > nativity play on the Girl's school stage, they are > also able to use the girl's school facilities. > > Yes there are issues with the new site and there > are challenges to be overcome with fitting the new > reception class on the current site, but I am > confident that the Head is doing everything > possible to ensure that this goes as smoothly as > it can. > Yes there are people who have been offered places > at their preferred school and have subsequently > moved, but this is normal around here isn't it? > Yes there are parents at school who see the > negatives rather than the positives, but isn't > that the case everywhere too? > Yes there have been teething problems but nothing > you wouldn't expect from a new school, the water > pipes froze and school was shut for a day, a > member of staff left... All of these things have > been managed professionally and parents have been > informed. > > Not every school is going to suit every child and > the difficulty is that parents must decide for > their family, what is going to be best, it is a > difficult decision but I can say wholeheartedly > that we are very pleased with the decision we made > in choosing Harris, my son is happy and thriving > at the school and for me, that is the best > outcome.

http://www.nethergongcamping.co.uk And yes, it's a campfire site. About an hour from East Dulwich. There is also the famous WoWo -- but book well in advance. http://www.wowo.co.uk

Spiral very good. Braquo, another Policier is also excellent.

I saw the poster too. I don't interpret "there will be no more walk in appointments available" as "there will still be walk in appointments available." Walk in appointments are stopping. If your GP can't give you an appointment, your GP can choose to get you an appointment at the Lister within two days. No room for interpretation. Monkey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > From 11 November, no more walk in appointments > available at The Lister. Poster at reception says > if you need to see a doctor on the same day or the > next, contact your gp practice and if you're not > registered with one, contact one near you. > > When you contact your practice, your gp or nurse > will give you advice. If you still need to be > seen, they'll book you an appointment at your > practice. If one is not available, they can book > you in at the lister. > > That's a shame. Was such a useful service!

Now we have the Internet, text books are a bit old hat. Look at the TES resources section. Free to sign up. Lots of stuff that you could use at home to support school learning.

Dunce.

John Bidmead. Saw him at the London bridge hospital but I think he also practises at King's.

Another vote for the wonderful Sandy Balls.

None on the Lordship Lane end of Dunstans.

Congrats. Hope you manage a restful weekend.

....also I love using my old cast iron pan when camping. Great to cook on and you can use it on anything, including the barbie and camp fire. If you bring one, remember to bring a few tea towels to pick it up with. Not so light in a rucksack though.

If you are bringing meat for the barbie, freeze it before you leave. The cool box won't be all that cool. Remember crocs. If you are walking to and from the loo blocks and it gets a bit wet out, you are better off having something you can kick off when you get to your tent and slip into when you leave. Welles are a faff, and most people prefer not to wear them in the shower. Quick dry towels are great. Apart from that, it looks quite glamp, so you should be ok. Have fun!

We really like Kinghams in Croydon. Really nice and trustworthy, excellent service. We got our Subaru from them last year.

Much appreciated. Thanks.

Or is it just me?

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/english-labour-politician-george-brown-at-his-home-east-news-photo/2638252 Browsing Getty, I saw this pic. Apparently George Brown used to live in the neighborhood. Anyone any idea where?

Hi All, Calling teachers, trainee teachers, or anybody who can help really. I'm planning on applying to become a primary school teacher under the Schools Direct programme. I had planned to take lots of holiday time out of work during 2014 to shadow teachers etc, and then apply in November 2014 for entry in 2015. However I've very recently discovered that I am going to be out of a job in March, so I am going to apply this November for entry in September 2014. The problem is that I haven't shadowed anybody yet, which strikes me as a bit of a problem in my application. Can anybody please help me out? If any teacher would allow me to spend a day shadowing them, that would be really really great. But also any help and advice about how to prepare for an application quickly, that I had planned on spending a year working on...... Gulp!

Great -- thanks for that.

Hi Everyone, My almost-four year old daughter has said that she wants to go to the cinema, which sounds fun, especially as I haven't been to the movies in about ten years. My question has 2 parts. First of all, Epic seems like the big movie at the moment. Has anyone seen it? Did the kids like it? Secondly, we are off to Bluewater tomorrow. The cinema there seems to be super delux with sofas and stuff like that. While I think I'd prefer somewhere like the Ritzy in Brixton (the sort of place we used to go to years ago) has anyone been to the Bluwater multiplex? Is it a good place for a first-time cinema goer, or is it going to freak her out?

Thanks everyone. Sounds great. I will make sure to book the swimming. Really looking forward to it now!

Planning on taking our tent to Sandyballs for the early May bank holiday. Anyone been there recently? Is it fun? DD is three an a half. Also, has anyone camped there? We have to pitch the tent on a gravel pitch. I'm slightly concerned it might damage the tent, or be uncomfortable. Any thoughts?