mumra

That is brilliant news. Well done lovely lady xxxx

Sillywoman, you most certainly did not persuade me to go down one route or another as mind was made up by then (attempted home birth x 2 but ended up in hospital due to long labour first and was 43 wks with 2nd so thought should go in) and your advice (so good I went back for it twice) is brilliant at laying out for facts for people to reach their own conclusions to. SBryan, great to add someone of your position to the debate. Shame about picking on an NCT teacher who is clearly supportive of the type of work you do. No need. Littlemoo - you are a brave lady. Good luck with LM3.

Tis the season! I remember last year there were various codes with offers about on the forum but have not seen any this year. Has anyone had a code in their email I can use to book tickets?

I have alot of Rhubabrb that I would gladly swap for anything. We have made much crumble this summer but now it needs to stop! I would love green beans, courgettes or any other type of fruit!

Langbourne Kingsdale

Molly I have a spare C, but looking at it I think it is an old version, (c is cracked or crunch) not one of the new ones, but if you want it, it's yours- we have a dishwasher and half a cooker covered so need no more!

The suzuki method is designed for young children - lots of play based activities are incorporated into the teaching and they build up the skills very gradually. It's all about enjoyment and engagement from a young age and you do see children as young as 3 giving it a go. The teacher has to go with them to a certain extent- appreciating the age and the limitations that it brings and they spend as much time playing as learning to hold a bow (often whilst balancing a hula hoop or a feather on their shoulder and playing follow my leader!) and other key skills so that it is not too much too soon. There are certainly no scales etc to learn but instead a billion variations of one song (namely twinkle twinkle little star at first) so they are building on success. Another key element of the method is group lessons and getting them to show off to each other from a young age so as to build confidence. All of this takes time and I would not expect to see the results overnight, but it really does help technique and an 'ear' for music at an early age. And, just to add I would not have believed it myself if it had not been brilliantly motivational for my very (at the time) shy 4 year old who is now loving playing at 6 years old. More and more schools do seem to be recognising the benefit from the method (St Johns are offering it to pupils from September) but Ivydale certainly were pioneers (and host the Dulwich Suzuki Group -maybe why they offer it with gusto?) as they have the most amazing head of music there - Margaret Omoniyi who knows everything there is to know about how children learn music. Happy to be pm'd - supergolden88 if you would like more info and good luck with your decision.

And there is still time before September, hard to stick out but I know in the last couple of years people who put St Johns on their list got a place right up to the day they started.

Brilliant post Edtutor, and completely spot on.

Found this lunchtime. It is now behind the bar. Size 8/9. Can't remember if it is left or right though!

Just found one blue croc size 8/9 (can't remember if left or right tho) - in The Plough car park, so not sure if it is yours but gave to a lady to put behind the bar, so have a look!

I have worked in schools where I have been first name and ones where they have used surnames. Makes no difference to the amount of respect you get, children respect good teachers irrespective of title. Sometimes it is better for a school to have one blanket policy as often you get cases where the teacher has a title but the teaching assistant is on first name terms.

Hi Claireclaire. If you really want the school then often places come up in the first week of term when children have returned and somebody has moved over the holidays and not informed Southwark, I know that's anxiety inducing though. Happenned to my sister who shelled out for 2 lots of uniform in one week! Not ideal in terms of settling a child in, but it's amazing how quickly they adapt. It's the adults that find it harder I think!

I would happily swap rhubarb for veg. We have lots of it growing at the moment. Later we will have a ton of blackberries.

Cff9 - go and have a look round Bellenden school if you haven't had the chance - thats quite near to you. Small school, so may be full but new head this year who is driving things forward.

Not had a shoe made for me, but Merrifields practically rebuilt my favourite boots from scratch. Not cheap, but definitely worth it.

Yes to both :)

And if it's just handwriting that is the concern, then I really would not worry. Much more important to concentrate on the process of writing rather than what it looks like - this comes with time and in the grand scheme of things is rarely taken account of when comes to performance, e.g only 3 marks out of 50 in the SATs test at age 11. If he is in bored due to finishing earlier then it would be good if you could ask what challenge the more able children are being given provision wise within the lessons as that will help to keep him more engaged actually within the lessons. Teachers of mainstream schools are used to differentiating 3 or 4 ways in lessons according to ability now, so it's not asking anything extra.

Other services provided by the LA, as well as supporting SEN provision, are all the training courses that teachers currently go on and use. These include the statutory training for Newly Qualified Teachers and all the training and advice for teachers around assessing children appropriately so as to provide quality teaching and learning that is pitched correctly for their needs. Termly training for primary Head Teachers and and Deputy Heads, as well as termly courses for primary subject leaders of Literacy and Numeracy and Science is all part of the provision, and for the next term whilst LAs hold a part of the budget centrally, all of these courses are free (as they have always been) and supply cover is paid (in Southwark anyway). I would be very suprised if the Hamlet would admit to have never needing to use this service, as it would mean their teachers would never have benefited from the CPD opportunities freely available to them.

Sadly it was a burglary. Not us, but nearby. The police knocked on our door in the wee hours and let their sniffer dogs roam our garden and passageway as it looked like our side return had been entered. After resettling the children (we all woke up to the loud knocking on the door)I went back to sleep, so don't know if they found anything, and I'm afraid to say I don't know those neighbours that well to ask them what the outcome was.

Hi, can anyone tell me if this is till on and if it is at the alternative venue as said above? Is it so busy that it would be a nightmare to drop in tomorrow? Looking for something new! Thankyou in advance!

Have done Selfridges and Harrods and much prefered Selfridges. Case of train ride versus standing queueing at Harrods and you get a longer slot with Santa at Selfridges. Booked Selfridges again for last week and there are still slots free.

The Snowman (at The Peacock) is very Christmassy, although not a panto, and is designed to be good for 2 years up.

Think I have already sung the praises of Tess on here (am tempted to have a third so I can go round and listen to her wise words) and the value of NCT. Nearly 6 years on we still meet up and can claim to be the the first group Tess had. Meeting quickly after and bonding over a few classes of wine round each others houses was the most valauble support. Think finding and making the time to accommodate your antenatal classes are one of the first times you have to make sure your life is fitting round your kids, rather than the other way round! If you can, try and find a way to do it.

Am sure it's not that over subscribed yet for you to be out of catchment - classes appear quite small. And do know there's at least one male teacher there. Can think of one in Year 1, and the new head is a man.