landsberger

Because it would mean admitting that privatisation and franchising doesn't work ? Because "the City wouldn't like it" ? Because it's the triumph of ideology over common sense ?

Actually, the reality is i) they employ as few drivers as possible (basically as many as they need to run the service) ii) they rely on "rest day working" (i.e. overtime) to cover absences due to holiday or sick leave iii) they blame "driver absence" when it is actually insufficient number of drivers in the first place iv) they ALWAYS claim there are lots of drivers in training. Even Thameslink and Great Northern customersa have been told that for years v) the fines for not running the services are pathetically small compared to the amount they get paid to run them. They have no incentive to change vi) they are using LBG problems to a) cover their driver absence stories and b) their poor performance vii) the government will never take on a group like Govia. Connex were turfed off the franchise, not because of poor performance (which was the story leaked to the press) but because they used money from the franchise to prop up other parts of the business outside the UK.

> The vast majority of schools would offer you a > place if they have a vacancy, they are funded on > pupil numbers so it's in their interests to have a > full school role. You really would have thought so, wouldn't you, but it often depends on things like how you present to the Head. Very sad, but true. > Faith schools offer a mix of > foundation and open places, so you won't > necessarily be refused if you aren't a regular > church goer. SOME faith schools offer this (mainly C of E ones). Some are 100% religious.

> Always worth > reading the small print before voting in local > elections. "We will go into coalition with the Conservatives at a local or national level if we don't get a majority". Nope, don't remember THAT one in the Lib Dem's manifesto...

Only the school (or Harris Federation HQ) will know that. T: 0203 772 4573 info@harrisprimaryeastdulwich.org.uk or http://www.harrisfederation.org.uk/6/contact-us or info@harrisfederation.org.uk or Twitter: @HarrisFed or Telephone: 0208 253 7777 Fax: 0208 253 7778

That sounds like a plan, and if you think it will work for you, go for it. The only note of caution I would add would be that, if you want to insert your child into the state sector, you need to find a school that has spaces come September or January (or whenever you send him to the school). The schools with spaces are likely to be a mixed bag of schools that are not full for a variety of reasons (geography is one - there are schools that are not full due to the adjacent estate being demolished, for instance). It's also worth noting that, if a state school has a space in a particular year group, they *must* admit. Church schools in particular will try and avoid this, particularly if you are not of the right religion or religious at all, usually giving spurious reasons for non-admission. Stick to your guns and they will inevitably cave in. Ring the school in question, ask if they have vacancies, and double check this with the LA (some schools pretend not to have vacancies). The LA will also be able to give you a list of schools with vacancies if you explain you've moved to the area recently. You can then check this at your leisure and see which school fits for you.

standswithfist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oh so now parents can't take their kids into > coffee shops either? GIVE US A BREAK!!! Its really > getting boring! No, just, you know, control them a bit? Ask them to stop shouting ? Ask them not to run around and then cry when they fall over/bang their head on a table/spill a load of milk all over them/because they're overtired and you're ignoring them ? Just my half penny's worth...

My beef is with parents who bring their offspring into coffee shops, who then run riot when you are trying to have a quiet coffee; laptop squatters can always be convinced to share their tables, even with a few harrumphs. Some parents have a complete meltdown when you ask them to control their offspring.

It does vary from year to year, so there's no guarantee that what gets you in one year will get you in the next.

Of course, Harris Primary East Dulwich have NEVER lied about how many kids they have at the school.... I was talking with a governor at Harris Girls ED Secondary, who claimed the school had more than 180 1st preferences...the actual number starting in September - according to one of their office staff ? Less than 100...

hoonaloona Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Does anyone actually know if we'll be able to > apply to Charter ED in October for admission in > 2016/17? Or is it all on hold? Will there be any > 'open days' as such? > Thanks You will need to apply directly to the school for September 2016 entry. I presume details will be on their website in early September. (It's not Southwark's choice whether to include the school, James, as you really should know (the same has happened with every single Free School that's opened so far, and every school that's opened in other London boroughs - Lib, Lab, Tory or other). It won't be Southwark or the DfE who will delay opening the school, but the school themselves. I'd just like to put to death Councillor Barber's ridiculous assertion that this school would not have opened if the Council had had anything to do with it, which is completely fallacious. The reality is that schools were being opened by Councils to meet identified needs up and down the country until the coalition government decided in 2010, in their wisdom that every new school needed to be an academy and that free schools could open, whenever, wherever, meaning Councils had to fit their provision around whiohever schemes the DfE approved, irrespective of need. As regards applications - the school website says If you would like to register your support and receive regular updates please contact us at: enquiries@chartereastdulwich.org.uk

Looks as if she has a Spanish phone number - and a LinkedIn account - maybe she is out of the country at the moment? https://www.linkedin.com/pub/anne-hawley/97/827/4a2 It may be worth getting someone you know to pose as a new customer to see if she gets back to you quickly, or is otherwise AWOL. Did this with a building company and the issue was quickly resolved, much to their embarrassment, as the builder thought he was coming round to price up a job...

Phil. Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A school right in the busiest part of Lorship > Lane? Interesting. > > Appreciate the prompt reply James! It does rather fly in the face of reason and is not actually needed, if Southwark's figures are anything to go by. I wait with bated breath the choice words that will fly when the first Chelsea tractor double parks on Lordship Lane and blocks traffic and, no doubt, our valiant Liberal representative will then be claiming that it's "all the council's fault". Unless, of course, his party is in power then it will be "it's all the previous administration's fault".

Anywhere in Southwark (just about). Most primaries have above national average results. Only you will know what kind of school suits your child. It would probably help if you let us know what kind of school you were looking for.

I assume you are taking the Portsmouth or Poole to Cherbourg "high speed ferry" with Brittany Ferries ? It largely depends on the size of the catamaran (and of course the weather!) but you should be OK. Check the sea forecast (ITV Meridian and Channel TV News, both available online will give you an idea of the state of the seas). I have found fresh air helps enormously, personally. Catamarans tend to yaw slightly from side to side naturally, even on "flat as a pancake" seas. It's mildly disconcerting at first but then you get used to it (and don't fill a cup to the top!). The open part is often quite small, BUT is usually handily in the middle of the boat, towards the back.

I don't know how long you're planning on staying, but we really liked Lille, there's quite a bit to do there, and it's a big enough town to have most creature comforts. There's also an amazing kids park north of the centre with a free zoo, and lots of play equipment and (during the summer) a small fair. Accommodation is not outrageous, there's a market at Wazemmes on Sunday and it's really well linked by tram, train, bus and metro to the surroundings. The centre is very Flemish looking, and the food likewise influenced. There's a ginormous shopping centre (Euralille) next to the Eurostar station with a massive Auchan hypermarket. Arras is also nice, as well as Dunkerque. Search on Hotelscombined.com, it searches the search engines !

Pollenca itself is really, really nice; Puerto Pollenca perhaps less so, but still more charming than the South East coast. I can heartily recommend nearly killing yourself climbing up the 365 Calvari (Calgary) steps to the church. The view is amazing and well worth the breathless 5 minutes. Take a bottle of water ! http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Balearic_Islands/Pollensa-257815/Things_To_Do-Pollensa-TG-C-1.html If you don't have a car, there is a regular bus service from Palma. Or do as I did, take the train to Sa Pobla and the bus from there, and you get a great view of the Tramontane mountains en route

No, this is neither "normal behaviour" for a child or indeed a "normal" parent. Frankly, one assumes that the 8 year old's mum would defend him if he did anything at all. It would be a while till I visited that family again. No child of mine would get away with that kind of behaviour. Our next door neighbour but one has a nightmare child who spends most of his time throwing kitchenware, crockery, toys, and anything within reach on the floor, and the mum doesn't do anything 'because it upsets him when I tell him off'. Borders, anyone ? I pity the school the child goes to and any teacher trying to instill any element of discipline in the poor mite, without a visit from the mum.

90 pupils for reception in September 2016, apparently, so someone at the school told me. And 30 more the year after that.

One of my acquaintances in Southwark - who, incidentally, lost hundreds of staff on Friday - told me that their phone system (other than internal) and IT system was down the whole day. The problem you have is that the people who have dealt with your case are probably long gone - and the people they handed it over to. Councillor Barber won't miss a chance to make a partisan point here - I wonder if the Libs and Tories were still running the borough you would be quite so critical - but the reality is here is a tenant/resident who has been messed around. AFAIK, the IT system is back up and running - ring on Monday, ask to speak to someone - if they are mysteriously unavailable, ask to speak to their boss. And so on. If they put you off, tell them you will ring every 30 minutes until you speak to someone.

tomskip Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It seems a bit retro to put the sibling link > higher than other admissions criteria when so many > other schools, even primaries, have acknowledged > that the sibling priority is not the best way of > ensuring that school places go to local children. Well quite. It's been put to me that "it doesn't matter" that siblings have a higher priority, as there are never normally more siblings than places available. If this is the case, why put them above medical and socials ? It sends completely the wrong message - and the quote above shows that Charter Trust are simply not listening and indignant at being questioned and/or held to account.

It's still at variance with the admissions policies of almost every other secondary in Southwark I quote "The Trust decided that the priority order for the oversubscription criteria should remain as originally proposed by the Trust. The Trust noted the inconsistency between the proposed admissions policy for The Charter School East Dulwich and the admissions policy for The Charter School."

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm sure the school is telling the truth on this > as it would be a very serious point to mislead the > authorities on in the context of the > consultation. I think Harris are happy to editorialise and use the facts to suit their purposes. > Here is the thread where Renata says otherwise. > I'll try to clarify with her why she says they are > not under-subscribed. She is usually very > accurate so I'm surprised there is some > inconsistency and am sure there is an easy > explanation. Part of the confusion is that I am looking at 1st place preferences - schools often use all preferences and then claim they are "oversubcribed" - well, they are if you include preference 6.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Landberger-- I am basing the my statement that > Harris Girls ED is oversubscribed based on > statements made by Renata during that schools > recent consultation on changes to its admission > policy andalso on the secondary school thread. The school has a vested interest in saying it's oversubscribed but it isn't. There are still vacancies there for September 2015, if people feel so inclined to apply. > This year, there were only 4 schools with > available places following first round offers in > Southwark and the only one near here was Harris > Peckham. Perhaps, after all of the movement on > waiting lists the situation changed but at that > time neither Harris Boys or Girls ED had any > places. We shall see whether this is still the case in September. STAC ALWAYS has spaces, for instance.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Its clear to me that Harris was relying on the > shortage of places in the south of Southwark to > increase the popularity of Harris Peckham. I think that's a fairly accurate reflection of the reality ! > Once middle class parents were forced to attend through > lack of alternative places, the snobbery element > that leads that school to be undersubscribed would > dissipate making it a more popular choice going > forward. I think that's what Harris had hoped. They also are blind to the fact that, amongst some parents at least, Harris is something of a tainted brand. > I'm not saying snobbery is the only > reason its undersubscribed but given its actually > quite a good school academically now without any > alarming behaviour problems, snobbery plays its > part. A major part. One wonders what kind of rebranding would benefit the school - Harris Central Southwark ? > If the Charter School opens in 2016, this will in > part scupper the demographic dividend the shortage > of places was naturally going to provide to Harris > Peckham from next year. That's certainly one scenario, but perhaps ignores vacancies in other schools (some beyond Southwark's borders) where people want to send their kids. > Please note that Harris > ED Boys and Girls are oversubscribed. At the last school census (available on line), all the Harrises had spare places. > Peckham might remain undersubscribed until 2018 > depending on choices parents north east and west > of the school make. Undersubscribed schools are > financially insecure as they have virtually the > same running costs as full schools but less > revenue as revenue is funded per pupil. A point I wish parents wanting a tiny low population school would understand. > So while I don't disagree that a zoned lottery is > a good admissions policy, Harris are demanding it > out of their own self-interest which can't trump > what the community wants in this instance. > Distance admissions is allowed under the code of > admissions and is a legitimate option. Parents > have selected it and Harris shouldn't throw its > weight around to intimidate MPs or civil servants. > Their attitude is despicable. Well, it's certainly no more or no less than I would expect of Harris, to be honest. > Similarly, I am worried about Charter's attitude > to SEN. I actually thought Charter behaved pretty > badly vis-a-vis Habs. Some of the posts on the > forum and allegations of stories leaked to the > press were abhorrent. I think this fits in well with the "dog eat dog" atmosphere the Conservatives want for education. > Its all just so sad that something like education > provision could bring out some of the worst traits > in human nature. 'Twas ever thus.