Rutherford House or Fircroft or Ravenstone Post Reply

[headshrinker]

Jan123 Trinity St Mary's is still pretty easy to get into. It is C of E but for the past few years, there has been very little competition for places so they haven't selected on religion. No need to attend church (as you need to for the Catholic Schools). Everyone is falling over themselves trying to get into Rutherford House so TSM and Ravenstone have had smaller reception classes. Hopefully it will all balance out in the end as these schools are all within a tiny radius and are all good.

[majoscelyne]

I would disagree with Fircroft Primary I have children that attend there now my reasons being If you suspect or your child has additional needs then do not even think about applying or accepting a place here SENCO things take an extremely long time to get anywhere and countless meetings do not change anything for your vulnerable child , with little or no improvement. Complaints not taken seriously.All in all Fircroft School would suit a child that has no additional needs and a parent who would love to get involved with the very active PTA community whom I will say do a very good job within the school.edited to reflect opinions on this post I let my frustrations influence the post i still firmly believe in what I wrote but maybe i was too honest for some I have shared all of my views with the head

[Pud1]

It's a shame you feel like this about your child's school majoscelyne. I think it's also a shame that you've chosen to publicly criticise the school in such a way. Some of your comments are very personal and would be very hurtful for staff to read. Perhaps, if it's not the school for you, you should think about moving your children rather than slating it so publicly. From what I hear, Fircroft is a lovely, vibrant local school with hard working and dedicated staff.

[rooting4tooting]

regarding Fircroft.
I have a lot of experience there. SEN staff are very good. Obviously some teachers suit some pupils better and some don't. However I would say that academically most kids do reach 80-90% of their potential, the rest is up to the parents and the school. Some parts of advanced maths aren't taught but expected to be known, how, I guess by tutors....
The bullying policy only kicks in when a parent complains, but Fircroft is a busy school.
The headmistress works tirelessly for the school. She may be a dictator, but then, she may have to be...
However Fircroft does seem to value security staff above teaching staff which is odd. Perhaps teaching staff have enough to do teaching. Just an observation.
In no way is Fircroft perfect, but your kids will do well there. It is an ofsted "good" school and that is about right

[k8yhill]

I am very sorry to hear that you hold those views about Fircroft.
I have 2 children there with a third joining next year. Both my children are thriving. They love going to school and are very happy. The extra curricular activities on offer are the best in the borough. The PTA is fantastic, offering lots of opportunities for parents and children to meet and have fun. The school has a real community spirit. I have no complaints at all and while I was looking at schools to send my children to, Fircroft stood out for myself and my partner and it hasn't failed to impress.

[Mamamiasu]

I too think it's a shame majoscelyn that you don't like the school your children are at. I've been a parent at Fircroft for several years now and my children are very, very happy there. As with anything, there's always room for improvement and the school, I feel, is always striving to listen to children and parents alike to achieve the change necessary to develop and progress. It feels Iike a very inclusive school to me. Academically my children are doing well and there are several after school clubs ranging from art to sports as well as a fantastic music teacher should you wish to enrol your child for music tuition as well. The Balham Community Centre also operates out of Fircroft term times and therefore you have the option of dropping your kids off early for breakfast club (from 7.30am) or collecting late (up to 6.30pm) which is another great resource. The communication from the school, board of governors and PTA is frequent and I feel very in touch with the school's goings on. And on a totally childish level the main school hall reminded me of Anne of Green Gables with its quaint split stair case and that coupled with the feel of the school on my show round so many years ago clinched it for me. Subsequently the kids, my husband and I have made many friends thanks to the numerous social events the PTA put on.

[Flambeau]

We really love RHS! It is a new school and is growing, but we can see that some of the initial teething problems have been addressed and rectified.

The ethos and educational expectation of the pupils progress and learning is similar to a private school but not coupled with the snotty attitude of some indies. RHS is diverse and inclusive.

We love that there are such a range of extra curricular activities. This term alone there were 58 clubs for all year groups including arts, music, languages and STEM subjects. We don't know which way DC will lean...academic, arty, sporty etc RHS gives DC a great academic foundation with the option to try before we buy in terms of enrichment activities.

DC loves going to school, the trips and guests coming into the school enhance the educational opportunities for the children and keeps them engaged. Forest school is exciting and interesting.... So DC says.

Come along to our school fair, ask parents at drop off and/pick up or even pop into one of the cafes round the corner from the school and have a chat to some parents. We are a lovely bunch. Oh and there are many open days/school tours that you can also do to get a flavour of the school, look forward to seeing you.