Do parents know about this forum?

[Ajarn Philip]

dinahcat wrote (on the wrong thread! )

I think the forum is fine as it is . Prospective parents who are keen ,will find it and make their own minds up. If the school website contains a link to this forum it will be endorsing it without prejudice which could get them into difficulties.

I have seen another website which quotes items from this forum in an attempt to present CH in a poor light. As Jtaylor says, these quotes are from early threads but the quotes they use are about bullying and other more personal and distressing issues which have been taken completely out of context. Unfortunately, I have heard they they are off putting to some parents who don't realise how old the posts are or indeed how old the posters are! They may not also realise how this forum is a place for laying ghosts for some OBs .
The forum is essentially for Old Blues and I think that should remain its main focus. The current and new parent threads are useful and enjoyable but an add on to the main purpose .

I imagine that the school woud take the line that if you have a question you should contact them .

[huggermugger]

I only joined recently, although I had known of its existence for years, following a discussion at school about what information parents might want to have available on the school website (which is currently being reviewed for an update). When I read some of the posts I felt compelled to take part, especially as I have been on both sides of the fence - parent and staff.

And we're jolly glad you did!

[huggermugger]

Maybe there will be refreshments at huggermugger's soiree!

Now you want refreshments as well as G&T???

just in case you're wondering, the sherry thing was a joke; don't want anyone thinking I have an inside track..

[thriftymatron]

following a discussion at school about what information parents might want to have available on the school website (which is currently being reviewed for an update).

So do you think there's a chance there might be a link to this forum from the school website when it is updated?

I don't think so but I can ask.

I have made a suggestion that an official forum for parents on school related issues only would be very useful, especially as there are few opportunities for parents to get to know each other. Also suggested that parents could easily be allowed to choose to make some form of contact detail available to others - as I am writing this I have just thought that e-mail address together with a partial postcode (so parents know who to contact in their area if necessary) would probably be the least intrusive way forward. The recipient would then have the option to ignore or reply.

This site could then continue as originally intended.

[huggermugger]

Firstly, I don't think it should be left to parents to "stumble across" this or any other website. OK, I did that & so did others, but in many cases it was only in extremis. The parents looking for & finding the website, imho, seem so far to be a combination of those in crisis & those who are prospective parents. There are a lot of others who may well find this useful on a much less stressful level....

Secondly, as pointed out before, a link could be put in to the school website or the school literature without implying any form of endorsement. This is very commonly done with a simple disclaimer.

Thirdly, although I would not presume to insist on staying put here, I would be very sad to be severed from the OB community. The warm welcome I received here, together with their compassion and willingness to share their own experiences & viewpoints (of both life & CH) have been invaluable to me. A number of OB's are also CH parents and there are also current pupils who post on this forum.... where do they "belong"? Surely we all belong to one community?

Finally (!), there seems to be an implication that any separate parents forum shouldn't discuss "heavy" topics or anything that the school may feel could reflect badly on it/them. I would be most unhappy being a member of such a prescriptive forum and I suspect it would be extremely difficult to police. There are a few negative viewpoints on this forum but the vast majority are extremely positive about CH both past & present. The overall picture & impression is a good one but more to the point it's an honest one, which is precisely what's needed.

[jtaylor]

Agree completely.

Call me a pessimist, but I doubt there'd be the drive or motivation to establish and then maintain/moderate a parents forum by the school - but I'll be very happy to be proved wrong!
It takes ages to establish a forum with regular users - this is something already here, that's taken a long time to get going with a critical-mass of users to keep it going.

I'd also be reluctant to lose any independence, and agree that the school could point parents here without endorsing us, and they could be pointed specifically to the CH Parents section directly.

To this end, I've created a simple auto-forward, which takes parents directly to the parents section:-
www.chforum.info/parents

J

[huggermugger]

Excellent - I'm all for shortcuts

[lonelymom]

Call me a pessimist, but I doubt there'd be the drive or motivation to establish and then maintain/moderate a parents forum by the school

Couldn't agree more! If the parents' forum grew to anything like the size of this forum who's job would it be to maintain it? The school would need a JT-equivalent and moderators etc.

Like huggermugger, I want to stay a part of this forum, chat with the OBs, the YOBs and other parents.

[Eruresto]

Agree completely.
To this end, I've created a simple auto-forward, which takes parents directly to the parents section:-
http://www.chforum.info/parents

That's mega clever. I love it!