Scottish Primary Education

[Doublethecuddles]

Is anybody else glad that they live in Scotland and don't have the stress and worry that those in England have in getting a primary school place? There whole system seems so complicated!

[chocoluvva]

Oh yes - it sounds like a complete nightmare.

[StoorieHoose]

I was going to post that this morning! I can see DDs as primary schools rom my window and I would be fuming if she didn't attend it because it was over subscribed

[Doublethecuddles]

Love your name StoorieHoose!

[RedButtonhole]

So glad, if I had to send DS to school outwith my village the logistics would be a nightmare.

[306235388]

Erm I'm in Scotland. Currently waiting to see if dd gets in to same school as Ds. It's not our catchment school because Ds didn't get into that as it was oversubscribed...

[OOAOML]

Not blaming Scottish education, but our council's brilliant strategy of closing primary schools, packing remaining schools in area to capacity and agreeing to housing developments in catchment with no additional school provision left us facing an appeal for our second child. And school has narrowly avoided capping P1 intake at below the numbers needed to take catchment children. so some places have similar issues to south of the border.

[RedButtonhole]

Where are you 306?

I've never heard of that happening in Scotland. I live in a very rural area though so there is little danger of our schools being over subscribed.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

We almost had the same situation as 306 with our local primary - it was a fairly small school (8 classrooms) and they had about 18 too many children for P1! Everyone was offered a place in any other primary that they wanted with a guarantee that future siblings would also get a place.

However after a big parent campaign (some people already had children at the school) they put in a temporary classroom so they could add another P1 class and they've since made other changes so that the children could attend the local school if they wanted. Everyone was happy as some parents prefer another local school anyway and would have had the usual anxious wait for a place but despite the extra class being added to the local school at the last minute, the council honoured their original offer as children were now expecting to go there.

[chocoluvva]

at children not getting a place at the school in their catchment

[OOAOML]

I don't know about your council choc but ours is running pretty much everything very close to the limit these days. They're also putting up buildings in playgrounds across the city. I'm genuinely worried about our school - we've been told they can't put up any more classrooms, and we have taken in large P1s for several years in a row, plus there's more housing to go up in the area. At the time they did the last set of closures lots of people were pointing out the birth rate, the high numbers of children already in nursery, and the growth in housing - but they went ahead. There's another school that actually plans in team taught classes of 49 children with two teachers. Fair enough, that's maintaining the ratio - but 49 children??

Before we had the extension our school lost the right to award any places to people moving into catchment, and intakes were capped because they couldn't take the numbers. If things carry on as they are I think we're only a few years away from that happening again. Or the council will have to bite the bullet and re-open/build schools. There's already been people bussed out of catchment. There's also a growing problem with the RC schools - they are starting to exclude non-RC non-baptised children, and parents are taking to the local paper to complain about it (I'm not sure I actually approve of faith schools, but they're there, and it does seem weird that people are offended they can't get their non-faith children in).

I'm worried about high school as well - at the moment it is under capacity, but still seems pretty run-down and disorganised. The big intake years are going to start going up in the next year or so. Hopefully there will be enough funding to cope with it all and make sure the buildings are up to standard (they did review all of them after the appalling Liberton incident, but as they've had a policy of 'emergency repairs only' it is worrying).

[chocoluvva]

What a poor state of affairs. (Mine are well past primary age) - bussed out of catchment - that's awful.

[ASAS]

I wouldn't say there's no stress in Scotland, just a different type of stress, especially for those of us trying to get out of over subscribed schools via placing request.

[Blarblarblar]

I'm just about to move areas and might no be able to get my DC into the school across the road because they are capped just hoping for a drop out . The school he's in at the moment is right across town from the (hopefully) new house so would be really difficult to get to and from I don't drive, yet.
When you read about people travelling hours to get there kids to and from school down south I think I should probably not complain it must be awful.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Whilst at our High School it's the opposite- It was ranked No3 in the country for exam passes and they are actively enouraging placing requests as they are struggling to maintain enough numbers to keep they teachers they have.

[frankie80]

We have a lot of schools in our area that don't have enough pupils because of the area the school is in and also how well that school does.

The better schools have eg four P1 classes.

[Christinayangstwistedsister]

The whole thing sounds like a nightmare

[Romeyroo]

OOAOML, RC are local authority schools, they are funded by tax payers same as any other LA school, therefore children in catchment area should have a place, regardless of religion and caps should be applied in the same way as any other LA school.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Romey - that's not how it works though - RC schools do come under the local authority, but they have a different catchment which is usually wider and is for Baptised Catholics. Non RC within that catchment have to apply in the same way that RC children outwith the catchment would, i.e. make a placing request. Not quite sure how the priority for a space would work and if a non RC in catchment goes in front of or behind an RC out of catchment.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

I'm not RC by the way - I feel that religion should be taken out of school apart from education (i.e. non worship etc) so I don't think there should be RC schools at all.

[OOAOML]

I'm not RC either, and wouldn't choose to send my child to an RC school. But clearly quite a few non-RC families do, but are now struggling for places.

I think it was June before we found out we'd got DS into the same school as his sister. There were masses of appeals due to be heard that year.

[OOAOML]

Our non-religious school has a bit more of a link with the Church of Scotland than I'd like, but the children seem immune. I did get a very confused look from the HT when I explained why we wouldn't be doing Samaritan's Purse boxes. She really didn't get why I had a problem.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Ours didn't grasp why I was unhappy that my child was told to pray at an activity day I'd paid for when they hadn't told me that there would be religious involvement. I've also had raised eyebrows when I issue my DSs with a note excusing them from cathedral service - I just say we aren't Christians and leave it to them to try and work out what we are :) i also don't do the school boxes as the ones they do require the people to come to a religious service to receive their box - i'm not getting involved in indoctrination of the vulnerable - we make an alternative donation.

[Romeyroo]

No, I am fairly sure that our RC school (which I live next door to) has a catchment area of streets around it for nonRC children and then a wider catchment area if you are RC; that is how my DC qualified for a place without a placement request. Maybe it depends on LA.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Maybe, certainly the RC high school (only one) in our council area's catchment is the whole council area and the placing request form is very specific about the standing of non RC baptised children. I only noticed as my DSs are placing requests though not at the RC high school. If they hadn't got in to the school that they did, that was our potential back up, as much as it would have stuck in my craw. They couldn't go to the catchment school because of bullying issues.

[Romeyroo]

I don't know, DD kind of assumed she would go to the school next door, and I knew from friends that non-denominational schools were often linked with CoS so having been brought up Episcopalian, it wasn't a great leap for me. I was surprised at some of the comments I have received from colleagues and friends, though (the school has been nothing but inclusive and DD has made her own decisions about what to participate in).
I think I would find RC more of a challenge at high school though, as I presume there is a stronger slant on certain aspects of Catholic doctrine by then - may be wrong, though. Interestingly, DD was down for RC high school by virtue of going to RC primary regardless of religion.