Difference in Scottish/English Primary System

[Scottie04]

Hi
We may have the chance to move back to Edinburgh next year. Does anyone know what the differences are. My DD is currently in year 3 here in England - so should be primary 4 in Scotland. Just wondering if there is any aspects she would be missing. She will go from being one of the oldest in her year to the youngest (Nov birthday). My other daughter is in year 1 so she should be primary 1? (July birhtday) Hope I have got my calculations right?
I know some of the Edinburgh primary schools are oversubscribed - do I just try and find a school that has space for both or does the council?

Has Scotland changed its education system now? How does it compare to England, just looking for some pros and cons - I know its a difficult question.
Its so long since I went to school!!
Thanks

You could try phoning up the primary schools in the areas that you are interested in for more info. My understanding is that, in general, if you live in the catchment area for a school then you should get into that school. Although people talk about some schools being oversubscribed they often mean that there are more people applying than there are places available. Many of these people may live out of catchment though. I have only heard of one school in our area of Edinburgh which hasn't had space for catchment area kids. I've also heard that the council put on a mini bus to take the kids involved to a neighbouring school.

I don't know much about the differences between the systems. There seems to be a lot of focus on phonics in England. We don't have the same focus on them. Also, we don't have SATS. This is both a good and a bad thing. Judging by some of the posts on here I think it means that there is less pressure on both the kids and the parents. The downside is that it can be very difficult to get a clear picture of how your kid is doing academically.

The Education Scotland website will tell you all about the curriculum.

I'm a primary teacher, so if you have any specific questions I'll try to help!

What ages are they and when are their birthdays? Your Y1 dd may well be in P2 depending on her age.