Primary school in Dundee - urgent!

[Lalian]

Hi all,

My husband just got a new job and we'll be moving to Dundee (from abroad) at the beginning of August. This is all very exciting but also very stressful as we need to chose a school for our 5 year old daughter who will be in P1 this year. Unfortunately, eveyone is on holiday now and we'll probably have to choose a school without being able to visit it, so any advice would be much appreciated!

My daughter has some additional support needs (problems with motor skills and some attendion deficit) so we are not that focused on academic achievements as this will put too much pressure on her, but on the school culture (e.g. accepting diversity). A friend, former head teacher, suggested it would be good to find a place with play-based curricula for P1.

We are looking at the schools in Broughty ferry (Forthill, Barnhill or Eastern) and the West end (Blackness and Victoria park). Can anyone tell me about these schools? Any advice or hints would be much appreciated!

i think i would go for barnhill- you can see their school aims about inclusion, making children feel valued etc and they do try and enforce them.

good luck with your move!

Broughty ferry over west end any day of the week. For both schools and living.

There should be someone at council HQ who can advise you on which schools have spaces in P1, and there may well be someone available to show you round once you've chosen. Are you planning to live in the catchment of your chosen school? If not, you'll need to submit a placing request. Good luck!

Thanks a lot sleepismysuperpower1 and fortknocks! Your advice is much appreciated! I checked again Barnhill's website and it does look promissing.

fortknocks, can you tell me more about what you like about Broughty ferry and don't like about West end? I was thinking West end might be too noisy because of the students?

West end is very student oriented, there are also a high proportion of drug addicts compared with Broughty Ferry.

Not personal opinion but work related experience.

West end is the best end! I live here with my children and it’s great. Loads to do within walking distance.

Although you maybe put off if your not religious st Joseph’s primary in the grounds of Victoria has an enhanced p1 which is geared towards helping children with additional needs, not just catholic children. That might be a good option.

My child goes to Blackness and it’s great though small and hugely oversubscribed this year.

The head teacher from Blackness is moving to Eastern so will be their head in August and he is amazing. He actively supports helping all children in the school. I know they have spaces too.

Thanks Thislittlekitten and fortknocks for sharing your experience. It's good to see different views!

Superjaggy, I haven't tought of contacting the Council. Will do that immediately. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!

I would move to broughtyferry and def not Dundee!

Broughty Ferry is a suburb of Dundee.

It’s controlled by Dundee City Council in the same way as every other area in Dundee.

Broughty Ferry is much much nicer than Dundee. Different culture etc. Good luck.

Utterly ridiculous comment. Different culture? In what way? If you’re talking about socioeconomic factors west end and ferry are very much the same.

Culture wise??? West end has access to the city centre within 15 mins walk. V and A, McManus gallery, Dundee rep, science centre, art galleries. So much stuff to do.

West end has a thriving community spirit. Lots of groups to attend for all ages. Many “well kent faces”. You cannot walk the Perth road without bumping into someone to say hello.

If your wanting to include the wider Dundee area there are many issues that affect every city. The ferry does not escape anti social behaviour especially just now with many children meeting up in the school holidays at the water front.

It’s also geographically close to 2 major schemes so it’s not isolated in is own bubble.

@Thislittlekitten sorry didn't mean to offend. Just going on my own experience. I'm sure there are nice parts to the west end too.

@Thislittlekitten and I just meant it's a bit more upmarket that's all

Lol, I'm in the ferry most days and grew up there, if you don't see people with drug issues your blinkers must be huge, a significant % of registered sex offenders also live in Broughty Ferry, yes it's a nice place to live but the west end is fab too. I think the new headteacher at Eastern will make a huge difference to the school, Easterns latest HMIE inspection wasn't exactly glowing. Forthill is now far too big for a primary, it must be one of the biggest in town, think some of the management have also been off on long term sick.

OP, definitely get in touch with the school team of Dundee City Council, some of the more popular schools have reserved places which are kept for kids moving into the area.

Thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions, Notthisnotthat!

You are right, Forthill is quite big. We will probably go for Barnhil or Eastern, depends on where we manage to find a flat/house.

If you need before and after school care, there maybe kids clubs based at the school, they will be open just now so you can contact them for places or childminders.

Good luck with the move and if you need any other info just shout.

Thank you!:-)

I’m late to the party, but would agree about not Forthill-both my kids went there, going back to before it was extended, and into the period afterwards-the council have created a monster with it!
I know the guy who’s away to take over at Eastern, I was at school with him and he’s the loveliest guy you could meet-we were at school together from playgroup to secondary

Thank you! We just got a confirmation that my daughter has a place in Eastern:-)

That's great news, hope the move goes well.

Thank you! Just five days left until the move! Most of the luggage is packed and ready to be shiped! Still lots of things to be done though... We'll need to get a school uniform when we are in Dundee, and some other things. We're getting there:-)

Brilliant news Lalian, and good luck with the move!

Welcome to Dundee (almost)

All the schools are much the same, have you got somewhere to live yet?

.

Thanks RoseDog! Yes, we were lucky to find a flat very close to Eastern primary:-)

Just checking up on how you are settling in. If you need any info on clubs etc just shout. My DD goes to a fab dance class on a Saturday morning in the Ferry. Swimming lessons at Grove.