Private Primary from East Lothian

[SacreBleeurgh]

Hello,

I’m looking for anyone who has experience or thoughts on the practicalities of having a child attend private primary within Edinburgh itself while living in East Lothian? Without going in to too much detail or sparking any sort of debate (hopefully!) we think eldest DD is likely to benefit from small class sizes etc and would prefer to send her private from P1. I have experience of ESMS and know a bit about GWC but both at senior level so I’m kind of feeling around in the dark here! Does anyone do this? Most likely from Musselburgh-ish rather than further out. Would be happy to hear from anyone with any relevant insight in to any of the private options. Thanks in advance!

Use the money from school fees for an after school nanny?

@SunshineSmiley Yes it is really difficult to know what to do. We were not intending to send DD until she was a bit older but we have no options for before/after school. I looked at other non catchment primaries but I wasn't convinced and there weren't necessarily many options for after school at them either unless you'd been on the waiting list since they were 2! I asked about kids coming from state primaries to Loretto at Year 4 and they said they had to catch up a bit, but they would say that!

@Blaize230 i am literally in exactly the same boat as you. Everything you have said, i could write for my own circumstance and it really wouldn't surprise me if catching up was required for various reasons, not withstanding the huge difference in class sizes.

@NimbleKnitter thats easier said than done, unfortunately, there is a huge childcare shortage in the area. We are in the exact same boat as blaize describes. There are people in my circle who have been forced to take career breaks because they cant find childcare to fill the gaps. Neither DH nor I are really in a position to give up work - it would have huge long term impact.

I'd love to find a nanny but we've tried and had no luck. We are rural so that puts a lot of people off. Also they seem to be looking for daytime hours too, understandably, so unless you have a younger sibling for them to look after while the other one is at school it's quite hard. I couldn't find anyone who would do after school only.