Sunset View from Barnhill Primary School and the Parent Council Meeting

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Last night I attended a meeting of the Parent Council of Barnhill Primary School which concluded at about 9pm. When I emerged from the school, looking north down the school driveway onto Falkland Crescent, the setting sun was slipping behind the Sidlaw Hills and illuminating the clouds in the sky.

The meeting was well attended by parents and carers as well as Teachers from the school including Acting Head Teacher, Sharon McQuillan. Also in attendance were Pam Nesbitt, (Head Teacher), who is currently on secondment from the school as a Quality Improvement Officer in the Education Department, Mike Quinn who manages the School Crossing Patrollers and Carol Jenkins, the Communities Officer for Broughty Ferry.

The meeting discussed a number of pupil safety issues including:

• the need for additional measures to restrict access to the school driveway and car parking at the top of the driveway;
• the availability of School Crossing Patrollers and
• the need for either flashing road traffic signs on Balgillo Road or a Puffin crossing to make the crossing of this road safer, especially when the Crossing Patroller is not in attendance.

The parents and carers also received a detailed Head Teacher's report from, Sharon McQuillan, which included staffing changes and insights into the latest focus of the School Improvement Plan. Pam Nesbitt answered questions about progress with the £2m+ extension to he school.  She reported that she was unable to arrange a site visit for Parent Council members until the early part of the Summer Vacation.

Work Starting on Extension to Barnhill Primary School in October Holidays

During the forthcoming two weeks of the October school holidays, work will begin on the £2.2 million contract to extend Barnhill Primary School.

This contract will deliver much needed additional classrooms and facilities to help the school cope with the rising demand for places.

The construction work, during the holiday fortnight, will include moving the Nursery building to its new location with the help of a crane. In addition the site compound will be fenced off and a temporary access road from Abercromby Street put in.

After the October 2013 holidays, work will proceed in a number of phases.

It is hoped that with regular communication between the contractors, the school and residents, the building of this extension will not be too disruptive. Hopefully it won't be too long before school pupils and staff can enjoy their enhanced and extended school.

Call for Building Work at Barnhill Primary School to be Complete Before Pupils Return Next Week

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When I visited Barnhill Primary School on Monday evening, building work by the Council appeared to be seriously behind schedule for the new term beginning next Tuesday. 

Over the six week summer holiday, the temporary classroom that houses the Nursery Class was supposed to have been moved from its site close to the front entrance to a new location at the other side of the school. When I visited on Monday evening, I had expected to see the job done or merely the finishing touches to be completed. Unfortunately the site preparation for the relocated hut was still being undertaken and the Nursery Hut hadn't budged from its original location. The school looked like a building site with the playground on the Abercromby Street side of the school fenced off - see photograph.

Apart from the temporary classroom being moved to its new location, services will need to be connected, there are access ramps to fit, external play equipment to be moved, secured and fenced off all before the Care Inspectorate are called in to inspect and approve the relocated nursery unit."

I contacted the Director of Education to pass on my observations and seeking a reassurance that the re-located Nursery will be ready to welcome its young pupils next week and the school site ready for its staff and pupils.

On Tuesday morning, I was relieved to hear from the Director that the Nursery Unit move had been rescheduled. It will now be moved to its new location during the October holiday. It still looks like it will be a challenge to get the playgrounds and the external areas around the school tidied up before the beginning of term.

When members of the Parent Council were briefed about the extension of their School earlier this year, they were assured that the work would be carefully scheduled and monitored to ensure that disruption to the teaching and learning would be minimised. This does not appear to be the start that they were promised.

Barnhill Primary School Extension - Planning Permission

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At the Development Management Committee meeting on Monday 13 May, the Committee Approved the planning permission for the extension of Barnhill Primary School. 

This will provide the accommodation for the increased roll in the school to cope with the rising population of pre-school children in the catchment area of the school.

At the committee I welcomed the application but moved that on the grounds of pupil safety, good relations with resident neighbours of the school and respect for those attending burials or tending graves in the adjoining cemetery, the Council should take care when scheduling the construction of the temporary access road to the site from the turning head at the northern end of Aberomby Street. My proposal was accepted and approved by the Committee.

Read/download the Development Management Committee Meeting Papers