Barnhill Primary School Extension - Alternative Site Access

Narrow entrance roadway to
Barnhill Primary School

At the Education Committee on Monday evening 29 October, we considered a report on the proposed £1.9 million extension to Barnhill Primary School. This report spelled out the improvements to the school in addition to the original four classrooms that had been proposed.

I welcomed this report because I had backed the Parent Council in advocating that to adequately raise the capacity of this school, the Council would need to add more than four classrooms. I am delighted therefore that this report provides more nursery places and expansion to other facilities such as the dining hall which would otherwise be pinch points in a school with a higher intake.

While this is very satisfactory, I wanted to make a plea about safe access to the building site during the contract period. This had been informed by my prior meeting with the City Architect.

The entrance to Barnhill Primary School is on Falkland Crescent. The only current vehicular access to the school site is from Falkland Crescent and comprises a narrow roadway about the same width as a domestic driveway with just room for one car travelling one way. It runs parallel with a pathway for pedestrians which is fenced off. The roadway is currently used by staff to access their car parking spaces, the Janitor accessing his house, visitors to the school and parents dropping off children at the nursery. The pathway is the principal pedestrian access point for pupils and their parents/carers. The plan was apparently to also use this narrow road for the construction site access during the building works.

I requested that, in the interests of pupil safety, the design team should explore the feasibility of an alternative separate vehicular access to the building site in order to meet best practice advice arising from The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

The Education Convener agreed that this would be explored. 

Charity Shop for Eastern Primary School was a Winner

The Charity shop that Eastern Primary School Parent Council organised for the week before the October holidays in Gray Street was a very effective fund raiser for the School. 


Chair of the Parent Council, Elaine Smith, informed me that: 
"we were very successful, 
we managed to raise £1380".
The money raised by the Parent Council will be divided equally between the School and the Resourced Location in the School.


Well done the Parent Council.

Eastern Primary School Parent Council AGM

Last night I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Parent Council of Eastern Primary School. 


A well attended meeting took place in the staff room at the school, which is now in its new location on Camperdown Street. 


After two year as Chairperson, Andy Flack stood down. In his annual report Andy referred to:

• the value of the Parent Council's decision to gain charitable status in terms of gift aid reclaimed from Revenues and Customs and access to funds to which the Parent Council might now apply;
• the effectiveness of the Project Board that has been established to oversee the move from Whinny Brae;
• the success of the fundraisers who had organised enjoyable money spinning events over the year and
• the hard work of the Teachers unpacking and getting their classrooms ready for the start of the Autumn term in their new buildings.

Andy was replaced by Elaine Smith who has acted as Vice-Chair over the last year.

Extension and Refurbishment of Barnhill Primary School

I have placed the following item on the Agenda of the Education Committee next Monday.

'Item 2 - Extension and Re-furbishment of Barnhill Primary School

This item has been placed on the agenda at the request of Councillor Bidwell.

He will ask the Education Committee to agree to the preparation of a feasibility study for the extension and refurbishment of Barnhill Primary School with a report back to Committee by November 2011.'

With confirmed demand for school places a growing issue in the catchment area of Barnhill Primary School, it makes sense for the council to revive its plans to refurbish and extend the school in a manner similar to the recent extension and refurbishment of Forthill Primary School. This could not only expand the capacity of the school to cope with an growing demand for places from parents who live in the catchment area but also upgrade facilities in the school that are already stretched. For example, the nursery classes are accommodated in temporary huts which is unusual in Dundee Schools.

In fact the council applied for and received outline planning consent for such a development in Spring 2002. In this planning application permission, in outline, was sought for:

'an extension to school with accommodation for educational and community use and replacement of temporary nursery unit at Barnhill Primary School, Falkland Crescent, Broughty Ferry, Dundee. The proposals for this school and nursery are to accommodate the forecast expansion of population in the east end of the city.'

Since letting this permission lapse in 2005, a considerable amount of house building has taken place within the school's catchment area and more land is zoned for large scale future housing developments. And the nursery is still in the huts.

I think parents living in or moving into the catchment area of Barnhill Primary School will expect the Council to plan ahead and revive these plans as a matter of urgency. I am therefore asking that a feasibility study is prepared and then brought back to the Education Committee later this year. I shall be recommending to the committee that this is not just a technical appraisal but also involves Head Teacher Pam Nesbitt and her staff and the Parent Council and Forum.

Of course this will not provide an immediate solution to the capacity concerns that arose earlier this year but might reassure families living in or moving into the Barnhill Primary School catchment area that that the council will have a longer term rather than makeshift solution to school capacity within the catchment area of Barnhill Primary School. Progressing my proposal would also help to reduce fears that public services in Broughty Ferry will not be able to cope with the planned growth in population principally in the north eastern part of The Ferry.

Half Measures Won't Do for Eastern Primary School Move

Since the papers for tonight's Education committee were released last Monday, I have been contacted by a stream of constituents who are very concerned about the half measures in the report about the Proposed Relocation of Eastern Primary School to the Old Grove buildings. Their concerns are not only about road safety in the vicinity of the Grove Academy campus but also about the enduring educational benefits of the proposed move.

Parents and community objectors are disappointed that many of the concerns they expressed, during the public consultation, about pupil safety have been ignored in the Report to the Education Committee tonight. There were already strong concerns expressed at the meetings of the Grove Academy Parent Council well before the Eastern Primary School proposal arose in June. Two of the Grove Parent Council members produced an Audit of Traffic and Pedestrian Safety in the vicinity of Grove Academy. Both of these members are very well informed with one working as a Senior Police Officer in the Traffic Division of Tayside Police and the other working in the Transport Division of Perth & Kinross Council. Recommendations in their report about modifications to the narrow section of Seafield Road between its junction with Davidson Street and the service entrance of Grove were missing from the final report about the Eastern move. Of course this same area would be shared by many parents dropping off and collecting children from Eastern Primary School, its after School Club and its Nursery.

The education benefits of the move of Eastern Primary School are largely based on the superior quantity of indoor classroom space in the old Grove building such as the provision of a dedicated Art Room and a Computer Suite. But the benefits to the Eastern Primary pupils would be short lived, if the school expands. The option mentioned in the report, of moving from two form to three form entry could only be accommodated by using these specialist rooms as mainstream classrooms. The Director of Education writes in his report there are no plans for introducing three form entry at the relocated Eastern Primary School. But the Education Convener let the cat out of the bag on Friday. Commenting on the pressure on primary school places in the The Ferry arising from proposed new housing developments north of the Arbroath Road, Councillor Fordyce said:

"Of course the schools will be able to cope. If the council agrees on Monday night and Eastern Primary goes into the old Grove, there will be more room."
(quoted in the Courier on Friday 19 November)

Since the roll of Eastern Primary School has not been under pressure in the last few years, it would need a change of its catchment area with Forthill and Barnhill Primary Schools to draw in more pupils zoned to Eastern. But this was brushed aside by the Education Convener who

“... rejected the suggestion school catchment areas may need to be adjusted to accommodate more children.”
(quoted in the Courier on Friday 19 November)

If Councillor Fordyce looks at the map of the catchment large scale private housing developments, that will generate growth in pupil numbers, are north of the Arbroath Road and the schools currently zoned for these areas are Forthill and Barnhill Primary Schools and not Eastern Primary School.

If the Education Convener wants to avoid the conclusion that SNP Councillors in the city are prepared to dole out half measures for the Ferry Schools, she will need to think again about how this project will be progressed.

Meeting of Eastern Primary School Parent Council

Earlier this evening I attended a meeting of the Parent Council at Eastern Primary School.

The items discussed included a review of recent fund raising projects led by parent members of the Parent Council. It was reported that £2448 net profit had been raised by the Spring Fayre. At the end of the summer term, a 10km sponsored walk has been planned.

Head Teacher, Katherine Barclay, reported that she was proposing to adopt the use of Read, Write Inc in Primary 1 classes. Read Write Inc is a synthetic phonics programme that ensures early success in reading, writing and spelling. It provides a systematic approach to teaching reading, writing and comprehension, with lively pupils’ resources which include phonics storybooks, all supported by teacher resources and a full training package to ensure its implementation. Teachers reported on visits to schools in Dundee where they that had already adopted Read Write Inc. and had measured significant pupil progress.

Grove Pupils Impress at Official Opening

Yesterday the new Grove Academy school buildings were officially opened by First Minister, Alex Salmond. While the new facilities are superb, the outstanding impressions from my afternoon in the school were from the pupils. The quality of their singing, dancing and instrumental performances during the opening ceremony were exceptional. The volume of pupils who performed, demonstrated the strength in depth of pupil talents and the continuing excellence of the Music Department in the school and the quality of the visiting instrumental teachers. The three sixth formers that showed our party around their new school were intelligent, engaging and well informed. Head Teacher, John Hunter, delivered an impressive address. He acknowledged that working through the school's refurbishment had been, at times, frustrating but Grove now had 21st century facilities. He had anticipated that it would be a challenge to maintain the school's SQA examination results with the accompanying distractions from the adjacent building works during the construction phase. In fact, the school had improved its exam results during the last two academic sessions. He thought that the challenge now would be to capitalise on the excellent new facilities for teaching and learning and continue the upward trend of pupil attainment.

Scottish Evening at Eastern Primary School

Yesterday evening, (Friday 19 February) I attended the Scottish Evening at Eastern Primary School. This was an enjoyable fund raising event organised by the Parent Council in conjunction with the School. Rachel Tierney and Erin Nicoll from P7 very ably and confidently acted as joint presenters of the evening. They introduced expressive recitations of poems delivered by pupils from every class in the school, Leng Medal singers, the BB Pipe Band and the Scottish Young Fiddlers. Interspersing the recitations and musical contributions there were five dances. It was good to see the generations of grand parents, parents and carers and pupils dancing together enthusiastically. This was not only an effective way of raising cash towards the Parent Council's target of £10,000 for the year, but more importantly it was an enjoyable community event celebrating Scottish culture. Parents, carers and teachers can be proud of the accomplishments of Eastern's talented pupils.