Flowerdale Primary School

This small rural school has been an absolute revelation to our family in what child centred leaning can look like. Our child has developed so much in every domain while at this school. We transferred him over from a large (and prestigious) metropolitan school during the early part of COVID and he has gone from strength to strength, academically, emotionally, socially and functionally. We would never go back to the former model.

There are a few students with diverse needs there but the staff to student ratio means that all the students have their learning targeted to their needs. The multi age structure means students have the opportunity to both lead and be guided by an older cohort concurrently. For a small school they have so many opportunities for excursions and enrichment activities.

I have no hesitation in recommending this beautiful little school. It is unfortunate that to many, bigger equates to better, and this school often gets overlooked in favour of larger local schools. The staff are exceptional and the students are kind, inclusive and friendly. 5 out of 5 stars.

Our children love their teachers and school. The entire faculty are extremely dedicated to all the pupils, often spending more time than usual after hours to ensure the school runs smoothly. Our younger child has extra needs and is really well cared for in a mainstream setting. As a small school, it excels in nurturing empathy in the older students towards the younger pupils- it's great to walk in and see the children of all ages and abilities, playing together. I give Flowerdale Primary five stars, based on staff and student performance. In terms of resources, it would be great to have a specific art/ science building (Go Gonski!!) yet the staff incorporate art and science into their classes, as well as having an art teacher/ van visit the school. Furthermore, Mrs Penhall, Principal, works tirelessly to secure other inclusions to enrich the students' experience. My family have been to bigger schools and yes, they have resources, but they lack the individual attention and compassion we have found at Flowerdale. I would definitely recommend our school to everyone.

Both my kids attend this school and I could not recommend it enough! The teacher's are fantastic and you can tell they really dedicated their time to nurturing the kids development in all aspects!, there's always something fun going and lots of classes and different learning experiences. My children love the school I would be more than happy to recommend other parents check it out!

Alas, one star is the lowest I can give to Flowerdale Primary.
Poorly run
Rife with bullying
Communication extremely poor or non-existent
A culture of covering up problems
No concern for the physical safety of students.