Charter School ED - SEN / ADHD experience

[bettyorange]

Definitely agree with all of the above, i would advise anyone who has children who are not super academic and especially those with an SEN. to avoid! Charter East does not nurture it's children and operates a punitive behavioural policy which penalises SEN kids to the point of exclusions.

The music, PE and art and drama department are woeful and the whole place is essentially oppressive.

There are however some wonderful teachers there, at the moment. But seems to be a steady stream of male teachers leaving including the amazing deputy head which will be a huge loss.

This school really has not found its feet since Mr Crossman left and i would seriously think twice if you have creative SEN boys especially.

[SarahWr]

Woeful experience for our SEN child at this school! Avoid!

[bubbachumps]

I have a child at Charter ED with ADHD and a variety of other learning problems and I really only have good things to say about the school and his experience there

[SarahWr]

Bubbachumps may I ask how is this possible? Does your son have an EHCP? My ADHD son is getting an INCREDIBLE amount of detentions, and isolations week after week. It’s crushing.

Edited October 18, 2024 by SarahWr

[Martoula]

I have a son with ASD and dyslexia diagnosis. We are awaiting for an ADHD one. He is at Heber Primary and although the staff is very caring, and is a nurturing school I have the same experience as many of you  in terms of learning and academic support. There seems to be a real issue with lack of funding and insufficient training for teachers. We are about to hear  from our EHCP application but the school has told us that because he is already benefiting from bespoke interventions, the EHCP is not likely to increase its support, which I find really worrying as he is falling behind academically  and it is affecting his confidence quite dramatically. We are almost told that he wont be able to access full English curriculum and I don;t really know what that means for his future really.

 

I am really worried about what I hear from ED Charter as it was supposed to be our first choice. Has anyone tried a special provision school in the area with relatively good feedback? It is daunting to think about how many kids with SEND needs are been failed by the system in general and by Southwark.

 

 

[bubbachumps]

On 17/10/2024 at 13:15, SarahWr said:

Bubbachumps may I ask how is this possible? Does your son have an EHCP? My ADHD son is getting an INCREDIBLE amount of detentions, and isolations week after week. It’s crushing.

My son doesn't have an EHCP.  He does sometime get detentions, but I think that's fair enough if he's disrupting the class and ignoring the warning system. I think the teachers are probably more lenient with him though due to the ADHD otherwise I think he'd get more than he does currently.    I find that liaising with individual teachers  has helped. To a person they have been incredibly kind, understanding and supportive.  He is happy and doing well and I don't feel I can ask for more than that.

[Pugwash]

There are teachers who have extensive experience of working with children with SEN but cannot access training to become SEN assessor (sorry cannot think of the correct title - senior moment ) as schools do not have the budget to undertake this. 

[CL Tuition Club]

https://rose-education.org/  for more info on our services and register for our free course funded by the National Lottery

The EHCP process can be complex and daunting, but our programme will provide you with the knowledge, confidence, and support you need to get the best possible outcome for your child.

 

Our programme includes:

Group workshops on topics such as applying for an EHCP, preparing for an EHCP assessment, and negotiating an EHCP plan

Access to a wealth of resources and information

A supportive community of other parents and carers

A parent guide with information about EHCPs

A5_Flyer_-_Rose_Education (4).pdf

[JMK]

Wondering if any parents have positive experiences from either Charter East or Charter North for SEN children?

The overall sentiment appears to be very negative 

Also, has anyone a positive experience of an Education Advocate similar to the one advertising here?
 

what’s the point of an Education Advocate if the school either has no resource or a poor culture when it comes to SEN support for the kids? An EA can’t change that

[fleurie]

You could probably spend money on an advocate to help to get your child an EHCP if they need one, but no one can change the culture of a school, so you need to find one that will work with you. I think all schools are so stretched at the moment, no one is really getting the support they need. My child is at Charter North with an EHCP and it has been really difficult. It does have quite a supportive culture though ime

[PeckhamNicola]

In my experience, if your child's SEN leads to behavioural issues, do not send them to Charter North. It's just endless detentions and threats of exclusion. Too many people try to get in because it is Ofsted outstanding. Not a good sign for SEN, your child would likely be better off in an Ofsted Good school with a better understanding of and attitude towards SEN. The new SENCO might turn things around. 

[malumbu]

Did you raise with the school?  I'd do that first.  My general experience was fine.  Loved the creative stuff 

Edited. Just realised I was referring to Charter North.

Edited May 16 by malumbu
Confused my Charters

[PeckhamNicola]

So many times.

 

[SarahWr]

Does anyone know a school with a better approach and understanding towards SEN in the area? 

Edited April 7 by SarahWr

[bettyorange]

Deptford Green and Elm Green anecdotally have a more realistic and compassionate to kids differing needs. Whether that is still the case i'm not sure.

Having 3 boys at Charter i would seriously consider a boys school if you have them, Charter East really aren't geared up for the different educational needs of some boys and the challenging behaviour this frustration leads to.

I have heard amazing things about St Thomas the Apostle boys school.

 

[PeckhamNicola]

I have heard similar about both Deptford Green and Elm Green, I believe the latter has some sort of ADHD provision. Deptford Green is much smaller than either Charter, which in hindsight would have been much better. There is so much crowd control in the bigger schools and they are busy and noisy.

[bettyorange]

Old thread i know but just wanted to say that we have taken our youngest son out of Charter East now as he was so unhappy, nose diving academically, finding it hard to make positive connections and as a family we just could not watch his self esteem plummet any further.

We decide to opt for homeschooling via Minerva MVA online academy.

It's pretty positive so far and early days but we are hugely relieved to be out of what had for us become a toxic system.

[JMK]

Having  current and relevant experience of both Charter North and Charter East with regards to their conduct towards SEN pupils and their families, I would say that their conduct and behaviour is wholly lacking in understanding as well as making no effort to make reasonable adjustments for the SEN pupil as legally required under Equality Act 2010.

Furthermore, I believe that their behaviour is wholly illegal.

According to data from Ambitious About Autism, unfortunately that is not uncommon

We have separately requested legal advice as to whether or not the specific conduct of the school and certain teachers constitutes a criminal offence under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or other legislation.

These links have some very good materials to assist parents:

https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk

https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/understanding-autism/education/exclusions-know-your-rights

https://www.ipsea.org.uk

https://sossen.org.uk

 

Also, this link specifically for girls with autism as this tends to be diagnosed at a much later stage than boys and requires different support and reasonable adjustments that the neither of the policies nor behaviours of Charter East or Charter North reflect.

https://autisticgirlsnetwork.org

 

Helen Hayes MP for Dulwich & West Norwood and whose constituency includes Charter North is Chair of the Education Committee at the Houses of Parliament

They published this report on the SEND crisis on 18 Sept 2025

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8684/solving-the-send-crisis/

 

Ellie Reeves (Rachel Reeves’ sister and formerly Chair of the Labour Party) is the MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich - the constituency under which Charter East falls

I would urge any parents who are concerned about their children, whether SEN or not, who attend Charter North or Charter East to write to your MP canvassing their support and requesting that they write to their respective school on this subject, referencing this report of the Education Committee and the failures of Charter East and Charter North with regards to SEN, their illegal behaviour and soliciting a plan of action from them to immediately stop such behaviour and support SEN pupils with reasonable adjustments as required under the Equality Act 2010.

Even if your child is not SEN, the school implementing the correct and legally required procedures materially improves the school environment for all pupils, teachers and non-teaching staff.

Often the reasonable adjustments can actually be relatively minor but have a very material benefit.

In our experience, there have been one or two teachers who have shown this with very positive results; however, this is the opposite of the institutional approach of both schools which is wholly negative, unsupportive and often illegal.

In addition to EHCPs, there is also huge pressure at CAMHS and insufficient resource to support all cases and meet demand.  Even if families and their child are lucky to get access to it, there remains very long wait lists to access treatment.  The same is true in the private sector.

A proactive and practical, common sense approach to SEN in this manner by Charter North and Charter East would also help to reduce pressure on CAMHS

The latest tragedy last week at Charter North means that this is more pressing than ever.

 

 

[bettyorange]

Thanks for posting this JMK we have had 3 children at Charter East so have been involved with the school from the very early days and have watched the impact of inconsistent, unsupportive and at worst unprofessional and biased management on them over the years. Individual teachers have at times been great and as JMK says it is the overall structure that creates a toxic and punitive atmosphere which directly impacts some families more than others and these are the kids overwhelmingly that have an SEN. 

The experience of these families is night and day compared with the families with children that can cope in this system.