Charter East Dulwich school

[CityKat]

Hello parents! I’m looking for parents feedbacks with kids attending Charter East Dulwich. My daughter is I would say academic but needs structure and likes a discipline  environment (no noisy classes etc) I also favour a strict/warm behaviour management school which stretch kids in a healthy way. Charter east looks good on paper but I do not know much about it. Any insights would be very much welcomed! Thank you in advance! 

[mima08]

Hi, my child is in year 8 and tbh our feeling is a bit mixed. Had high expectations of Charter East but it turns out more average. 

Year 7 was a mess, a lot of discipline issues eith many kids, that seems to have settled down. 

Classes vary in terms of disruption, some great teachers, some not so but for a while too many substitute teachers. 

My kid is very academic and stays out of trouble which means just left to get on with things rather than actively being stretched. 

I keep hoping it'll get better but the fact that we still haven't had a parent evening /meeting does not fill me with hope. 

Others might have reasons for much more positive things to say. 

[Angelina]

It would be more helpful if you addressed your issues with the school.

have you involved yourself with the Friends of Charter parents group?

[scarlettbanks]

Just to offer a different perspective - we've been very impressed with Charter ED so far. Teachers good or excellent (some better than others, of course), and kids are very happy there. We don't get much feedback from the school - comms could be better (I think this is true of most secondary schools, in comparison to primary schools) and so most feedback is from the kids. They seem to be doing v well academically, and being pushed - they have to look for opportunities a bit, to make this happen, but I think that's good practice for the real world. Looking forward to the building being finished, will make the environment even better.

[gebbjane]

We have also been happy with the school. My child is in year 9, there  was a few settling in issues in year 7 mainly due to anxiety around  rules and discipline, but by term 2 this had sorted itself out.  

Happy with most of their teachers, obviously there are the odd teachers not so happy with!!  Also we’ve had a couple of substitutes but for no longer than a term.  As a new school the facilities such as science labs and art rooms are very good and we look forward to the last bit of building works being finished hopefully by Dec this year. 

They are doing well academically, and have been pushed. The school didn’t set a great deal of  homework  when they started,  but for us we liked the gradual build of homework, they certainly get more now they are in year 9. 
 

I really also like that it is a local school, so all their friends are in the local area and they can meet up easily out of school. Rather than being scattered around. 

@mima08 you should have 1 parents evening a year, and all teachers are contactable by email if you have any concerns / questions for them. 

[mima08]

On 10/04/2024 at 12:59, Angelina said:

It would be more helpful if you addressed your issues with the school.

have you involved yourself with the Friends of Charter parents group?

I have done, several times with mixed results. I completely appreciate the very tricky environment that teachers and school operate in, just had higher expectations. 

The Friends do not influence the aspects I mentioned (class disruption levels, being stretched academically or discipline in school) - yes, I am actively involved with them. 

@gebbjane thanks - I appreciate that it's one meeting per year here but having it this late in the school year (mid/late summer term) makes it less effective. My aim would always be to work with the school to achieve the educational goals but with a few weeks left in the year, there is little scope for that. 

Incidentally, I know other schools (not in Southwark) have one parent/carer evening per term... 

I know how busy teachers are (ha e several in the family) so try to avoid requesting individual meetings. 

Not saying the school is bad in any way, just more average compared to the hype that existed a few years ago. 

Edited April 11 by mima08
(added response to gabbejane)

[Angelina]

You can contact the teachers or request a meeting at any time. 
have you asked the school for your child to be moved into a different group?

[mima08]

19 hours ago, Angelina said:

You can contact the teachers or request a meeting at any time. 
have you asked the school for your child to be moved into a different group?

Thank you - yes, has all been done. 

[McMurphy]

interesting read.  We're thinking about the same things for our kids in primary school as well.

One thing I don't understand about Charter ED is whether they stream / set kids based on ability.  I got the impression from an open evening that it is done a little as possible.

All i could find on-line was this undated letter -
https://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk/_site/data/files/users/18/documents/9473A8A3547CCCD39DBC4A55CA1678DC.pdf?pid=167

For the most part, we believe in mixed ability teaching and do not
stream in Year 7 or Year 8. The only exceptions to this are that we have a small nurture class for Maths. This is a provision for students who scored lower than 85 in their SATS exams and is designed to support them to acquire the skills to access the learning in mainstream class. We do not have nurture classes for any other subjects. We take a more streamed - though not a setted - approach in Maths and Science from Year 9 onwards.

though unsure if this is still accurate reflection of policy, and unsure of difference between streaming and setting.

[Holger M]

 Some great teachers, but the school leadership is abysmal. Shame because it started well, but the current head teacher is an absolute shocker.

[treetop]

I have had two children go through the school. Both academic and one with  special educational needs. Both got excellent GCSE results as well as extra curricular opportunities in music, sport etc.
 

I agree that there are many excellent teachers and come discipline issues in some classes.  I don’t agree that the management is poor, but from what I understand the school has been having  more behavioural problems post Covid.
 

Our experience has been that the school does not set or stream, although they do provide additional support for children who need it - the rationale shown by research that this approach has the best academic outcomes for the most children.  This has not seemed to get in the way of my children achieving, 

 

 

 

[Holger M]

The SEN teacher who was there at the start was superb, unfortunately she went on maternity leave and most of the good work she did was unravelled by the current headteacher.

[scarlettbanks]

I'm bumping this thread with the May 2024 Charter East Dulwich Ofsted inspection which makes for very pleasant reading: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/142178 .  It's an ungraded inspection, which means the official grade ('Good') cannot yet change, but the text basically says that it would be considered 'Outstanding' if graded now. It should have a graded inspection within the next 1-2 years, to hopefully confirm the 'Outstanding' grade.

Of course Ofsted inspections have their limitations - but let's not have a discussion of that here!!

[SarahWr]

Painful experience for us (SEN child). Might be OK for more academic children. Definitely not outstanding for special needs kids.

Edited July 9 by SarahWr