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The Charles Dickens School
Secondary · Academy · Broadstairs
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Disappointing lack of follow- thru help and support
absolutely awful
this school genuinely needs to be shut down. my first issue is how terrible the safeguarding is. a poor year 7 girl got HIT BY A CAR and the school stayed open while they closed off the whole road, and they refused to let the girl's best friend into the safe room whilst she was having a nervous breakdown. the teachers seem nice enough until they start kicking nervous students out of the safe room. they do restorative justice chats instead of giving out actual punishments because they treat literal rapists like the victims. had two situations with the same guy; one with an unsolicited d*ck pic and another when he harassed three or four different girls to send nudes of themselves. school saw all the screenshots and evidence and gave zero punishments and actually gave the girl who received the picture a detention because she 'sent it around' when she was ONLY showing the school. the school also has a ridiculously huge problem with sexual harassment on the part of male teachers. in one year, two teachers got fired for assaulting the girls. that's two too many.
the exterior of the school is nothing to smile about. actually looks like some sort of rehab center and the wood used in the building is rotting away. floors are absolutely covered in litter. interior is just as bad and it looks so dead inside. they think colourful boards will make up for the terrible environment.
teachers are terrible in this school. in my time in CDS, the only good teachers were in religious, history and science. even then, some of the science teachers are just unbearable. you get signings for things like not having a pencil or a green pen, or ASKING why you're getting a signing (because teachers are basically royalty in this school and questioning them isn't ever allowed).
this school does have good things; the teachers leave and join so frequently that if you have a bad teacher, you'll only have to deal with them for a term and then you'll get a slightly better one! also, the food is actually edible and sometimes its good. there's also a breakfast club, and support for kids with disabilities (these things are the bare minimum, really)
overall, terrible school. it's a prison. please don't send your children here.
the exterior of the school is nothing to smile about. actually looks like some sort of rehab center and the wood used in the building is rotting away. floors are absolutely covered in litter. interior is just as bad and it looks so dead inside. they think colourful boards will make up for the terrible environment.
teachers are terrible in this school. in my time in CDS, the only good teachers were in religious, history and science. even then, some of the science teachers are just unbearable. you get signings for things like not having a pencil or a green pen, or ASKING why you're getting a signing (because teachers are basically royalty in this school and questioning them isn't ever allowed).
this school does have good things; the teachers leave and join so frequently that if you have a bad teacher, you'll only have to deal with them for a term and then you'll get a slightly better one! also, the food is actually edible and sometimes its good. there's also a breakfast club, and support for kids with disabilities (these things are the bare minimum, really)
overall, terrible school. it's a prison. please don't send your children here.
Awful school
As of 2024. This school is absolutely shockingly bad. They refuse to let kids go to the toilet. They set 7 pieces of home work a day. We even get home work set at 7am Monday morning. Before my child as even left school. They give detentions out like the soup kitchen gives free meals out!!! My child’s mental as deteriorated since starting this school. I’ve even had my child voice record lessons. The way the staff talk to the children is appalling, they bully and intimidate students. Since my child started in September her learning as really gone down hill. Falling below average now. When we was always in top sets. Please do your self a favour and don’t send your child here.
What's good for the school isn't good for the student
Overall very poor quality school. They are good on paper but in reality they have issues with bullying throughout the organisation on every level
Avoid look at other schools in the area.
I always thought this was a great school like any other until you have a problem, they say bullying "will be delt with within 24 hours" days later your still waiting for them to deal with it. Teachers can be loud & aggressive towards pupils, that's my kids experience anyway.
They have all these wonderful things like safeguarding teams in reality they will report you to social services before you know it on speculation & rumour, not single father friendly that's for sure. They don't want to know if your having problems with your child they have a family liaison officer at this school, but asking for help from them is like getting blood from a stone, have asked for help but no reply.
When I have spoken to other parents the option is mostly the same as mine, out of ten parents I have spoken with only one had anything good to say about this school & that shocked me, seems I am not the only one that has had problems here.
All this school cares about are Ofsted rating & pupil attendance not what caused the attendance issues in the first place like bullying, aggressive teacher's, being yr7 changing from a junior school to a secondary school is challenging for some kids, but don't expect any sympathy or understanding from this school.
Being an academy you are limited on making complaints if they even bother to respond to your complaint, they do not have a complaints procedure listed on their website (now I know why!) They sweep most complaints under the carpet, My child comes home traumatised some days in tears because of some of the teachers attitude.
I have made formal complaints that are not taken up or they leave it so long hoping that you will forget about it, if you want your child to flourish at school then please think twice before you send them to this school, or you will be writing the next bad review on here!
The headmaster is a joke so are most of the heads of year 7, no understanding about problems with children they only care about themselves & the school records. They run the place like a prison camp, even if your child is sick at school they advice not to send them home if you get notified in the first place!
They have all these wonderful things like safeguarding teams in reality they will report you to social services before you know it on speculation & rumour, not single father friendly that's for sure. They don't want to know if your having problems with your child they have a family liaison officer at this school, but asking for help from them is like getting blood from a stone, have asked for help but no reply.
When I have spoken to other parents the option is mostly the same as mine, out of ten parents I have spoken with only one had anything good to say about this school & that shocked me, seems I am not the only one that has had problems here.
All this school cares about are Ofsted rating & pupil attendance not what caused the attendance issues in the first place like bullying, aggressive teacher's, being yr7 changing from a junior school to a secondary school is challenging for some kids, but don't expect any sympathy or understanding from this school.
Being an academy you are limited on making complaints if they even bother to respond to your complaint, they do not have a complaints procedure listed on their website (now I know why!) They sweep most complaints under the carpet, My child comes home traumatised some days in tears because of some of the teachers attitude.
I have made formal complaints that are not taken up or they leave it so long hoping that you will forget about it, if you want your child to flourish at school then please think twice before you send them to this school, or you will be writing the next bad review on here!
The headmaster is a joke so are most of the heads of year 7, no understanding about problems with children they only care about themselves & the school records. They run the place like a prison camp, even if your child is sick at school they advice not to send them home if you get notified in the first place!
Avoid find a caring school for your child.
At first I thought this was a great school but as time has gone by I realise that it is far from my first impression, teachers & head of year groups are slow in dealing with bullying they promise the earth but hardly do anything about it. They will tell you "we shall deal with this within 24 hours" weeks later your still waiting for anything to be done?
You can complain as much as you like they are slow to investigate these complaints, I did not hear back about two complaints I made about aggressive teacher's, just hushed up & swept under the carpet never to be mentioned again, their safeguarding team will report parent's to social services just on hearsay & rumours.
As long as you play the game they are good with you but should you have any problems with your child or need extra help from the school you can forget about any support, they would rather you took your child out of the school & go somewhere else, all they care about is their Ofsted rating end of.
They like to think they are a great school, it was until I spoke with other parents that I realised how widespread discontent is among parents who's children attend this school, only one out of ten parents I spoke with had positive things to say about the school & the teacher's.
The headmaster thinks he is the king of his land & will not help anyone, the head if yr7 Tavistock is a complete joke he is always on a power trip, will sympathise with you on the phone then stab you in the back before you know it!
Being an academy school they are a law to themselves, read the education section on the governments website about academy schools, it was an eye opener for me, wish I had read this before you have a problem...
Take my advice & that of many parents that regret even sending thier kids to this prison of a school, find another school locally or you will be the next parent writing a review like this one!
You can complain as much as you like they are slow to investigate these complaints, I did not hear back about two complaints I made about aggressive teacher's, just hushed up & swept under the carpet never to be mentioned again, their safeguarding team will report parent's to social services just on hearsay & rumours.
As long as you play the game they are good with you but should you have any problems with your child or need extra help from the school you can forget about any support, they would rather you took your child out of the school & go somewhere else, all they care about is their Ofsted rating end of.
They like to think they are a great school, it was until I spoke with other parents that I realised how widespread discontent is among parents who's children attend this school, only one out of ten parents I spoke with had positive things to say about the school & the teacher's.
The headmaster thinks he is the king of his land & will not help anyone, the head if yr7 Tavistock is a complete joke he is always on a power trip, will sympathise with you on the phone then stab you in the back before you know it!
Being an academy school they are a law to themselves, read the education section on the governments website about academy schools, it was an eye opener for me, wish I had read this before you have a problem...
Take my advice & that of many parents that regret even sending thier kids to this prison of a school, find another school locally or you will be the next parent writing a review like this one!
Avoid this school better ones in the area.
Broadstairs...Staff care very little for any problems at home for the child or bullying at school, all they care about is attendance. I have been a struggling single father no support from the school whatsoever. Thier safeguarding team seem to think that fathers don't make good parent's, my son was told "you will be better off with your mother" despite the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his mothers partner. Would not recommend this school in anyway at all.
Live laugh love somewhere else
This school is the worst school I’ve ever been to. If you suffer with mental health issues DO NOT go to this school. I went there a happy year 6 and left in year 9 a depressed teen with no will to live. This is because of the staff. If you have any issue but aren’t popular or well liked , good luck getting it sorted. The level of incompetence goes to every level , from AHOY to HOY. And the students aren’t any better. They let seemingly anyone into that school and it’s shows. If you want your child to have a very unhappy secondary school experience then by all means, send them here. If you don’t want them to be on the verge of suicide by the end , for the love of god send them anywhere but here.
-Former student
-Former student
all lessons
Charles dickens
The experience at the school so fair is quite good, some miss habitats but please be prepared for loud corridors.
Good.
Normal school. 90%teachers are funny and good 10% fuckin boring everything else fine
Land of the Chavs
Worst years of my life. Teachers were the real bullies at this school! More worried about us bringing in sugary drinks then the local chav bringing in weed and knifes!!
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Background: Several weeks ago, I had a detailed meeting with member of staff to discuss specific issues affecting my child. During this meeting, I was assured that these concerns would be addressed promptly.
: Despite the member of staff assurances made during the meeting, none of the issues have been resolved. Furthermore, it seems that no one at the school acknowledges the meeting ever took place. This lack of follow-through is deeply concerning.
Impact: The unresolved issues have significantly impacted my child’s well-being and academic performance. The lack of support has left us feeling frustrated and ignored.
Follow-Up Actions: I have followed up multiple times via email and phone calls, and even visited the school in person. Unfortunately, these efforts have not yielded any results, and I continue to be met with indifference.
Conclusion: My overall experience with the school’s handling of this situation has been disappointing. I hope that by sharing this review, the school will take the necessary steps to improve their communication and support systems for the benefit of all students and parents.