Charles Dickens Primary School

Creativity and excellence are at the heart of everything we do at Charles Dickens Primary School. Children are encouraged to work to the best of their abilities. The academic curriculum offers challenge through innovative teaching and projects, which focuses on developing the talents of each child.

Our aim is that as the children grow in confidence, so does their desire to question and discuss, to reflect and apply their learning. Our distinctive approach to learning, with the creative arts at its core helps children excel academically. Learning through doing, through collaboration, through linking subjects in topic based learning, all lie at the heart of our educational ethos.

The large sports programme, the creative and performing arts and an ever-changing diverse wealth of activities on offer ensures that every child is able to develop new skills and new interests important to them.

Through every strand of school life, we aim to promote our school ethos, which is tied fundamentally to the UN Rights of the child. Children learn the importance of respect, fairness, equality, democracy, tolerance and kindness. A global understanding is nurtured through learning about our diverse community, international links and regular charity projects. Children leave Charles Dickens Primary academically ready for secondary education but also spiritually, morally and culturally prepared to take on the next opportunities, responsibilities and challenges that life offers.

The Charles Dickens Primary School curriculum consists of: the National Curriculum core and foundation subjects, which are taught through a relevant, contextual and inspiring creative curriculum, RE, PSHCE, Unicef Rights Respecting School aims, an enrichment programme for each year group including art classes with our resident artists, Dance lessons with practitioners from Rambert, opportunities to create and perform music at the highest level with a range of resident musicians, teachers and collaborative local projects, regular visits to ensure learning is always first hand where possible and a programme of extracurricular activities that includes creative and physical opportunities.

The children in Nursery will talk about the things that they have observed and discovered, ultimately learning to show care and concern for living things and the environment.

We place a strong emphasis on phonics (letter sounds) in the early years of learning to read because we believe this lays the foundations for successful reading. At Charles Dickens Primary, we use the DFE Letters and Sounds guidance to teach interactive lessons and we use Jolly Phonics resources in the Foundation Stage.

The teaching of phonics begins in Nursery and Reception, where sounds are introduced at a rate of one a day throughout the autumn and spring term. Sounds are consolidated in the summer term. This knowledge is built upon in Year 1; more complex sounds are introduced and reinforced throughout Year 2.

We are delighted and extremely proud to be recognised as an outstanding provider by Ofsted. We have received 4 Gold Artsmarks, most recently in September 2013. This is for our outstanding achievement in the arts. The school has an excellent reputation for creativity in all aspects of the arts.

We were the first school in Southwark to be award the Eco School ‘Green Flag’ Status in 2008. We now have four green flags and this was most recently renewed in October 2013. This award celebrates our commitment to sustainability and protecting our environment. We have ‘Eco Champions’, a thorough recycling program, a school garden, gardening club, chickens and much more.

In 2007, Charles Dickens won second place in the national teaching awards in the category ‘The DCSF award for sustainable schools’. The judges praised the commitment of both pupils and staff in establishing our school garden and eco-classroom and in ensuring environmental issues were an important part of our curriculum.

We have held The ‘Healthy School’ award for many years. In 2011, we became a Fairtrade School. This is a school that is committed to Fairtrade. We use Fairtrade products as far as possible.

Gold Award for sustained and evolving excellent practice and innovation with impact beyond Charles Dickens Primary School.