Twitter @tcdskent

21/09/23

Hospitality Skills Club is off to a sweet start this year with colourful meringue kisses! The club is open to Year 9 and 10 Hospitality pupils and runs on Tuesdays 3:00-4:00pm.#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/I8nKGzFCnR

20/09/23

This Wellbeing Wednesday we are looking at the importance of Social and emotional skills!Social and emotional skills are the skills that develop your resilience and manage your thoughts, feelings and behaviour.#cdswellbeing pic.twitter.com/IHmm562wpP

20/09/23

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15/09/23

Barton Court Academy Trust are looking to appoint a Finance Manager to work within the Finance Team in Canterbury. If you, or someone you know, have the skills and knowledge to fulfil the role then please follow the link below to the full advertisement.https://t.co/zsEFb3Ekf3 pic.twitter.com/aJZZ2elSbU

15/09/23

Next week our full after school PE programme will begin (see attached flyer). Pupils don’t need to sign up - Just come to the changing rooms after school, with full PE kit. All experience and abilities welcome. Pupils should see their PE teacher for more information.#cdssport pic.twitter.com/2ZDIPXxyjk

15/09/23

To celebrate pupil attendance, we are entering every pupil with 100% attendance in Term 1 into a year group prize draw! This prize draw is for the chance to win a JBL Bluetooth speaker!Each term pupils will get a new chance to win! They just need to be in school every day! pic.twitter.com/WHbUqSt2f5

14/09/23

CDS is seeking a TA for the School's Alternative Provision. This position is term time plus 1 staff development day. If you, or someone you know, feel you have the skills and knowledge to work in such a position the please find more information here:https://t.co/PzZJmbgUNy pic.twitter.com/dow7KWX4lU

13/09/23

This week for our first Wellbeing Wednesday, we are looking at a “positive” attitude and how this can improve our wellbeing through “reframing”. Here is a link to the NHS website on Reframing: https://t.co/L7mqAoczbh#cdswellbeing pic.twitter.com/ECx9t2RDTg

13/09/23

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13/09/23

CDS is looking to appoint a Management Information Officer, Term Time plus 5 weeks. If you, or anyone you know, feel you have the skills and character to work in this busy environment please follow this link to the vacancy information,https://t.co/JAGN2B8pbc#cdsrecruitment

13/09/23

CDS is looking to appoint an Administrative Assistant, Term Time plus 5 days. If you, or anyone you know, feel you have the skills and character to work in this busy environment please follow this link to the vacancy information,https://t.co/mY3AhMvLET#cdsrecruitment pic.twitter.com/NoB7pkmyxp

06/09/23

CDS Term 1 After School PE Clubs - for further information contact Mr Allen. pic.twitter.com/UCgfc8b9HH

06/09/23

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06/09/23

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24/08/23

Good luck to all Year 11s collecting their GCSE results today! pic.twitter.com/MRraoJdc58

16/08/23

CDS is seeking to recruit a Lead TA for SEN Interventions, Term Time only 30 hours per week. If you, or someone you know, have the skills required to fill this post, we would like to hear from you. Full details can be found here:https://t.co/zR74VpiN43#cdsrecruitment pic.twitter.com/vLYguVZRCV

16/08/23

CDS is seeking to recruit Temporary Part Time Teaching Assistants, Term Time + 1 Staff Development Day. If you, or someone you know, have the skills required to fill this post, we would like to hear from you. Full details found here: https://t.co/VMc3KhwrcO pic.twitter.com/KzSGOjdVen

24/07/23

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14/07/23

During fieldwork fortnight KS3 geography pupils took part in fieldwork. This enabled them to build their geographical enquiry and data collection skills by completing a vehicle survey, writing it up to test hypothesis, and linking to the environment theme.#cdsgeography pic.twitter.com/77sw7E5ThM

14/07/23

School Games have partnered with clip n climb Thanet to offer pupils an amazing climbing experience for only £10! From 14th - 18th August 2023 families can use the code PASSPORTWK4 to receive the offer when booking - https://t.co/o9TChZPRUS pic.twitter.com/lK9O9vZj68

13/07/23

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13/07/23

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12/07/23

National Simplicity Day was founded in honour of Henry David Thoreau, who was born on July 12, 1817. Thoreau was an advocate of living a simple life. Thoreau's central message was to live simply, independently, and wisely.l#cdswellbeing pic.twitter.com/YzEFDZ9uRw

11/07/23

CDS is seeking to recruit Temporary Part Time Teaching Assistants, Term Time + 1 Staff Development Day. If you, or someone you know, have the skills required to fill this post, we would like to hear from you. Full details found here: https://t.co/VMc3KhwrcO pic.twitter.com/KzSGOjdVen

11/07/23

CDS is seeking to recruit a Lead TA for SEN Interventions, Term Time only 30 hours per week. If you, or someone you know, have the skills required to fill this post, we would like to hear from you. Full details can be found here:https://t.co/zR74VpiN43#cdsrecruitment pic.twitter.com/vLYguVZRCV

Student Attendance

At The Charles Dickens School, we believe that consistent attendance plays a vital role in fostering academic success, social development, and a sense of belonging. When pupils attend school regularly, they benefit from continuous learning, active participation in class discussions, and the opportunity to build positive relationships with their peers and teachers.

Good attendance and punctuality are important for achieving success at school and are also important life skills.

Absence from school disrupts learning and hinders progress. Ensuring regular attendance at school is a legal responsibility for parents/carers.

If pupils are not in school a justifiable reason must be provided, parents/carers should contact the attendance team by 8.40am or as soon as possible thereafter via telephone or email.

School absence line: 01843 608692

School absence email: attendance@cds.kent.sch.uk

Head of Year:

Yr7      L J Jones ljjones@cds.kent.sch.uk

Yr8      K Pluckrose kpluckrose@cds.kent.sch.uk

Yr 9     D Gonzalez-Bello dgonzalezbello@cds.kent.sch.uk

Yr 10   J Barrell jbarrell@cds.kent.sch.uk

Yr11    L Taylor ltaylor@cds.kent.sch.uk

Attendance leaflet

Attendance during
one school year
Equal this number of
days absent

Which is approximately
this many week absent 

Which means this number of lessons missed
95% 9 days      2 weeks 50 Lessons
90% 19 days     4 weeks 100 Lessons
85% 29 days     6 weeks 150 Lessons
80% 38 days     8 weeks 200 Lessons

If a student’s attendance falls below 90% they are classified by the Government as being a Persistent Absentee (PA) and are at a much greater chance of failing in their GCSE subjects and therefore damaging their life chances.

Punctuality

Good punctuality is an excellent life-skill, and we expect all our students to arrive in school before 8:40am. For any student who arrives after 8:40am, we operate a ‘late gate’ through reception and pupils will receive a detention on third late to school. If a pupil arrives after 8:55am they will receive a detention the same day.

We thank you for your continued support in ensuring your child attends school on time every day, so they can achieve their full potential. Arriving just 5 minutes late every day is the equivalent to missing 3 days of education over the whole year. 10 minutes late every day will mean that a child loses over 30 hours of learning a year.

Supporting your child – Parents/carers

The following advice and support has been collated from Government advice and educational bodies around the support required to improve attendance.

  • Talk to your child about the importance of attending every class to support their learning. 
  • Help your child maintain daily routines; write out a morning and evening routine to follow, including wake up time, leaving the house, completing homework and a bedtime.
  • Having a routine for getting up, getting dressed, having breakfast and leaving the house can create a sense of confidence and reduce stress.
  • Prepare the night before by checking their timetable, packing bags and laying out clothes.
  • Ask about their school day; learn which classes are engaging your child’s interests.
  • Discuss ways to increase interest in classes your child does not find engaging.
  • Encourage meaningful after school activities, including sports and clubs.
  • Discuss feelings of pressure from other children or feeling alone at school which can lead to skipping or missing school.
  • If your child is feeling unsafe, losing interest or missing school, speak to their Head of Year.
  • Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while pupils without many friends can feel isolated.
  • Schedule dental and medical appointments outside of the school hours.
  • Don’t let your child stay home unless truly sick; medical evidence will be requested.
  • Communicate with the school - talk to teachers if you notice sudden changes in behaviour. These could be tied to something going on at school.  
  • Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child be successful during GCSE exams and throughout their future careers.

Attendance Rewards

Each pupil starts with 5 Reward Points each day with the expectation that they will attend school, work hard, be well behaved and respectful, and make the right decisions throughout the day. 

  Year Group Reward

At the end of each term, Christmas, Easter and Summer, there is a local/in-school reward offered to pupils in each year group who satisfy the following criteria:

97.5% attendance and Top 30 pupils in the year group on points.

At the end of the academic year there are three types of reward trips offered. An Elite trip, local trip and in-house reward. These will be based on a pupil’s attendance and accumulation of points (Both Rewards and Behaviour Points). These are offered to pupils who satisfy the following criteria:

 

Elite Trip/ reward – 97.5% Attendance + Top 60 pupils on overall Points

Local Trip/ reward – 95% Attendance + Next 60 pupils on overall Points

In-House reward – 95% Attendance + Next 30 pupils on overall Points

The Head of Year will run a reward assembly at the end of every term; this must include behaviour, attendance and progress.

The Head of Year will also promote the reward system and provide score updates through the weekly CDS mail and assembly.

 

Whole School Rewards/Attendance Rewards

At the end of the academic year there are a number of rewards available to pupils based upon the following criteria:

Highest Points pupil in the School - £100 Amazon Voucher.

Whole School Prize Draw: 1st Prize (£100). To be eligible a pupil must have a 100% attendance and a minimum of 925 points

Year group Prize Draw: 2nd Prize (£50) and 3rd Prize (£25) per year group. To be eligible a pupil must have a 97.5% attendance and a minimum of 925 points.

In addition to the above, excellent attendance (100%) will also be recognised three times each year at the end of term with an Attendance Letter of Congratulation from the Headteacher and an Attendance Certificate to be presented in assembly.  The Head of Year is responsible for the organisation of the letters and certificates. Data will be provided by the Attendance Managers.

Reward activities will be run for pupils that maintain excellent attendance throughout the school year. These activities will be set up at the end of term 1, 3 and 5 for each year group. To be eligible for these activities pupils must have 100% attendance or be in the top 10% of the year group for attendance. Pupils with incidents that do not meet expected levels of behaviour during the year may not be invited despite being in the top 10% in terms of attendance.

Supporting your child – School

The school utilises many areas of support. Additional support can be requested and made to appropriate support services within the school, including the school counsellor, SEND support and pastoral support. We also work alongside a range of external services.

The support that can be applied for includes:

ACS Time out card to access safe space

School counselling

Dove Confident Me sessions

School Nursing Referral

Salus mentoring

Porchlight/PAWS

Kooth Counselling

Winston’s wish bereavement

Resilience workshop

Self-harm support (1-1 or small group)

Domestic abuse support (1-1)

Social skills (small group)

Self-esteem

Holding on Letting Go (bereavement)

ABSA Support

Quarterdeck – Youth Clubs

Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Service (CYPMHS)

Single Point of Access

Early help referral

Emotional wellbeing team

TISS referral

Helpful links

Requesting absences

Authorisation of absences are at the discretion of the Headteacher.

All absences, including for holidays, must be requested as far in advance as possible. If you think your child needs to be taken out of school, you should discuss the reasons with the attendance team or the Head of Year as soon as possible.

If the Headteacher is satisfied with the evidence and the notice period, they will authorise the absence.

The school cannot be expected to authorise an absence for a holiday during term time.

Taking holidays during term time means that pupils miss important school time – both educationally and for other school activities. It will be difficult for pupils to catch up on work when they return to school. Only in exceptional

circumstances may a holiday be authorised during term time – this will be decided by the Headteacher.

Exceptional circumstances do not involve cheaper costs, family availability or weather conditions.

KCC can issues a fine if your child is on holiday during term time without permission from the Headteacher.

 

Documents

Page Downloads  
Attendance Policy Download
Attendance leaflet for parents 2023 Download
Leave of Absence Form Download

Latest News

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PRESS RELEASE The Charles Dickens School GCSE Results 2023 August 24th 2023

PRESS RELEASE The Charles Dickens School GCSE Results 2023

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