Our behaviour curriculum

At Orchard Park High School we treat behaviour as a curriculum. This means that we teach children how to behave appropriately in school, in line with our values. We teach our children this through:

• The use of Character Cards
• Clear instructions in lessons: we call this ‘front loading the means of participation’
• Rewards, such as character points, badges, certificates, letters or calls home, prizes, privileges (ie skip the lunch queue), rewards breakfasts, opportunities 
• Assemblies 
• Displays around the school
• Individual meetings with students and families. 
• Supportive interventions focussing on the correct behaviours required 
• Clear communication about what constitutes bullying and how to report it
• PSHE lessons
• Messages in roll call and line ups
• A clear and consistent sanctions process
• Clarity on what is expected in each part of the school day (ie teaching routines)
• In class behaviour systems, for example, warnings for disruption
• Standards conversations with teaching staff following a lesson removal
• Support in reflecting on behaviour whilst in the OLP
• Reintegration meetings with families following a suspension
• Reset tutor time following a school holiday
• Individual reset with SLT for students who need further support

Rewards 

We are a school in which students work exceptionally hard, are kind to one another, and demonstrate our core values consistently. We believe that students should be rewarded for doing the right thing. We recognise how hard our children work and want to ensure that they receive rewards for this. 

We reward students by:

• Issuing Character points in lessons
• Issuing Character points for showing our school values
• Issuing awards in assembly at the end of each half term/term 
• Providing a weekly Fun Friday event, and Friday treats at least once a half term. 
• Providing an education that will enable students to be rewarded with excellent qualifications when they leave us
• Rewards breakfast with the Headteacher
• Skip the lunch queue cards
• Prize draw in roll call each Monday
• Character badges
• A mention in the Headteacher’s Friday letter
• Becoming a prefect

Responding to unacceptable behaviour

We have extremely high expectations of all our students. We expect students to work hard in lessons without disrupting others, to be well-equipped, to wear full school uniform at all times (including on their journeys), to follow staff instructions first time every time, to be polite to every member of our community, to uphold the good reputation of the school and to be kind to others.

We know that their education is important: we do not allow disruptive behaviour to damage another student’s learning. Students have a choice, they are either in lessons, behaving impeccably and working their hardest, or they go through the behaviour system and may be removed from the lesson. If a student is removed from the lesson, they are removed until such time they are ready for learning, usually 24 hours. When removed from lessons, students work following a similar curriculum as those students in class, and are supported by staff in ensuring they are ready for learning.  Through our behaviour curriculum, we support students to make the right choice and access a high quality education. 

We may utilise our out of lesson provision when we are investigating an incident and/or to keep students out of circulation if their behaviour has been unacceptable. 

Detentions should be sat on the same day they are issued. Year 11 detentions will occur after period 6.  

Prohibited items

The school has a number of prohibited items. These items are prohibited in order to keep the school safe, calm, and purposeful. They are, but are not limited to:

• Any item that has been brought into school to cause offence or disruption. This is at the discretion of the senior leadership team.
• Sharp or dangerous items
• Chewing gum
• Fizzy drinks 
• Tobacco and cigarettes, or paraphernalia associated with them
• E-cigarettes, vape pens, puff bars or items such as this  
• Alcohol
• Energy drinks or drinks that are high in electrolytes. 
• Sugary fizzy drinks such as coca-Cola, or Coke Zero. Sparkling flavoured water, such as Radnor Fizz, is permitted. 
• Offensive weapons
• Fidget toys that are not pre-approved by the school
• Hooded sweatshirts, zipped or otherwise
• Balaclavas
• Lip gloss
• Tubes of henna
• Illegal drugs
• Pornographic imagery or material
• Mobile phones that are not stored out of sight
• Items intended to cause harm, create fear or used to cause harm (sharp items, lighters, weapons or replicas)
• Fireworks, sparklers, lighters, matches, ignition implements, snaps

Hooded sweatshirts will be confiscated and returned to students via student services at the end of the day. Further infringements mean it will be kept until the end of that half term. Mobile phones, if seen, will be confiscated. They will be returned on the same day following a detention. Further infringements of the rules on phones mean that parents will need to attend school to collect the item, again following a detention.  Other items will not be returned and may be reported to the police, with consequences applied by the school. 

Support for students

We offer a range of supportive interventions for all students for whom meeting expectations is a challenge. 

Our support is tiered, and ranges from universal provision, Stage 0 is internal support and encapsulates our basic provision for all pupils, Enhanced provisions are available. Parents and students are consulted and communicated with at every stage of the process. 

Fixed term suspensions

As per our behaviour policy and procedure, we do utilise fixed term suspensions where necessary. This may be for (but is not limited to) defiance (including walking away from staff when being spoken to or refusing to follow instructions), bringing a banned item to school, verbal abuse of an adult or child in our community, physical aggression or assault of an adult or child in our community, rudeness, prejudiced behaviour or language, bullying, damage, theft, poor community conduct, misuse of IT/social media. We have lines in the sand which we will not tolerate any students crossing. If they are crossed, the student is likely to be issued with a permanent exclusion. This can include, but is not limited to, physical aggression or assault on staff or students, persistent breaches of the school rules, dangerous behaviour, possession of banned, dangerous and/or illegal substances or items.

If a child is suspended for a fixed period, parents will receive a letter, and will be asked to attend a reintegration meeting, in which the behaviour will be discussed and support identified. Part of this support will involve a period of time spent in the OLP, ensuring the child involved is ready for learning. It is essential that parents attend readmission meetings in order to support their child's return to school.

Mobile phone and earphone/earbud use in school

We recognise that children may have had more access to mobile phones over the holidays. Please remind them of our clear rule at Orchard Park: phones and headphones/earbuds must never be seen or heard and must be turned off before they come through the school gates.

From this academic year, if a phone is seen or heard, it will be confiscated and a parent/carer will be required to collect it from school.

We strongly recommend that students do not bring smartphones to school. If a mobile phone is necessary for travel, we ask that it be a basic, non-smart model that is only capable of calls and texts. This helps to reduce distractions, supports positive social interaction, and protects students from many of the challenges associated with smartphones. They are also less likely to be targeted by criminals on their way to and from school: smartphones are expensive and are attractive to thieves. 

Students should not use their phones at any point from arrival until the end of the school day. This includes when in clubs or on school trips. It must be put away before passing through the blue gate. A member of staff will never ask your child to use their phone in a lesson (for example). If a phone is seen or heard during school hours for any reason, it will be confiscated. On the first occasion, the phone will be returned to the student at the end of the day, and they will be issued an after-school detention. If the issue occurs again, a parent or carer must come to school to collect it. Repeated misuse will result in a student being required to leave their phone at home altogether.

We want to be very clear about the boundaries of our responsibility. While we will always act to safeguard students, families must take responsibility for managing social media use at home. This includes following the legal age restrictions on digital platforms and checking their child’s messages. Children should not have their phone in their phone in their bedroom at night. We encourage you to have healthy phone habits and to make considered choices about your child’s access to the internet.

If you need to contact your child during the day, we ask that you do so via the school office. Similarly, if your child needs to contact home, they can do so through the pastoral team or reception. Using their phone to contact you can result in a sanction as outlined above.

Thank you for working with us to maintain a school culture that prioritises disruption-free learning, kindness, and personal responsibility.

Our Behaviour Policy and Procedure can be found on our school policies page here.