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.
• 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
• 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, ignirition 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.

Our Behaviour Policy and Procedure can be found here.