6 February 2026 - Letter to Parents

6th February 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a great week at Orchard School, with some great results in the football for both boys and girls. We have also competed in a nationwide basketball competition. Every week we have a large range of sporting clubs and fixtures, and we are proud of our sporting performance. As you read this, a group of students are also having a fantastic experience on the trip to Rome, part of our commitment to extending and enhancing the journey through school for our students.

Next week, we are holding a school Performing Arts Live Lounge during lunchtime on the last day of term (Friday 13th February). It’s open to all students who are keen to perform and should be an amazing lunchtime of music and talent.

Key Dates

There are some important dates to be aware of this term. Please make sure you put these dates in your diary.

Year 10 Mock Exam Information Evening – Wednesday 20th May 6-7pm   

Parent Subject Consultation Evenings

The dates for these through the year are as follows:

Year 7 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 23rd April 3.30 – 7pm  

Year 9 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 19th March 3.30 – 7pm  

Year 11 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 12th February 3.30 – 7pm  

Please also note the following date: 

Year 9 Options Evening – Thursday 26th February 6 – 7.30pm  

To help parents and children decide together which options subjects/GCSEs they might choose to take over the next two years in school.  

A reminder also that school breaks up for the half term break next Friday, 13th February, at the usual time of 3pm. Students return to school on Tuesday 24th February as Monday 23rd is an INSET (training) day for staff.

Teaching and Learning/Curriculum

This half-term we have collated quizzes of the key knowledge in each Faculty.

We have been asking staff to print these on yellow sheets so students can identify them easily. Next week also sees Year 10 begin Work Experience – a fantastic chance to see what the world of work is like. We are excited to hear how they have got on after half-term.

Clubs – Term 3

Please remember to encourage your child to sign up to one of our brilliant lunchtime or after school clubs. They’re a great way for them to meet new friends, learn new skills and make lasting memories. You can find the Term 3 list of clubs on our website here.

Sustainability and the Canteen

We are pleased to share an important update about our continued commitment to sustainability at Orchard School. From after the February Half Term, we will be introducing several changes to our canteen to further reduce waste, lessen our environmental impact and reinforce the correct student expectations for eating responsibly and respectfully in our dining spaces. Teaching our students these crucial life lessons is an essential part of our extended curriculum. Many of our students are in support of our drive to further reduce our Carbon Footprint and our Eco-Leaders, I’m sure, will be in support of these changes.

Removable of bottled water – these will be no longer be available to purchase; we will be using water jugs and recyclable paper cups which students will be free to help themselves to, or fill up their own bottles.

Reintroduction of plates, cutlery and trays – replacing some of the disposable items to significantly cut down on our waste.

Fizzy Drinks – a reminder that we have, for several years, been a fizzy-drink free school. Therefore, Radnor Splash will now replace the fizzy version in our canteen to support our Healthy School’s initiative. These must be purchased separately and do not form part of the meal deal.

These changes support our whole-school approach to promoting responsible, environmentally conscious habits. Students will still have access to drinking water throughout the day via the water fountains around school and bottle fillers in the dining hall. Our catering staff is fully prepared to support the transition.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to improve our sustainability and reduce single-use plastics across the school. Questions about this can be directed to sbm@orchard.tila.school.

A reminder that students should bring a water bottle to school each day that they can refill at our bottle filling stations and that food must be consumed in the canteen only and rubbish/recyclables placed in appropriate bins. We thank you for reminding your child of these expectations around keeping our school environment tidy.

Attendance

As we have said goodbye to January, we thought it would be nice to celebrate the tutor group with the best attendance during what often feels like the longest month. Well done to 7W1, who were closely followed by 8D2.

As we head towards the end of a half term, a reminder that lessons, clubs and opportunities continue as normal. We look forward to seeing students in every day next week. We will also send out our termly attendance report which details your child’s attendance to date, and a break down of their attendance on each day of the week. Please discuss this with your child and please get in touch if you need any support, or want to discuss something further.

Belonging

Students in Years 7-10 have enjoyed celebrating in House assemblies this week, which were a chance for each House to get together and receive updates about participation, competitions, House points and attendance. Prizes were given out and lots of groups and individuals celebrated. Thanks to the House Champions for running these!

February is LGBTQ+ History month and to raise awareness of this with our students, Tutor Notices is full of great events and competitions to get involved with.

Behaviour Update – New ISR Room

Within every lesson and tutor time we have a 4-point system as part of our Behaviour for Learning policy:

Start with a 2

All students enter the classroom on point “2” which indicates Good behaviour, as we expect all of our students to be at least “good” in each lesson.

Gain a 1

If students perform exceptionally well all lesson, then the teacher will award a “1” – a celebration of their hard work and effort, brilliant contributions or dedication. 1s add up to House Points, certificates and further rewards.

Warning = 3

If students do not follow one of the rules, a warning is given by the classroom teacher. This is called a “3”.

Second incident = 4 Should the disruptive behaviour continue, a “4” is issued. The student is removed from their classroom to spend two hours and a social time. Here, the student is supervised to complete their work independently and parents or carers are informed.

Our Independent Study Room (ISR) allows students to silently:

Work away from the main class after a disruption

Reflect and reset in a supervised, structured environment

Continue learning rather than being sent home

From the first day back after half term, the ISR room will be moving to another part of the school, to the current classroom ‘G6’. Many students, particularly those with sensory sensitivities, attention difficulties, or anxiety will benefit from more space, less noise and ultimately a more inclusive space. We will carefully prepare students for this through communications with staff, and through tutor notices and additional support for pupils with SEND where appropriate.

iPads in School

As a school we have successfully implemented the use of Yondr pouches for mobile phones. Following advice from the Department of Education, we also need to make students aware that they should not be bringing in iPads, for any reason. Additionally, they are expensive items that are not covered by the school's insurance policy. Furthermore, we will sanction any student according to our Behaviour for Learning policy if they bring in additional phones outside of their Yondr pouches. We commit to being a mobile-phone free school; research tells us, and government guidance states, that becoming a completely phone-free space improves teaching and learning, and sees an improvement in academic performance, behaviour, engagement in lessons. Really importantly, it has a positive impact on student safety and general wellness; students talk to one another more, play, and avoid the often damaging effects of social media, preparing them to focus in school but also for life beyond school, for example in the world of work, where safe and respectful interaction with others is really important.

Safeguarding

If your child experiences or witnesses any concerning behaviour outside of school, please report this directly to the appropriate agency—such as the police or Children’s Services—so that support and action can be taken promptly to support your family. While we will always do our best to help, the school is not able to investigate incidents that occur in the community. However, we do work closely with families and external agencies, so please also inform us of any concerns that may affect your child’s wellbeing or safety, so we can offer appropriate support in school.

Mental Health Week

It is Children's Mental Health Week next week, 9th – 15th February, and the theme this year is "belonging". The SEMH team are looking for new student Wellbeing Ambassadors to be the student voice of the SEMH provision at our school. 

We are looking for students from each year group to work alongside The Grove team to promote positive wellbeing at Orchard School. 

Wellbeing Ambassadors will actively support The Grove team to deliver mental health initiatives. They should also be able to suggest new ways for Orchard School to support student wellbeing and be involved in reducing negative thoughts around mental health. 

Their responsibilities include:

Be the student voice for mental health and wellbeing at Orchard School.

Be able to model and understand strategies to support mental health.

Understand internal and external mental health support and be able to give advice to students.

Know how and when to report issues to the safeguarding team to keep students safe.

The benefits of becoming a wellbeing ambassador include:

Personal development through ongoing support from The Grove team.  

Safeguarding and wellbeing training. 

Pin badge to aid visibility around school. 

Potential school trip focused on learning more about positive mental health and wellbeing. 

Looks great on future job/college/university/apprenticeships applications! 

During Children's Mental Health week, The Grove team will be handing out application forms at break and lunch. Please feel free to speak to your children about this opportunity and encourage them to apply.

Parenting Workshops

The school Pastoral and SEMH team are planning to provide some workshops for parents covering a range of topics such as: Supporting your child with sleep and eating, anxiety, behaviour, emotional regulation, online safety, attendance and mental health.

If you would be interested in accessing these workshops, please could you fill in the form below to give us an idea of demand. Parent/carer workshops  – Prefilled form

Community Events

Last week a separate letter was sent out, inviting parents and carers to join a planning committee to help organise this year’s Iftar event, on 17th March. We would love to hear from anyone who has a bit of time to help us plan the event. Please express your interest to Sophie Alderson, Assistant Headteacher Inclusion: SAlderson@orchard.tila.school

Parenting coach Anisa Lewis is running a free online parenting course called ‘Raising Resilient Kids’ on 23rd February, 12.00- 12.30pm. See the flyer below for full details:

Bristol Bears are running their Fun 2 Move Sports Hub on 17th February from 4pm, at The Hub in Lockleaze. It is a pan-disability SEND event for 13 to 17-year-olds, followed by an adults’ session from 5pm. Click here for more details and for the full calendar of events at The Hub.

With best wishes,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher