Parent Zone

This part of the website is where we put links for parents and carers to access the most recent guidance and information.

School Presentations

This is where we put presentations for parents and carers.

Parents Evening Guidance

This year due to the Covid Pandemic, our Parents Evenings are all virtual. This means you can stay at home and join meetings with teachers via a smartphone, iPad or computer.

You will need to book appointments first and can do this by following the link here: https://orchard.schoolcloud.co.uk/ Full instructions on how to book can be followed here.

We will let you know via our termly newsletter and an e-mail when the booking system is open. This will normally be 10 days prior to the evening. Early booking is highly recommended to enable you to get the appointment times that work for you.

We have simplified the login process ... no passwords are required. You will simply need to give your child’s name and date of birth. Enter your e-mail address to get confirmation of your appointments.

Appointments with teachers are 5 minutes long.

If you are having problems with booking please phone the school on 0117 377 2000 and ask for a member of the admin team who will talk you through how to book.

Your child's report will be emailed to you prior to attending your appointments with their teachers.

Feedback about parents' evenings or any other issues is always gratefully received. Please send this to info@orchard.tila.school

Understanding School Reports

Progress Reporting for KS3 Students (Years 7-9): A Parent’s Guide

What will I see on my son/daughter’s report?

For each subject, you will see a grey and a black bar. The grey bars show the attainment band that a student has been assigned for each subject, based on their performance in their SATS tests at primary school. The further this bar is to the right, the higher their SATS scores were. When a student starts their GCSE courses in Year 10, this information will be used to form their target grades.

The black bars show a student’s progress in each subject, based on teachers’ observations and students’ performance in assessments.

If the black bar is in line with the middle or upper end of the grey bar, then we are pleased with your son/daughter’s progress in that subject. They are making good or excellent progress.
If the black bar is in line with the lower end of the grey bar or below, then we have concerns about your son/daughter’s progress in that subject. They are coasting, or making unsatisfactory progress.

Excellent		You are progressing at an excellent rate in this subject. Well done, you are doing really well - keep this up!
Good		You have progressed well since your last report. You are doing well - keep working hard!
Coasting		You have made some progress in this subject since the last report but you are at risk of falling behind where you could be. You need to work hard to keep up.
Unsatisfactory		There has been a drop in your progress and you have fallen considerably behind where you could be in this subject. You urgently need to catch up.

What does the ‘Attitude to Learning’ grade mean?

For each subject, your son/daughter will be given an ‘Attitude to Learning’ grade: excellent, good, coasting or unsatisfactory. An excellent attitude to learning involves consistently working with a high level of effort in class and for homework, being very well organised and equipped for learning, participating fully in classroom discussions, having a consistently high level of motivation and often going above and beyond expectations to ensure exceptional standards of learning.

Excellent	You always participate well in class and complete all work to exceptional standards. Keep this up!
Good	You participate well in class and complete your work to a generally good standard. Keep working hard!
Coasting	You sometimes participate well in class and meet some but not all expectations for you. You should put more consistently good effort into this subject.
Unsatisfactory	You do not participate well enough in class and do not complete your work to a high standard. You need to make a considerable change to your effort in this subject.

Parent Forum Meetings and Minutes

The parent forum gives parents the opportunity to share their views on a range of topics throughout the year. All parents are welcome. This is an event for parents only, not the students.

If you have any questions, or would like to join the Forum, please let Rebecca Shepherd know via email bshepherd@orchard.tila.school

Click here for the minutes from the Parent Forum, 28 April 2021.

Click here for the minutes from the Parent Forum, 30 March 2021.

Click here for the minutes from the Parent Forum, 29 January 2021.

Click here for the minutes from the Parent Forum, 18 December 2020

Click here for the minutes from the Parent Forum, 16 October 2020.

Future dates will be posted here:

Sorry, there are no current diary dates.

School Closure Guidelines

Orchard School shall make every effort to remain open even when numbers of pupils and staff present are less than normal. We only close the school for extreme circumstances and do our best to notify parents and carers as soon as possible.

In the event that we need to close the school, parents and carers can use the following resources to find out information:

Our school website - a prominent information banner will be displayed on the home page of this website.
Tune in to Radio Bristol 94.9fm, 104.6fm and Heart Radio 96.3fm
Bristol City Council website - Bristol city council have a schools closure page which you can refer to for up to date information.

Assume school is open unless one or more of the resources above confirms we are closed.

Parent Courses

Parent Webinars from Sirona Healthcare (School Nurses) - July 2021

Parent Webinars from Sirona Healthcare (School Nurses) - August 2021

Bristol City Council - Careers Development

Southern Brooks - Making small changes to improve wellbeing

One You - https://oneyou.southglos.gov.uk/stress-less/emotional-wellbeing-support/

Book using this link: http://oneyou.eventbrite.com/

Support for Parents

PARENT TIPS AND WELLBEING GALLERY

Bristol City Council offer resources to support parents. A list of helpful organisations and how to contact them for support can be found on their Support for Parents page.
NSPCC offers a range of advice and information for parents on their Support for Parents page
North Bristol Advice Centre are Debt and Welfare Benefit specialists. A poster with more information can be found here: NBAC Services April 2021

Orchard School Bristol