• Assistant Headteacher, Mr Philip Edmonds pedmonds@orchard.tila.school 
• Pastoral Manager for Year 7, Mrs Sarah Fear, sfear@orchard.tila.school  
• Pastoral Manager for Year 8, Ms Emily Bhakherd, ebhakerd@orchard.tila.school
• Pastoral Manager for Year 9, Ms Deborah Murphy-Piper, dpiper@orchard.tila.school
• Pastoral Manager for Year 10, Ms Beth Jones, bjones@orchard.tila.school 
• Pastoral Manager for Year 11, Ms Tracey Pointing, tpointing@orchard.tila.school 

All our DSLs can be reached on the main school number: 0117 377 2000

You can also let the Safeguarding Leads know about a situation anonymously through our Whisper Button on our Quick Links on the front page of the website.

Anti-Bullying

 Details of our Anti-Bullying Award can be found here. 

Prevent and Tackling Extremism

Orchard School Bristol is aware of its responsibilities under Section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the Prevent Strategy to safeguard pupils at risk of radicalisation. We do this by identifying and risk assessing individuals who may be drawn into terrorism, violent or non-violent extremism. We provide a safe environment for our pupils to explore, understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and extremist ideology. We use the curriculum and pastoral support to educate our pupils and to enable them to challenge these ideas. Staff are aware of the risks posed by other students and adults who may have been radicalised and the impact of radicalisation via social media. All staff have received appropriate training and have the knowledge and confidence to identify pupils at risk of being drawn into terrorism and extremism, and challenge extremist ideals. Our IT filters are regularly reviewed in order to prevent access to terrorist and extremist materials online at school.

Prevent: what is it?

Prevent is about keeping young people and communities safe from terrorism and extremism. Signs that may indicate a young person is being radicalised include:

• isolating themselves from family and friends
• talking as if from a scripted speech
• unwillingness or inability to discuss their views
• a sudden disrespectful attitude towards others
• increased levels of anger
• increased secretiveness, especially around internet use

You must report this if you notice these signs to your Pastoral Manager, Head of Year or to Mr Coxon.

Exploitation: what is it?

Exploitation is where a young person is made to do something that they would not normally do whether it be sexually or in any way which is manipulative by another group or person.

Some of the signs of Exploitation are:

• Going missing for periods of time or regularly returning home late
• Regularly missing school or not taking part in education
• Appearing with unexplained gifts or new possessions
• Associating with other young people involved in exploitation
• Having older boyfriends of girlfriends
• Suffering from sexually transmitted infections
• Mood swings or changes in emotional wellbeing
• Drug and alcohol misuse
• Displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour

If this is happening to you or you see signs of this in others, you must report this to your Pastoral Manager, Head of Year or to Mr Coxon.

Prayer 

We respect the need for students to pray at agreed times through the school day.  Prayer Mats are available.

Young Carers

What is a Young Carer?

“Young carers are children and young people who look after someone in their family who has a disability, a long term illness, or is affected by mental ill health or substance misuse.” - Carers Support Centre

Support for Young Carers at Orchard

At Orchard School we have an outstanding level of support to offer our Young Carers. We work closely with The Carers Support Centre for Bristol and South Gloucestershire and are currently working towards achieving our Silver Award.

We run on a tier-based model when supporting students. We recognise that all families are diverse, and so are the challenges that they may face. You can see a copy of our criteria by clicking here. Our Young Carers lead, Mrs Morris, provides students with a safe space where they are able to spend care-free time with their peers, this also allows them to build a strong and trusting relationship with an adult who can understand them.

The support on offer to our students is varied, it runs on a two-week program, and gives them the opportunity for enrichment activities, but also for one-to-one emotional support. Activities include sports, arts and crafts, games, mindfulness, and much more.

At Orchard we aim to support our Young Carers and their families in any way we can. If you would like any more information please contact Mrs Morris - hmorris@orchard.tila.school

Useful Information

Sense Siblings – A charity that supports the sibling of a child who has any type of additional need, including Autism, ADHD, physical or mental differences and complex health needs. Visit their website for more information. www.sense.org.uk/our-services/support-for-children/support-for-young-carers-and-siblings/

Carers Support Centre – This charity works closely with Schools and other agencies to provide young people with opportunities for respite, activities, and mental health support. Visit their website for more information. www.carerssupportcentre.org.uk/young-carers/

The NSPCC – NSPCC provide free emotional support and enrichment activities to young people. They have a large range of support for parents too. Visit their website for more information. www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/young-carers

Your child can book in to see our school nurse by contacting Reception on 0117 377 2000.

We also work with Brook Advisory Service for sexual health and wellbeing Brook – Healthy lives for young people

Video for parents:

Video for students:

Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Support 

Orchard School Bristol is committed to promoting the positive social, emotional and mental health and well-being of all students.

We believe that mental health and wellbeing are vital to students' ability to thrive and achieve.  Mental health and wellbeing are intrinsically linked to engagement and attainment.  One in ten young people has some form of diagnosable mental health condition and we know that children with a mental health problem face unequal chances in their lives, particularly where childhood mental health issues continue into adulthood.

What support does Orchard School provide?

The SEMH team operates in a quiet base off the main corridor called 'The Grove'.  We can run a range of SEMH interventions which we have either created ourselves, using evidence-based practices, or have been trained to deliver via external mental health organisations.  As a team we meet regularly to ensure we are identifying individual needs, using appropriate, targeted approaches and monitoring impact. 

We deliver group interventions for up to 6 students that will focus on a specific SEMH need.  We also deliver 1-1 interventions where we create bespoke programmes of targeted support to address individual students' needs.

As well as our SEMH team we also have external support from the NHS Mental Health Support Team.  This includes an Educational Mental Health Practitioner and a low-intensity Cognitive Behaviour Therapist that are based at Orchard School for 1 day a week.  Students are referred to SEMH initiatives via their Pastoral Managers who all staff can contact with any concerns.  Referrals are then triaged by the Mental Health Manager. 

Please see a link to our SEMH initiatives booklet to discover the interventions we offer: 

SEMH initiatives booklet 23-24

Our specialist SEMH team in school includes:

• Mr Dan Tucker - Mental Health Manager (SMHL, ELSA)
• Mrs Helen Morris - SEMH Practitioner (ELSA)
• Mrs Natalia Lyes - SEMH Practitioner (ELSA)
• Mrs Sylwia Tomasik - SEMH Practitioner