At Orchard Manor School, we aim to immerse our pupils in a curriculum that fosters understanding and development in key areas essential for their growth.
Our approach ensures that pupils gain:
- Functional communication, interaction, and reading skills to enable effective communication and safe access to community settings and broader learning opportunities.
- Emotional regulation strategies linked to physical and sensory needs, supporting their ability to navigate various environments safely.
- Social, emotional, and mental health awareness, equipping them with independent living and life skills for confident engagement in the wider world.
- An understanding of human behaviour, including its impact on the world and the way it shapes societies.
- Appreciation of visual, cultural, social, and environmental aspects of their community and the wider world.
- A connection with the natural world, fostering respect for animals and their coexistence with humans.
- Comparative and investigative skills through exploration of diverse processes and materials.
- Knowledge of significant people, places, events, and inventions that have influenced and shaped the modern world.
We recognise that before pupils can fully engage with the broader curriculum, they must first develop core communication and interaction skills, as well as strategies to manage their physical and sensory needs. By addressing these foundational areas, we positively impact their social, emotional, and mental well-being.
Our curriculum is delivered through thematic topics designed to inspire and engage, ensuring pupils experience a broad and balanced education. We tailor learning to their developmental stage, providing access to the national curriculum in a way that is appropriate and meaningful to them.
Co-Regulation
At Orchard Manor, our mission is to create a learning community where every child feels safe, valued, and inspired to be kind, understanding, happy, ambitious, and successful.
To help every pupil live out these values in their daily choices, we are introducing our new Co-Regulation System – a positive, supportive framework that helps children understand and manage their emotions and behaviour through reflection, responsibility, and restorative action.
The Co-Regulation System is designed to build a strong home-school partnership. You’ll receive regular communication about your child’s success in Green and any support plans if we notice patterns that need attention.
We encourage you to celebrate these positive moments at home — a simple “I’m proud you showed kindness today” can make a lasting difference.
At Orchard Manor, we believe that learning to manage our emotions, repair mistakes, and celebrate kindness is just as important as learning to read and write. Through this new approach, we are helping every child become not just successful learners, but compassionate, responsible members of our school and community.
Thank you for your continued support in helping our children grow in Kindness, Safety, Understanding, Happiness, Ambition, and Success.
What is Co-Regulation?
Co-regulation means that adults and pupils work together to recognise emotions, respond calmly, and restore positive behaviour. Rather than focusing only on consequences, our approach builds understanding, strengthens relationships, and celebrates the many moments when children make good choices.
Our system uses a simple colour-coded reflection process to help children recognise how they are feeling and behaving:
- Gold Zone – Recognises the values pupils have gone above and beyond for within school.
- Green Zone – Calm, focused, and demonstrating school values.
- Yellow Zone – Feeling unsettled, frustrated, or distracted; needs support to reregulate.
- Red Zone – Strong emotions or behaviour that has disrupted safety or kindness; requires restorative support.
The Green and Gold Zones: Celebrating Our Values Every Day
Our aim is for every child to end each day in the Green Zone — feeling proud, capable, and valued. Children in Green are recognised for consistently showing our school values through positive choices, teamwork, and kindness. They may:
- Receive quick daily acknowledgement for their efforts.
- Take on “Class Contributor” roles to support the learning community.
- Record achievements in our Value Reflection Journal.
- Share success with families through simple Green/Gold Feedback notes or stickers.
When a child goes above and beyond in demonstrating our values, they can progress to the Gold Zone — a chance to celebrate exceptional kindness, ambition, or leadership.
Gold Zone pupils are recognised with a Golden Ticket, which they can redeem for time and space to reflect, create, or showcase their achievement.
This approach ensures that Green is the goal for everyone, and Gold is the celebration of excellence — linking our values directly to pride, contribution, and success.
The Yellow Zone: Learning Through Reflection and Support
The Yellow Zone signals that a child may be finding a moment challenging. Staff will quietly support them through:
- A De-escalation Check-In to identify feelings and reconnect with a school value.
- A short Regulation Break to reset and calm down.
- Targeted support sessions to build social or emotional skills such as empathy or self-control.
Our aim is to help pupils return to Green quickly — feeling supported, not punished.
The Red Zone: Restoring Values
The Red Zone means a significant school value has been broken and reflection is needed. Pupils will take part in:
- A Restorative Reflection Meeting to discuss what happened and how to make things right.
- An Act of Amends, showing responsibility through a positive, value-based action.
- A Values Recommitment Plan, if extra guidance is needed, developed with staff and families.
This process helps children learn that everyone makes mistakes — what matters most is how we make things right, rebuild trust, and return to kindness and understanding.