Targeted Provision

The Zone

At Orleans Park School we recognise that the welfare and emotional wellbeing of students is an integral part of their academic progress. With this in mind we offer a wealth of support to ensure that students are empowered to achieve their full potential.

The Zone is a safe and inclusive environment for students to access support which enables the pastoral needs of our learners to be fully catered for.

We support our learners through the delivery of the following interventions or support:

1. Circle of Friends: Supporting students with their social skills; establishing & maintaining positive relationships; assisting effective communication
2. Small group work that might focus on:

• Anxiety: Covering unhelpful thoughts, coping strategies and grounding techniques.
• Effective communication: Understanding body language. Passive, aggressive and assertive communication. Listening skills.
• Self Esteem: Covering the 6 pillars of Self Esteem (living consciously/self-acceptance/self-responsibility/ self-assertiveness/living purposefully/personal integrity). 
• CSE: Healthy relationships, risk taking behaviour, safe networks, staying safe online.
• Anti-Bullying: supporting the targets and perpetrators of bullying behaviours.

We can also provide regular 1:1 support sessions to individual students, to help them with issues such as: Anxiety, relational conflict and stress.

As a restorative school we take a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm and the Zone plays an integral role in supporting this. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right. Restorative approaches refer to a range of methods and strategies which can be used both to prevent relationship-damaging incidents from happening and to resolve them if they do happen. It can also alleviate problems such as bullying, classroom disruption, truancy and poor attendance, antisocial behaviour, and disputes between students, their families, and members of staff.

All the learning mentors have received training in how to deal with friendship issues or bullying using a restorative approach and can be called upon by Head of Year or Senior Leader to facilitate this if it is felt this would be helpful.

Good practice would ensure that students are spoken to individually first and supported in what the process will involve and what they hope to get out of it. Only when all participants are happy and comfortable would they be then brought together so that relationships can be repaired and any damage resolved.

The Zone also offers a breakfast club (for specific students), as well as support during break and lunchtimes. 

Individual Mentoring

Students are referred for 1-2-1 mentoring in the Zone by Heads of Years or the Senior Leadership Team. 

They will be allocated a Learning Mentor who will meet with them and agree whether sessions would be helpful. The initial offer is for a time limited number of sessions (6-8 sessions or half term), which is then reviewed. Mentoring can be extended if felt necessary, but the expectation would be for most students to be exited from mentoring at this stage, or consideration needs to be given for referrals to external agencies for support, such as AfC Mental Health Support Team MHST, NHS Child wellbeing practitioner CWP, School Nurse, CAMHS.