Do other schools have systems like this?

[Lollipopday]

At my sons school they have a system to categorise the children’s behaviour. If they are really well behaved they put their name on a big shooting star, if they are just well behaved they can put their name on a big sun, if they mess around a bit they go on the cloud picture, and if they misbehave then they go on a thunder cloud picture. This begins in reception, where my son is. If he is on the thunder cloud he comes out of school feeling sad, and it’s really only for fairly minor things. My other son is in year five, and they often ask each other what they were on at the end of the school day, competing to be the best. They also enjoy telling me who had their names on the thunder cloud, which makes me uncomfortable. Anyway, just wondering if this sort of thing is widely used in other schools as it doesn’t sit well with me. I’m thinking of mentioning it to the school, but maybe I’m being over sensitive. Thanks

Teacher here-I try to stick to the principle of praise in public and consequences in private. It also helps to prevent stand offs where the child doesn't want to lose face in front of friends. We have golden time and many classes have it on the wall. Children lose minutes for not sticking to the golden rules. In my class I keep track in a notebook on my desk which the children prefer.

I think yabu. SEN children would get a lot of leeway before going on a cloud or whatever. And usually there's ways to get off it too.

My DCs old school had a similar system of green, amber, and red with your name moved between the three depending on how you're behaving. I have two DC with ASD and associated SEN who were very frequently on amber for reasons related to their needs not being met rather than actual misbehaviour. This and other outdated practices (e.g., punishment for not eating a set amount at lunch, removal of playtime for being on amber more than twice in a week, and so on) were why I moved them.

They're at different schools to one another now due to age but all three schools feed into the next (three tier system here) so have similar ethos' to one another. They use a house points system so that every child can contribute positively towards a group goal, points don't get docked for misbehaviour (this gets dealt with on an individual private basis following a behaviour pathway), and every house/class gets a treat at the end of the school year, as well as interim treats along the way, if they meet the benchmark set by the head at the start of the year. The benchmark is always easily achievable - this year was 400 points, all of the classes/houses have got upwards of 900 each. End of term and interim treats are things like a day at the beach, cinema afternoon in the school hall, non-uniform passes to be used for one non-uniform day whenever they want, pizza party instead of lunch, water fight on the school field, and so on. Much better system and with none of the public shaming.

@RedHelenB children with SEN aren’t always known to have SEN. Particularly in reception class where OPs child is. It took until P5 and a school move before I could get my son seen by the educational psychologist and given a statement. Prior to that he was constantly being punished for meltdowns. (He now has a diagnosis of ADHD and is awaiting ASD assessment)

SEN children would get a lot of leeway before going on a cloud or whatever

You'd hope so but, from bitter experience, no. DS2 was constantly on amber for stimming, many times for not eating his packed lunch even though school were well aware of restrictive eating habits (and a later diagnosis of ARFID), for "willingfully ignoring the teacher" (during sensory shutdown), "not playing nicely" (clear and identified social skills issues that he was not supported with), and so on. This is common common plenty of children with SEN.

@BlatantlyNameChanged that’s what our school does too. A collective target towards a whole class treat. Positive behaviour and achievement is awarded and it seems to work really well. The onus is still on the individual to do their bit to help the class to gain the treat.

My son had moderate hearing loss due to glue ear. Luckily we were aware of his problems and informed the school, however I’m sure some children with similar problems aren’t always diagnosed. Their hearing loss could be put down to them just not listening and they’d be put on the thunder cloud. That must feel awful for the child.

but it's working perfectly for you children. They are competing to be better behaved than each other, and they are rarely poorly behaved.

Very old fashioned and not appropriate - all it does is shames kids. Nope not ok at all.

This used to happen in ds school. I pointed out that it wasn’t helping him one bit to constantly be on the cloud. They moved to a certificate system, he never got one all year. Then it was raffle tickets to enter a draw to win a small prize like a pencil or rubber. Nope, never won it. He’s now in year 3 and they use a marble jar. I have no idea whether he’s contributed to gaining a marble but he’s much happier at the lack of humiliation and is included in the class reward. Turns out he has ADHD, ODD and is screamingly bright, if they had continued with the discrimination they would have been hearing about it. Disgusting system which appears to achieve very little.

@dootball

but it's working perfectly for you children. They are competing to be better behaved than each other, and they are rarely poorly behaved.

I don’t encourage them to compete with each other, it fosters resentment and leads to petty arguments.

Horribly outdated.
For me, it’s all about relentless positivity. If you’re behaving well, I will make sure it’s recognised publicly. If you’re not, I will talk to you in private to see what’s up. We will agree on the behaviour I need to see from you and address any reasons why that may not be happening.

If children are behaving in negative ways, there will be a cause that needs to be investigated. Shaming them will do nothing but harm.

For those wilfully behaving poorly, moving to the rain cloud of doom is a status symbol.

‘When the Asults Chamge, Everything Changes’ is a great read on this matter.

This was standard practice 10 years ago but im surprised it seems (from scanning this post) many are still using this! It us generally not thought of as goor practice these days. Definitely worth asking them to reconsider their behaviour management policy, maybe one that doesn't include naming and shaming.

God it is awful, along with all the praise for good attendance and high school comments for not having the right pen, uniform etc. So much of this is out of control of the individual child. Little John with engaged parents and few issues at home will always ultimately be okay. Those children who come from backgrounds in which parents are struggling and for whatever reason cannot always get the children to school on time/buy a new pair of shoes/pen at the drop of the hat are punished. It is such a crude and ill advised way to manage issues and in my opinion makes things worse for children who are already disadvantaged. Once labelled in some way, lots of children with other issues give up.

@Hellodarknessmyoldpal

This was standard practice 10 years ago but im surprised it seems (from scanning this post) many are still using this! It us generally not thought of as goor practice these days. Definitely worth asking them to reconsider their behaviour management policy, maybe one that doesn't include naming and shaming.

Thanks. I will.

I wouldn't like it either! When I was at primary school the teachers used to write your name on the board if you misbehaved, but at least that got rubbed off at the end of the lesson.

I've also seen it done with sticker charts showing how much progress in a particular subject each child has made over the year. Completely inappropriate to have on public display in my opinion.

@willstarttomorrow

God it is awful, along with all the praise for good attendance and high school comments for not having the right pen, uniform etc. So much of this is out of control of the individual child. Little John with engaged parents and few issues at home will always ultimately be okay. Those children who come from backgrounds in which parents are struggling and for whatever reason cannot always get the children to school on time/buy a new pair of shoes/pen at the drop of the hat are punished. It is such a crude and ill advised way to manage issues and in my opinion makes things worse for children who are already disadvantaged. Once labelled in some way, lots of children with other issues give up.

All of this!!

Publicly dividing children into "good" and "naughty" children is harmful for both groups.

I despise this system and I have NT very well-behaved children. The trouble is, they passionately want to hit the shooting star every day and feel despondent if they don’t even if nothing has gone wrong. Only a few children get there every day and the rest just seem deflated. It is a constant topic of conversation on play dates. I really hate it.

Something similar is in most schools.

Children learn pretty quickly what is expected to not get moved down.

You need to find out the reasons that he is being moved down

Yes we have this in my son's primary. He is well behaved and never really ends up on the cloud, but any child who normally behaves badly tends to end up being covered in stickers and end up on the star/rainbow just by NOT being disruptive and not doing anything particularly helpful or good. My son really finds this a really confusing message sometimes.

The least disruptive kids tend to just get forgotten and not rewarded for good behaviour and it can really upset some kids who might find sitting down and concentrating more challenging. I can't say I'm keen on it and I'm not looking forward to my second son going to the same school. He's a totally different child to my first and will live on the thunder cloud

@Dishwashersaurous

Something similar is in most schools.

Children learn pretty quickly what is expected to not get moved down.

You need to find out the reasons that he is being moved down

He isn’t moved down regularly, it’s not about that. It’s the wider picture of publicly shaming kids in order to make them behave. Also, as mentioned by others, there are kids with undiagnosed SEN (particularly in reception) who are labelled as naughty.

It's not nice. Our school gives "Monster Points". Some teachers keep adding them up throughout the school year, which means by about February the gap between those who have the most and those with the fewest is huge. My kids are fairly academic and generally well-behaved, but they've always been average Monster Point scorers and can't be bothered anymore, same as many of their class mates. It's usually always the same teacher pet / competitive / very bright ones who get the most points and reach the " Monster Point Milestones" 🙄.

I think it's a great idea, if your little precious doesn't like being on the cloud, the solution is i his own hands

but any child who normally behaves badly tends to end up being covered in stickers and end up on the star/rainbow just by NOT being disruptive and not doing anything particularly helpful or good.

How do you know?