Awards etc - rewards or motivators?

[BuxomWenchOnAPony]

Just wanted some insight on this really. Ive posted in The Staffroom as well for a teachers' view but i would be interest to know how this works elsewhere...
Dd's school give out trophies for maths, literacy and behaviour to a member of each class every half term. They also have Friday assemblies where two children from each class are awarded stickers/certificates and their parents are invited in.
Dd is yr1 in a mixed yr1/2 class, she achieves very highly (in top literacy, reading and numeracy sets) her behaviour is "faultless" according to the teacher and - most importantly - she works very hard. She hasn't had any prizes at all this school year and is really upset about it - she told me that she "can't try harder or be kinder or practice more" than she does, but that she will "never be noticed because you only get chosen if you're naughty or can't do the work first".
I've reassured her and have set up little reward things at home but want to raise this at parents evening next week - without looking like a lunatic jealous parent if possible!
Anyway, do your dc's teachers use rewards to motivate those who are struggling or as rewards for good work etc or a bit of both? I struggle to find any 'incentives' for bright, well behaved children at school and don't know how to raise it. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

my daughters class have a couple of different schemes on the go and to be honest it causes more trauma that I could ever have imagined. I get (or certainly did last term and start of this term, she hasn't been quite so bad this half term) a full run down every day of who has been on the chart for being good, who got a sticker, questions about why she didn't get on there one day even though she did all the same things, got praised, did things without being asked when others who had to be asked to tidy up then got rewarded and she didn't. I mentioned it at parents evening last term and the teacher was stunned, she hadn't realised that one child could overthink it all so much (and yes my daughter would be that 1 out of 100) and started to make sure that the extra good children got noticed their fair share but equally it has probably done my daughter some good to realise that life isn't always fair, you won't always get rewarded even if you are good and that some children have different targets that they will be rewarded against. very very difficult situation but I do think you should raise it as it is upsetting her.

her school have that system with the star chart and they also have 2 lots of certificates. one is for headteachers awards which can be for anything and I think it is one child a week or a fortnight, not sure and then another certificate every half term for being kind and thoughtful or something like that. SO in all of those they give the vast majority of children a chance. Your daughters school sounds like they have quite a small possible chance of getting rewarded. perhaps an in class star chart of some sort might make your daughter feel more recognised without them finding themselves having to dish out lots of awards in assembly.

I would just say that your daughter has felt she must be doing something wrong because she hasn't been awarded anything and that you have tried to explain how it works you are worried it is affecting her confidence a little. that opens it up for the teacher to explain how they choose the children and so on and also might mean she clarifies it all a bit more for the class in general about how their good behaviour and hard work is always noticed etc

Good post! I'll be interested to hear the answers. Our school has a system where they collect merit stickers and after so many they get an award. DS1 got his first level award pretty early but pretty much all the class have overtaken him and got their second level award which he is still a few points off. I'm not sure why- whether its because he isn't making an effort at school or a behavioural issue. He is quite far ahead of the rest of the class in other respects and I wonder if its relatively easier for other children to get points. I imagine the school are doing it based on effort, which I would fully support. DS I suspect does not always put in 100% effort. However I can also see that it might potentially be a bit demotivating for a 5 year old who potentially won't understand why another child might be rewarded for doing something they themselves would find easy because they won't realise that it actually took the other child more effort to achieve it. My plan is to ask at parent's evening what DS needs to do better to achieve his awards.

Thanks for the replies. I'll definitely bring it up at parents' evening. Dd is really hard on herself even though she is doing brilliantly, I think there is something in the idea that she probably feels she's still not doing well enough. I also firmly believe in the idea that life isn't always fair and that she doesn't need certificates to know she is wonderful - it's just a tough life lesson for a six year old to get to grips with!

my 5 year old in reception actually said to me 'well if they get rewarded because they have to be asked before they tidy up then I will wait until I get asked to do it too' so for her it was encouraging her to not be as good.

Periwinkle, that's what's worrying me. If she works really hard but gets no reward while those around her appear to be rewarded for doing less (in her eyes, I realise different children have different targets, obviously!), how long before she stops trying to please and gives up?
To be fair to the teacher, there are 30 kids working at every conceivable level. I worry that dd goes under the radar because she doesn't need much help and just quietly gets in with it - she doesn't push herself to the front IYKWIM.

exactly the same, which is why it is important that you tell the teacher so that she realises. incentives can be great but for some children it just doesn't work out how you would expect it to. We got told that some of the good ones have to almost actively be kept back from being rewarded all the time which is another problem as if the same children always get rewarded (even if correctly) then some of the others may feel they are teachers favourites and so on.

I honestly think it would probably be less stressful if the whole idea didn't exist!

DS's school does a whole host of certificates for writer of the week, mathematician of the week, friend of the week. I think they are supposed to be about attainment against personal targets not best in class. There are no 'big' end of term awards though.

Friday assemblies are twice a year for each class and it takes the form of a show and tell about what they have been learning. They usually present in groups of 3 or 4 per topic and everyone gets to say a couple of sentences. This starts from reception.

We have had endless problems with rewards. Our kids are quiet, well behaved and able. It has helped that rewards are now being given out for more important things relating to ethos .

But it has to be about effort, doesn't it? You reward them for achieving something that doesn't come easy. So long as the teacher is praising the children who tidy up spontaneously they know they are doing well and don't need a prize every time. My DS is well behaved and listens well. He often comes home with a sticker for good sitting or good listening, but the merits and head teachers awards etc are doled out for real effort. I think the school manages it really well.

Ask, teachers should keep lists and make sure they don't miss people out, but it doesn't always work.

Definitely should be a balance between effort and achievement and it's not always easy for teachers to get right.

They want to encourage less able/less well behaved DCs, but the other children get very annoyed if too many prizes go to 'naughty' class mates.

Children have a very black and white sense of justice, they don't seem to mind top table getting certificates, they may be slightly jealous, but it makes sense. The boy who bullies them getting one makes them angry.

Also end of term prizes seemed to go to some very random choices because the hardest workers had already had two or three earlier in the term.

I agree it should be about effort, absolutely. I'm not suggesting the highest achievers should get all the awards! But the two aren't mutually exclusive, plenty of children achieve because they work hard.

CatOnMyLap I totally agree.

DS had an absolutely shit time in reception. He had a lzy c* of a teacher who only believed in rewarding the 'good' children all the time and sod everyone else. Everyone got the same sanctions for poor behaviour, regardless of whether or not they (the sanctions) worked. Consequently, DS always lost at least half his 'golden time' and never got the teaacher's award. That worked for him (sarcastic face). Cue end of year and DS levelled as 'below average'.

One year later, DS has a teacher who understands that not all children are motivated/demotivated by the same things. DS regularly comes home with certificates/sticker/house points. He has the highest number of house points in the year, in spite of the fact that he still shows very challenging behaviour. He has gone from (in reception) being in the bottom 10% for everything (I have the stats as I am a governor) to being in the group for the 'most able'. It's all down to motivation.

As a Harry Potter fan, he sees house points as the key to eternal glory. His teacher has seized on this and is using it to motivate him.

He will never win the half-termly 'golden book' prize for good behaviour. I don't care. He now enjoys school and doesn't consider himself the 'naughtiest child in the year'.

When I was at (secondary) school the same six children got the six academic achievement prizes every year because they always got the six best sets of exam results. I'm not sure what good it did them or anyone else in the class. There weren't any prizes for effort or behaviour.

But I agree you need to be careful not to demotivate those who excel academically and behave well. Very tricky.

Hmm... It is tricky! I can see that apparently uni trainable rewards are demotivating for children who aren't really academic or are even somewhere in the middle. But it's pretty demotivating for dd that awards are unobtainable except for those who weren't doing well and have now improved in some way.

I suppose it is about teachers being able to identify what motivates each child. Not easy in a class of 30!

AryaUnderfoot that is great to hear, pleased your DS likes school now. I think it must depend a lot on the teacher. I think you must need a few years under your belt and quite a bit of confidence to work out how to keep a challenging child motivated as well as managing the behaviour.

We had a similar situation a while back - where a child would get a certificate for "good behaviour in the playground" which all the kids new meant "went a whole day without kicking or punching anyone" My DS1 and his friends used to complain it was the children who behaved for once rather than the ones who always behaved that were rewarded for it.