Would this reward system put you off a school?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

I have been reading up about our local schools. One school stands out as being the most convenient for us by far and it is well rated and usually oversubscribed. However I've come a across several parents mentioning a reward system that seems a bit over the top to me. Something like:

1. when the kids arrive at morning, they are all on the sun. Those who behave well go on the rainbow but those who misbehave go on the cloud. 2) when the kids help, tidy up etc. They have points. 3) each Friday, teachers select a child in their class as star of the week and children are awarded in assembly.

Would this put you off the school or is this sort of thing common?

We are in the catchment area of two schools but this one is closer to home and to my work (DD has mobility issues so distance matters). Both schools are OFSTED rated good.

I don’t know any school who still uses the sun and cloud system.
It was considered poor practise years ago and definitely is now!
Such a public system for all to see, especially in schools which often have a high number of children with varying needs, can be extremely detrimental.

Never heard of the sun / rainbow / cloud thing. During DD’s schooling I might have come across various types of reward things but it’s always been positive reinforcement, not negative shaming like this is.

As has been said, star of the week is common and everyone will get a turn at some point in younger primary years.

Snap, when I specifically ask our sons teacher why he was always on the sad face (the school felt it appropriate to tell the children that they mad staff sad or upset) I was told it was because he is a poor listener and often as a four year old had to be asked something more than once before he would do it, including whole class instructions over activity noise. Apparently having a hearing impairment isn’t a reason to not hear everything once you pass the threshold of a school. Luckily by year one a new head completely changed the system, no public shaming, no emotional manipulation and behaviour improved school wide.

I think you need to discuss this with the school, legally they should be making 'reasonable adjustments' for your child, ask them how they accommodate different pupils.

I have never taught primary so it might be easier in secondary to give a reward / merit for eg (excuse the language) not being a little shit this lesson. When other pupils ask about it I can honestly say, "X finds it very difficult to sit still but did do it this lesson". Sometimes with a "Well what do you find difficult?" and then challenge them to do something.

But I am fairly generous with merits / rewards.

One FE college I worked at had a 'postcard home' system merit system. Every month each department discussed who deserved the card and why and then it was sent, through the post so the students sees it, and usually parents, it just said something like, "We noticed you working well the last couple of weeks".

I have also been known to call parents. Because I did a lot of supply I frequently had classes that would play up. If it was a 1 day placement I would handle it the best I could, but if it was a month or more in the first couple of weeks I would be fire fighting in the actual class, but afterwards I would call the parents of the ones trying to work and say, "I'm just calling to let you know I have noticed your child, there are some disruptions in the class so I didn't get to speak to them in class, but I have seen them and I appreciate them working hard".

Acorncoffee seriously? You hired an ice cream van?? It might be easier to just deal with your own child or to go to a different school that doesn't make you so angry. I would not be happy for you to be using my child to make a point to the school. You sound excessively confrontational.

It was very common 10 years ago but is considered rather old fashioned now.
It mean that some children spend all day looking at their name on the cloud or whatever and feel publicly shamed. Some well behaved children go under the radar and never move up.
In my experience the well behaved children seem to like it and the poorly behaved children rebel against it.

Haha. I sort of agree with you @MissJeanBrodiesmother , it does seem pretty extra.

But then, 'excessively confrontational' is often the only way to get things changed. History is paved with apathy until excessively confrontational people take action. Such is the way of the world.

And be in no doubt that the majority of those people (and let's face it, women) were labelled all sorts of names - difficult, angry, tiresome, hysterical etc - before their contribution was recognised.

Before anyone comes for me, yes I do fully recognise this is about ice cream, it's hardly on a level with the atrocity that was women's suffrage. But sometimes ya gotta make waves, especially when our kids are the ones in the tide.

I don't agree with attendance prizes at all. I think schools are however judged by ofsted for not having robust challenges to parents and for not offering rewards so they are kind of stuck. However I think if they have to do these sort of rewards it should be a certificate or a sticker and not ice creams! Parents need to be petitioning ofsted or the government if they disagree as well as telling schools that they don't agree with atte dance prizes or rewards.

Standard.

Ours does certificates for kindness, writing, maths and reading plus two other prizes across their other objectives like perseverance and resilience.

Don't be the parent who posts on Facebook how "proud" you are for star of the week because there's about 8 prizes a week in a class of 25.

My eldest, top group for reading by herself, didn't get reader of the week until Year Two. She was like, I don't want it thanks. It means nothing.

Now she doesn't go to assembly 🙈

Been there done that. My son’s primary used a traffic light instead of a sun/rainbow/cloud. If your name got to red you’ll lose your breaktime.

I'm not sure if our younger years still do Star of the week as well, but we choose someone from each class to have afternoon tea with the head every Friday afternoon, and it is very clear that it is to reward those children that consistently do the right thing and not every child has to get it during the year. We tell the class why they have been chosen e.g. "This person always tries their hardest, even if they are finding it hard." or "This person always listens to instructions and does what they are asked to do straight away." The head expects them to know why they are there.

Just realised this was a zombie thread and the poster before me resurrected it a few days ago!

Public shaming is exactly that - the children in the class are implicitly asked to judge their peers.

It's lazy and unoriginal (as you can see from posts here stating it is 'normal') and it is not based on up to date research.

Can you summarise?

So outdated!! Yes it would put me off!

I’m a primary school teacher of almost 20 years btw!

Star of the week was pointless at our primary school. Mostly given to kids who where disruptive for most of the week, disturbing lessons, bullying then did one thing right and got it. Then we would have the parent boasting about it in the playground thinking there child was the best in the class. This affected the other kids in the class who dispite working hard and being good never got it. I had my child at home in tears most weeks as despite how hard they tried they couldn't get it. When my child's bully got it was the week I went into school because my child told me if he was bad he might get it. That week he got the star because of my intervention. It shouldn't come down to this and the rest of the class, not just the disruptive ones should get it because if they don't it ruins their confidence.

It is actually out of date now and most schools don’t use it.

it would put me off a school, but on balance if other things were good it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. I’d expect it would change soon too.

Assuming they're pre school / infant school, totally normal. Our kids frogs start on the green lilypad. Misbehave and it goes on the orange. Do it again and omg the worse thing that could ever happen to a 4 yo. The RED lily pad.

They also have a reader, mathematician, and behaviour of the week in every class up to year announced in assembly with a sticker and certificate

I love you for the ice cream truck, can you tell I'm a moon to one of those kind a of kids. We're on our third operation of the school year today. Attendance is poor because of hospital not laziness or poor parenting.

But your kids is naughty at school, I understand right, and you gloss over it and buy them a present each week. Am I missing something? Why does your child misbehave so consistently?

Wrt asking for an EHCP

• the bar to get one is reasonably high but the bar to ask to be assessed to see if the needs are great enough is very low
• don't take school's word for it if they say they see what you mean but she wouldn't get one, let the experts decide if you are worried
• you can apply for an EHCP directly, you don't need the school's permission or help (if it goes through then the LA will ask the school directly for input which they would then be obliged to provide)
• the waiting times are long (yes, by law there are maximum times but in reality these are frequently missed, sometimes by a long way) so start early if you feel concerned

That would have been my interpretation of it at his age! Like his style.

As far as I know, OP, almost all schools will have something along these lines. Even if it is not a feature from the beginning, in some years, teachers will introduce it, and then it not be in play in the next class. I seem to remember my DC just being confused about the reasoning behind the whole thing.

No problem as my three kids behave. So they would enjoy the rewards. Better to do that than blow smoke up another kids arse because he “had better choices” that day. Aka, the naughty kid!!

My DC's primary had something similar 20 years ago and I hated it then.

Really old fashioned and would indicate to me a lack of understanding of cognitive development and trauma informed practice which may well apply to teaching methods too.

Check out Good Morning Club - Ms Foster for excellent clarity on this.