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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Golden Time: Is it a good idea?

35 replies

mazzystartled · 03/10/2009 11:03

DS (nearly 5) has just started in reception at a school that we are very happy with (so far).

He has mentioned Golden Time to me - I get the concept, heard of it in other schools (though they didn't seem to be using it when we went round the school last year, new head since then).

What do other parents thing of the idea? Esp any primary teachers?

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jasper · 03/10/2009 11:06

my three primary aged kids love it and the concept seems to work well at their school

Eddas · 03/10/2009 11:09

What is it? Never heard of it so i'm assuming dd doesn't have it at her school!

Avendesora · 03/10/2009 11:15

Seems to work well for us. DD has done cookery twice now and is very keen!

Original poster

mazzystartled · 03/10/2009 11:26

Its basically a kind of bribe incentivisation scheme, whereby they all get to do something nice (no info forthcoming from DS) on Friday afternoon provided that they have been sufficiently well-behaved.

I am not sure about it.

OP posts:

cat64 · 03/10/2009 11:34

This reply has been deleted

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neversaydie · 03/10/2009 12:07

The two real little sods in ds's last school used to compete to see who lost golden time the fastest. Then who got detention. So I don't think it did a lot to improve their behaviour! That school was not strong on behaviour management, though.

primarymum · 03/10/2009 12:10

We have two systems, Friday afternoon is "enrichment afternoon" when we bring in musicians, artists, sports coaches, dance tutors, trained parents, TA's etc who run a variety of sessions for all the children to take part in whilst the teachers take their PPA time. this is part of the school timetable and not dependant on behaviour. Each class in KS2 also has Golden Time once a week but this is 10-15 minutes max, and some or all of this can be lost for persistant poor behaviour. We are very strict about the time, it is not just extra playtime but something that has to be earned. I think it is much more motivational for yr 6's than for Reception/yr1/2 children who should be having lots of self chosen play based activities anyway!

TeamEdwardTango · 03/10/2009 12:12

Golden Time works well if there is a solid and workable behaviour policy behind it. Our school, it works like this
Verbal warning
Name on board
Name on board with X (Lose 5 mins playtime)
Name on board with XX (Lose 10 mins play)
Next misdemeanor loses 5 mins Golden Time

The "slate is wiped clean", so to speak, for every session (morning session, afternoon session)
Golden time is a free choice of a number of activities - art & craft, cookery, ball games in the yard, parachute games, board games, free play etc are some of the activities we offer, although not all every week.

ABetaDad · 03/10/2009 12:22

DSs both loved Golden Time. They combined it witha sun, cloud, lightening chart and once on the lightening it was 5 minutes loss of Golden time and then slate wiped clean.

Original poster

mazzystartled · 03/10/2009 12:47

Well of course they are going to love it!

I am more than happy for them to have "enrichment activities", in fact the more of that the better from my point of view.

I just wish it wasn't related to a behaviour system.

It seems to be a bit of a weak way of getting kids to behave. I would rather kids were motivated to be well behaved just because that is what is expected than for some reward system. Although I am prepared to admit I may be being somewhat naive as DS is only 5 and has huge people-pleasing tendencies (inherited from his dad!), and I have never (and never wish to be) in charge of 30 primary school children.

OP posts:

buy1get1free · 03/10/2009 13:54

Great if you are the kid who never sets a foot wrong, shuts up when asked, site nicely and does everything that's asked of you ..... not so good if you are a boisterous, fidgety little boy child who finds school a bit tricky and sometimes doesn't hear what the teacher says. Speaking from experience, it will be the same old faces missing golden time every week and for them it's a horrible. Kids tell their parents who missed it, they get a reputation blah, blah, blah. On the whole, it doesn't work because some children will never be able to aspire to the standards a school sets to achieve it

trickerg · 03/10/2009 14:23

I take the miscreants in golden time. We talk about what golden rule each child has broken (often a confusing dialogue!), then we do community service or 'bonding' (!) activities. We've picked things up in cloakrooms, weeded and played board games so far this term. As I usually see the same children, I'm aiming to start doing circle time as well. I think this social training will be of more help than sitting in silence thinking about things they can't remember they've done!

Of course, this may well all backfire, and chidlren may start misbehaving becasue they WANT to weed, tidy cloakrooms, play boardgames, have circle time.....

jennifersofia · 04/10/2009 23:58

My dcs have golden time, similar to what is described, though in one class they decide on Monday which activity they will do (out of a choice of 5) and can then look forward to enjoying it at the end of the week. My dcs enjoy it.
The school where I teach does not operate an official policy re: golden time. I occasionally run a 'points for play' system, whereby they earn points for good learning (working together, good discussion, etc) and these are translated into 5/10/15 minutes play on Friday.
What Buy1 said about golden time is true, whilst it is motivating for 90% of the class, it is almost always the same boys children who end up missing golden time, so for them it becomes pointless, and they become disaffected and alienated.
Some children do need concrete and tangible motivation, rather than just academic expectations.

Linnet · 05/10/2009 00:44

My dd's schoool has golden time. At the start of the day all their names are in the green space on a board, if they missbehave they are moved down to yellow, if bad again moved down to orange, then onto red if misbehave again, all this goes towards losing Golden time. In dd's class there are a few children who miss Golden time every week as they don't seem to ever behave.

If however they've stayed in the green they get golden time and if they've stayed in the green for 6 weeks/length of term they get shiny golden time. this is where they get a really big treat like a bouncy castle or a trip to the playpark.

I think it's a good system and dd loves it, she was very please about staying in the green and getting to go to the playpark.

Madsometimes · 05/10/2009 09:58

Golden Time is not used in our school in reception, but play based learning is used throughout the whole day.

From year 1 onwards they get only half an hours golden time on a Friday afternoon. Not enough at all in my opinion, especially at KS1.

choccyp1g · 05/10/2009 10:05

I don't like the concept of Golden Time, as it gives the message that the rest of the time at school is not fun.

At DS school, they lose a bit of playtime for misbehaviour, (or for not doing their homework). At least this is logical, in that they actually do the work that they should have already done, but it is still a problem, in that the fidgetty children, sho most need to let off steam, end up getting less time running about.

ShrinkingViolet · 05/10/2009 10:31

They have Golden Time at my SIL's school, and she uses it as an opportunity to take the kids out of school early on a Friday for weekends away "as they don't do anything in Golden Time anyway" .

Original poster

mazzystartled · 06/10/2009 22:34

Any primary teachers out there with a view?

OP posts:

trickerg · 06/10/2009 22:46

I really don't believe in KS1 children missing playtime. As choccy says, it is usually the children who need to run around who don't finish work, and making these children miss play is not doing anyone any favours.

Golden time is a lovely end to the week - children who-ve kept the golden rules can choose lots of different activities (like water play / dvd, outside toys, etc) for 20 minutes. They feel as if they've earned it, and really look forward to it.

As mentioned beofre, all the same children end up missing golden time, and I've just decided to make this a social learning session rather than a 'sitting in silence and think about what we've done' session (particularly as only a few of them can remember what they've done wrong). I think our aim should be to socialise the few children who perpetually miss golden time.

In addition to golden time, we also have special golden seats in our KS1 assembly for one special child per class who has kept the golden rules all the time over the week. They sit in the seats and get golden stickers.

natashawhite09 · 19/09/2014 17:17

NO NO NO!!! it is a negative, damaging concept, my kind, well behaved 11 yr old came home sobbing because she, and 8 other children were EXCLUDED, made sit at the back of the class writing out the school rules, while they others sniggered, watched a movie, ate sweets... stupid, damaging, encourages bullying, horrible horrible idea created by a quack! the reason they were excluded? handwriting and homework not neat enough... this is old fashioned christian brothers style of punishment only its mental and shames them in front of their peers. I AM RAGING!

Nerf · 19/09/2014 17:22

I hate it. Lovely for all the good little girls (and a bloody golden throne! Vomit) and pointless for the same old faces who clearly aren't managing to the stick to the rules.
Hideous.

Cabrinha · 19/09/2014 20:42

I don't like it.
I've got the naturally well behaved girl. Also well brought up I think - but this is luck.
She loves it - cloud and sun at her school.
It's been 2 weeks and I know who the regular "offenders" are.

TeenAndTween · 19/09/2014 20:58

For a short while our school introduced losing golden time at the end of the week for poor behaviour.

I really didn't like it.

First they included y1 in this. Being penalised on Friday afternoon for something that happened on Monday for a 6, 7, 8 year old is imo ridiculous and goes against pretty much all parenting advice.

Second, we as parents were told if our child was missing GT on the Friday. If it was so important we got a letter home, we needed to be told on the day of the incident not 3 days later.

Some children lost so much GT it was really demotivating for them, and gave them no incentive at all.

They now have a different system which is much better.

Snapespotions · 20/09/2014 11:14

DD's school uses it. She is in year 5. She has never lost GT in her years at primary school so far, but in the early days, it was always the same offenders every week - usually boys, perhaps those who found it a bit difficult to sit still. I did feel a bit sorry for them.

For the last year or so, I hear very little about kids losing their GT and wonder if perhaps those fidgety boys have now matured enough to fit in with the rules.

I don't really like the idea of using bribery to elicit good behaviour, and like the OP, I would prefer for kids to just do what's expected because it's expected. However, I too have a people-pleasing child who is naturally very obedient - we have never needed to use rewards or punishments at home. Faced with a class of 30 small children, I'm not sure what I'd do to keep them in order! I assume that schools keep using GT because it works?

MyDHhasnomemory · 20/09/2014 11:24

Teen and Tween, can you explain the better system your school uses?

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