It’s that time of year when you’re feeling refreshed (hopefully!), you’ve put the final touches to our classrooms and are getting ready to welcome a new group of children.
I totally agree with this, our behaviour chart has naturally phased out and I didn't bother putting it up this year, I never really used it and when it was used it was mainly from TA's to put children on cloudy because of behaviour at playtime! We have to do a 'star of the week' in the 'celebration assembly' but it always causes neurodivergent children to come out crying because they didn't get it and it's sad to see other children's faces be so expectant and then disappointed because they didn't get it.
That is really interesting Sue - When I was a Head we always had a Smiley Assembly on a Friday where one child from each class was nominated for a very public award. It always caused some children to be upset because they hadn't been chosen and some children REALLY didn't like being rewarded so publicly.
I also found that staff would often choose children who didn't appear to succeed in other aspects of school life which would lead others - who were always conforming to the expectation - never/rarely to be chosen, which sent mixed messages.
It was done with the best intentions (and because it was tradition in the school) but definitely wouldn't do it now.
This is great I’ve never liked sticker charts they’re unfair and just another piece of pointless paper work to try and keep on top of, half the time if I ask a child why they have a sticker it’s for tidying up! 🙈
I’m definitely more a fan of using words and non verbal forms of communication to motivate and praise 👍
The culture of teaching that I was trained in was all about behaviour charts and stickers. It is really good that we know so much more about self regulation and effective methods to promote it now - we just need to continue to spread the word!
APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE! So refreshing and exciting to read this insightful article that affirms my belief in the long term benefits of supporting children's emotional self-regulation. The positive impact on learning and the mental health benefits are lasting and long term.
I totally agree with this, our behaviour chart has naturally phased out and I didn't bother putting it up this year, I never really used it and when it was used it was mainly from TA's to put children on cloudy because of behaviour at playtime! We have to do a 'star of the week' in the 'celebration assembly' but it always causes neurodivergent children to come out crying because they didn't get it and it's sad to see other children's faces be so expectant and then disappointed because they didn't get it.
That is really interesting Sue - When I was a Head we always had a Smiley Assembly on a Friday where one child from each class was nominated for a very public award. It always caused some children to be upset because they hadn't been chosen and some children REALLY didn't like being rewarded so publicly.
I also found that staff would often choose children who didn't appear to succeed in other aspects of school life which would lead others - who were always conforming to the expectation - never/rarely to be chosen, which sent mixed messages.
It was done with the best intentions (and because it was tradition in the school) but definitely wouldn't do it now.
This is great I’ve never liked sticker charts they’re unfair and just another piece of pointless paper work to try and keep on top of, half the time if I ask a child why they have a sticker it’s for tidying up! 🙈
I’m definitely more a fan of using words and non verbal forms of communication to motivate and praise 👍
The culture of teaching that I was trained in was all about behaviour charts and stickers. It is really good that we know so much more about self regulation and effective methods to promote it now - we just need to continue to spread the word!
APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE! So refreshing and exciting to read this insightful article that affirms my belief in the long term benefits of supporting children's emotional self-regulation. The positive impact on learning and the mental health benefits are lasting and long term.
Ah, thank you for the feedback - I am really glad the articles have been useful!