Surrey
Self-efficacy
All teachers had removed rewards but kept whole class certificates as well as headteacher awards, but children were told that all would get one through the year. Children were more settled and secure without stickers. Wow work had been removed which has led to children valuing each other’s work more, rather than just the best.
Teachers had normalised error, modelling mistakes and talking about them. Children are now more confident in saying they are ‘not sure’ if they understand something and are helping each other more readily. There is less copying of each other’s work.
A child who in the first term would constantly say ‘I did this – it shows …….(school value)’ in the hope of getting a sticker, now seems more secure and displays the values naturally without the need of validation from a sticker.
Rachel – Nonsuch Primary
Learning powers
Teachers had used their own school values as the learning powers. Whereas with rewards children would tell the teacher when they had used one of their learning powers in the hope of getting a sticker, they were now using the powers more naturally and praising each other’s learning behaviour.