Stickers/brag bands
Simple but effective. Use wearable items such as stickers and brag bands to celebrate student success. The brag bands can also be used as a communication tool with parents with messages on like, “Ask me what brilliant thing I did today!”
Point systems
Having a point system to reward good behaviour and achievement is a really great way to build up rewards over time and let pupils know that all the little things they do such as saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ can be just as important as the big things.
Team rewards
Get your class united in reaching a goal with a team reward to work towards. The reward itself works best when suggested and voted for by your class. The points could be for a variety of good behaviour choices or student successes, or you may want to focus on a specific thing such as listening to the adults in the classroom.
Certificates
These are really treasured by pupils as they let them know they have achieved something really special. It’s great fun to tuck these inside pupils’ books for them to find later, or you could stick them up on display for the pupils to see as soon as they walk in. If you want to ramp this up a level, you could have a class assembly and hand out certificates to individuals for really special achievements.
Stop and Share
When you see a student doing something amazing, stop the class or a small group of pupils and show everyone, explain what that student has done to make you proud and encourage your students to see if they can get that reaction too. If you have children who aren’t fond of this kind of attention, then you could just stop one other pupil or adult to share their achievement there and then on a smaller scale.
Share outside of the classroom
This could mean the student taking their work to show other adults or pupils in school, adults at home, or maybe you could share this on social media, (following your GDPR policy etc.) so that their success can be celebrated by a wider audience.
Peer involvement
Let your pupils take some ownership of giving praise and rewards. This could be something a simple as giving out stickers to children who line up smartly and silently or making a certificate for someone who has been a great friend. It can mean so much to your pupils to receive praise from their peers, and it’s a great way to encourage kindness in your classroom.
Displays
Put up work, photos of pupils etc. that show their success, so everyone can see it. If it’s on the wall they can also look back on it and reflect on their past successes and see how they have progressed over time.