Most schools often punish students for low attendance, but the Manchester school found another way to reduce absences. It may be a bit upside down, but it works.
Staff at the Co-op Academy Belle Vue are full of praise for the rewards initiative where, instead of being punished for not showing up, children are rewarded for being at school. Parents also respond enthusiastically.
Scott Fletcher, the school’s principal, introduced a scheme whereby children who behave well, are on time and are rarely absent receive points. They can then exchange them for tickets for prize draws. The more points a student has, the more tickets and therefore the better chance of winning a prize.
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And those prizes apparently motivate them to come to school. You can quickly win bicycles, footballs and sweets. But also office or school supplies or toys.
A 40-inch television for the most exemplary student
The school also occasionally organizes a lottery for students with exemplary behavior. They have a chance to win larger prizes, such as a gift voucher or voucher at a sports store, for example.
A recent ‘golden ticket raffle’ saw more than £2,000 worth of rewards handed out, including a 40-inch television for a pupil who was ‘the only one to have achieved 100 per cent attendance during the final weeks of the school year’.
All prizes are paid with savings from the school treasury, The Mirror knows. Other schools are looking at the reward system, but are not immediately inclined to adopt it.