Experts warn rewarding students for meeting basic standards is a trend that needs to stop

School students are being awarded prizes just for turning up to class or not getting ­detention, as part of a trend of rewarding behaviour that ­simply meets basic standards. But experts warn this strategy is making rewards meaningless.

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School students are being awarded prizes just for turning up to class or not getting ­detention, as part of a trend of rewarding behaviour that ­simply meets basic standards.

But experts warn the strategy is making rewards meaningless and is creating a generation of children who expect a prize just for turning up.

The trend was revealed in a Saturday Telegraph review of reward policies in public schools across NSW.

It follows the introduction of the Education Department’s Positive Behaviour for Learning strategy in 2007, which says teachers should use preventive tactics to manage behaviour.

Experts are warning that rewarding students for meeting basic standards is creating a generation of kids who expect a prize for turning up.

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In one example, students at Richmond Public School, in northwest Sydney, are given a certificate if they have fewer than three detentions in a term.

If a student received no detention for one term they move to a bronze certificate.

At Ambarvale Public School, in Sydney’s southwest, students who have “less than three incidents resulting in ­reflection time” are given a ­“reward day” — involving a trip to the movies or other excursion — at the end of term.

Centre for Independent Studies Education researcher Blaise Joseph said good students should be rewarded, but the benefits lost their effectiveness if the system was overused.

“It is a good idea for schools to praise and reward students who behave well and attend school regularly — up to a point,” he said.

“However, positive feedback and encouragement can lose their effectiveness if used excessively.”

Schools are also given rewards to boost attendance.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Greg said following this trend gives kids a misguided impression of the real world.

At Albert Park Public School in Lismore, on the state’s north coast, kindergarten students who turn up on time and have no absences in a week get an entry into a lucky dip.

At South Grafton High School, also on the north coast, students are given an award if they achieve 94 per cent attendance. Further north at Kingscliff High, students who miss less than four days in a year receive an “outstanding attendance award”.

Child psychologist Michael Carr Gregg said giving rewards for simply turning up could lower absenteeism, but may also give children a misguided impression of the real world.

He also said it was important to make sure the system was working: “Are the retention rates higher and the rate of absenteeism lower?”

An Education Department spokesman said there had been a marked improvement in student behaviour at both Ambarvale and Richmond public schools, as well as a ­decrease in suspensions, since the rewards program was introduced.