By now, you've read all about us and we've told you how great we are, but don't just take our word for it!
"Carrot Rewards is the best rewards system I have ever used. Students are really motivated by it, and want to earn rewards for themselves and their house, and behaviour has improved amongst those pupils where it was an issue. The Carrot Rewards team are really switched on and understand what schools and teachers need. I’ve now introduced Carrot Rewards into two schools that I’ve worked in, and recommended it to many others. It is effective, fun and easy to run."
I started using Carrot Rewards when I was teaching at a school in Hertfordshire. As a teacher I found it easy to use, fun and incredibly effective. So much so, that when I move to Brighton College in Abu Dhabi, I suggested that they introduce it as well, and also brought it to Cranleigh, AbuDhabi, when I moved there in 2014.
At Cranleigh we use Carrot Rewards with years 3 to 9, our oldest students. Every department and class have their own stickers, and the only rule we have is that pupils have to earn them, to ensure they really value them. We have put spaces into the planners where pupil put their stickers, and we also have a series of certificates which pupils can work hard to achieve.
For example in my maths classes pupils are given a star when they produce good work, and once they have three stars they are given a sticker. In P.E. stickers are given in each class to the pupil who worked the hardest, and the English Language department often award stickers to pupils who are working hard to improve their English, as English is not the first language for some of them. It is at the teacher’s discretion, but they have to be earned.
What makes it really special is that the rewards don't just count toward to pupil’s accomplishments. As we have a house system, all rewards also count towards house points, so pupils get the added benefit of helping their house. Every week we run off the latest league tables, and the house with the most rewards is awarded a point.
The teachers at all the schools I have worked at where Carrot Rewards is the chosen reward scheme have really liked it, as ultimately all they have to do is give out stickers. This is a huge improvement on many reward schemes which are often cumbersome, and require significant amounts of administration.
The pupils also like logging their rewards, especially since the new MyStickers portal was launched, as our pupils like looking at the graphs and are really motivated by seeing how they are doing. We don’t run a shop where pupils can exchange their rewards for prizes, as the scheme is running successfully at the moment without this. However it is useful to know that this is an option which we might consider introducing in the future.
I've built a good relationship with the Carrot Rewards team over the years. They are incredibly patient and supportive, and the customer service is second to none.
Richard Henwood, Head of Maths Cranleigh School Abu Dhabi
