Celebrating Achievement

Our students have identified that they value recognition over reward. They speak highly of personal praise and relationship building as the behaviours they value in staff. In our school we have a number of ways in which we like to recognise students’ positive contributions to their learning and the college.

Teachers award College Credits in lessons to students who demonstrate excellence. In every lesson, every day, teachers are asked to identify the Student of the Lesson, which is worth 3 CCs and entry into our termly prize draws. College Credits are also awarded for:

• Positive contributions in lessons (1 CC)
• Excellent classwork or homework (2 CCs)
• Kindness or Thoughtfulness (1 CC)
• Participation in an Event. Performance, Fixture or Competition (3 CCs)

In addition to this, 1 CC is awarded each week to each student who has 100% attendance in the previous week, as well as an additional 3 CCs each term for students with Excellent Attendance (over 97%). Each week there is a 'Spotlight on Attendance' draw where one student from KS3 and one student from KS4 can win a £5 amazon voucher for having 100% attendance the previous week. Students who have zero negative events recorded in a term receive 10 CCs for excellent behaviour.

College Credits are recorded on our management information system, Bromcom, which means that parents/carers are able to keep a track of student success via our MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) app. Students are awarded with a postcard home and a button badge for their lanyard when they achieve Bronze (15 CCs), Silver (35 CCs), Gold (60 CCs), Platinum (75 CCs) and Diamond (100 CCs) levels and are included in a prize draw at the end of each term in their House Celebration Assembly.

We encourage teachers to also recognise student achievement and effort through direct contact home by telephone or email.

At the Celebration Assemblies run by each House at the end of every term, a broad range of student achievement is recognised and various awards are presented.

House and School Councils

Swavesey believes in giving every student an opportunity to have a say about their school. The whole student body is able to to feedback about the school through our student voice process, which involves a student representative from each form collecting the views of their form. This is then fed back to Student Leaders through a House Council meeting for each of the 6 houses, and who then have the opportunity to present the views to a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Students are also often able to feedback on events and activities through online questionnaires.

The School Council consists of the House Leaders who meet every half term to discuss and implement ideas that come from the House Councils. They may also form Focus Groups which any student can be a member of to explore particular issues in more depth. For example, at the moment there is a Focus group working with members of staff to provide feedback on how the 5Rs are used effectively in lessons. In the past, students have been involved in making decisions about uniform, use of mobile technology, developing the school canteen and reviewing the rewards and sanctions policy to name but a few.

Student Leadership Opportunities

Beyond this, Swavesey also aims to provide leadership opportunities to as many students as possible, through a range of positions. These currently include:

• House Student Leaders
• Arts Ambassadors
• Language Leaders
• Sports Leaders

Year 9 students go through a formal application and interview process for these positions and are awarded them ready for Year 10. These positions provide valuable skills for life beyond Swavesey, including teamwork, communication, decision-making and problem-solving, alongside increased confidence and independence. Further to the opportunity to shape and give back to the school community, these skills are valued by colleges, apprenticeships, universities and employers.