The Student Room Group

Should children be rewarded with money for doing well at school?

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Original post by Trinculo
I'm struggling to think of a single boon.

How about don't tax the parents as much in the first place so they can give money to their children if they want to?


Instead of money itself, the kids need a good reward for doing good. It cant be anything like attending peprallies and stuff like that, it has to be something that works for almost everyone.
Can you imagine the victimhood of the people not receiving the payments?

There would be people falling all over themselves to do the racial and social infographics on it.

In essence, the people not receiving the payments would be more excluded than ever.
Original post by Alex Fierro
Instead of money itself, the kids need a good reward for doing good. It cant be anything like attending peprallies and stuff like that, it has to be something that works for almost everyone.


There isn't anything except money.
Original post by Volibear
Yeah sure. When these lazy sods fall of the tracks as soon as they realise they won't get rewarded for everything they do well once they get into the 'real world' it'll make things easier for the people who have a better work ethic.


But we are rewarded for things though.

We look for a job and are rewarded with job seekers allowance. Don't look for a job? Don't get your money.

We get a job, work and get paid. Don't do the work? Don't get paid (and fired). Do a really good job? Get a promotion and get paid more.

Life is literally a reward based system.
Original post by Trinculo
There isn't anything except money.


There may be. Different things appeal to different people.
Original post by Ninja Squirrel
But we are rewarded for things though.

We look for a job and are rewarded with job seekers allowance. Don't look for what? Don't get your money.

We get a job, work and get paid. Don't do the work? Don't get paid (and fired). Do a really good job? Get a promotion and get paid more.

Life is literally a reward based system.


Pretty much nobody thinks of JSA as a reward. It's an entitlement that a great many people feel aggrieved at having to demonstrate their qualification for.

Pay for your job is entirely different. You have a job, you do it and you get paid. Schooling is universal, and you don't choose it.

Like I said - how would such a payment system be measured? To be in any way cost effective it would have to be outrageously simplistic - i.e. a teacher ticks a box every month and if that box is ticked, you get paid.

Can you see anyone not getting their box ticked? I can't. If pupil A misbehaves and doesn't get paid, he/she will go and find pupil B who has been ticked but behaved just as badly - and before you know it you have turned the school into a social security tribunal operating all day, every day.
Original post by Alex Fierro
There may be. Different things appeal to different people.


But you just said it had to be something that works for almost everyone.
Original post by Trinculo
But you just said it had to be something that works for almost everyone.


It does, but that doesnt mean it has yo be the exact same thing.
Original post by Ninja Squirrel
A small monetary incentive for children in secondary school who do well at school could really help motivate kids to try their best at school. Not just in competency but for being well behaved as well.

It doesn't have to be much, something like £20 - £40 a month depending on what year you're in and is only given at the end of each month for students which meet behavioural and academic requirements. With the obvious exception for children who are just not very smart but they are clearly trying their best.

This is in essence both a reward for good students and a punishment for bad students.

How many kids are there in secondary school at the moment? Probably like five million? Assuming 90% of children would receive the payment this would be about £1.8billion a year.

It would certainly give disadvantaged children who don't have much money from parents the means to purchase school equipment, trainers, clothes etc and just generally have some money.

What do you think?


We already have something like this. They are called scolarships. If you do well enough, then an organisation/company may give you money for financial support when you go to university.

However, your proposed scheme would be a waste of taxpayer's money as I would rather want it to be spent on more essential things such as infrastructure, Emergency services, NHS etc
How about rewarded with special edition video games that cannot be bought on the open market?
Original post by Ninja Squirrel
Well obviously if you're sick and have hospital appointments or whatever then that's fine. You're only scored on the days you actually attend, unless you have a legit reason, like a hospital appointment.



Actually studies show that it's kids from poorer families which are the misbehaved ones, not the ones with lots of money. I think it has something to do with being raised by parents who simply don't care what you do and how much trouble you get into so the kids grow up without much discipline.

:oops: for some reason I read behavioural and attendance requirements :lol:
That's interesting. In my experience, it's often the other way round. The poorer children (very generally) have more siblings, and are more likely to just stay quiet and not want attention in class, so don't misbehave at all. I can definitely see how it could work the other way though!
Original post by Ninja Squirrel
A small monetary incentive for children in secondary school who do well at school could really help motivate kids to try their best at school. Not just in competency but for being well behaved as well.

It doesn't have to be much, something like £20 - £40 a month depending on what year you're in and is only given at the end of each month for students which meet behavioural and academic requirements. With the obvious exception for children who are just not very smart but they are clearly trying their best.

This is in essence both a reward for good students and a punishment for bad students.

How many kids are there in secondary school at the moment? Probably like five million? Assuming 90% of children would receive the payment this would be about £1.8billion a year.

It would certainly give disadvantaged children who don't have much money from parents the means to purchase school equipment, trainers, clothes etc and just generally have some money.

What do you think?


You don't need money as a reward for children. The reward lies in a child seeing their E grade go up to a C and being able to see that they are capable of much more.
As per the titular question, I would say yes, if the parents really cared about the child because the incentive for the parent to do that would be so the child will progress in his or her education in a well manner and do well in school until the child's incentive for doing well in school becomes so they will put themselves in a better place for employment, lol. :smile:
I thought there used to be some form of payment for students of poorer families who stayed on at sixth form, which was then scrapped?

That was a good idea.

Doubt you could get it passed in these days of austerity and definitely not for everyone. You also have the fact that school/ alternative leaving age is 18.
It’s at the discretion of the parents, I think.

I don’t see the harm in it. It’s a reward for hard work. I wasn’t ever given money for working hard, but I know friends who were told they’d receive £100 per A and £200 per A* at GCSE.

Spoiler: One was missed at a full row of B’s 😂
Yes because it prepares them for the workforce because you have to work well to get paid or you'll get fired. And it'll motivate some. Even a little as £10 a month could do a lot.
The reward should come post school in a good well paid job.
Original post by constantine2016
You don't need money as a reward for children. The reward lies in a child seeing their E grade go up to a C and being able to see that they are capable of much more.


Original post by KingHarold
The reward should come post school in a good well paid job.

In TSRland you’re missing the point. The point is supposed to be to motivate people who are not already motivated

Of course - this is the problem with a universal system- it will reward people who are already motivated in the main.
Original post by Emerald777O
Yes because it prepares them for the workforce because you have to work well to get paid or you'll get fired. And it'll motivate some. Even a little as £10 a month could do a lot.


By “as little as £10 per month” what you mean is half a billion pounds per year.
'£20 - £40 a month' ?!?!

My school has reward assemblies at the end of each term and gives out £5 amazon vouchers to people who get tutee of the term or something

But they mostly give them to year 7's / 8's anyways

In year 8 I got something like every time we did those assemblies - I'm in year 9 and for my house group like only one year 9 got something xD.

btw I'm one of those quiet kids who never gets in trouble and has pretty much perfect attendance CAUSE IM WEIRD

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