At TOWIS, positive behaviour and a growth mindset are at the heart of our school community — we grow together through respect, responsibility, and resilience.
How ClassDojo Works at TOWIS
ClassDojo is the live behaviour and communication platform used by every teacher at TOWIS, every day. It is not a system that runs in the background — it is a visible, real-time record of how every student is doing, updated lesson by lesson, visible to parents at any moment through the ClassDojo parent app.
| Everyone Starts at Green Every student at TOWIS begins each academic year with 100 Merit Points already in their account. 100 points places every student immediately at Band C — Green — the expected standard. Nobody starts the year behind. Nobody has to earn their way back from zero. From day one, every student is already where they should be. The only question is: how much higher will you fly? |
From that starting point, students add to their total through positive behaviour and effort — or reduce it if behaviour falls below expectations. The live tally is always visible to teachers, and parents can check it at any time. There are no surprises on report day: the points tell the story all term long.
How Teachers Award and Record Points
ClassDojo allows every teacher to set their own skills — the specific behaviours and attitudes they are looking for in their classroom. These skills are aligned with TOWIS values and the Student Profile, so every teacher, in every subject, is looking for and rewarding the same things.
| Type | What It Means | Examples at TOWIS |
|---|---|---|
| ➕ Positive Skills (+1 to +5 points) | Awarded when a positive behaviour or attitude is observed. The teacher taps the skill on their device and the point is added to the student's total instantly. Parents see the notification in real time. | Working hard, great attitude, helping others, excellent effort, on task, teamwork, kindness, growth mindset, Blue Zone challenge attempt, outstanding contribution |
| ➖ Needs Work (−1 to −5 points) | Used when a behaviour falls below expectations. Points are deducted with a brief verbal explanation to the student. Deductions are logged and visible to parents, so there are no surprises. | Off task, disrupting others, missing homework, disrespectful tone, mobile phone out, not following instructions, unsafe behaviour |
| ◻ Neutral Skills (0 points) | Used to track specific milestones or events without changing the points total. Useful for recording attendance at interventions, receipt of feedback, or completion of a task. | Received feedback, read orange comment, intervention session attended, reading record completed |
Point values are weighted to reflect impact. A student who goes above and beyond — supporting a classmate, completing a Space Blue challenge, or demonstrating exceptional resilience — can earn up to 5 points in a single moment. Equally, serious behaviour concerns carry a higher deduction, reflecting the importance of the boundary that was crossed.
From ClassDojo to Merit Points — The Conversion
ClassDojo points convert into Merit Points, which determine each student’s ACE Behaviour Band on the termly report. The conversion is simple:
| 10ClassDojo Points | = 1Merit Point |
Merit Points are cumulative across the term. Because every student starts with 100 Merit Points (the Green / expected standard), the question is always: where do you go from here? The target is to build those points up, week by week, lesson by lesson, until the end-of-term band reflects the student you have chosen to be.
Merit Points at the end of the quarter determine the ACE Behaviour Band:
| Band | Merit Points | Recognition |
|---|---|---|
| 🚀 A — Space Blue | 150+ | Principal's Commendation Letter home · 3 raffle tickets at ACE Day |
| 🛩️ B — Sky Blue | 130–149 | Class recognition · 2 raffle tickets at ACE Day |
| ✅ C — Green | 100–129 | Expected standard · 1 raffle ticket at ACE Day · Everyone starts here |
| ⚠️ D — Amber | 80–99 | Support plan activated · Parent contacted · Path back to Green provided |
| 🔴 E — Red | Below 80 | Senior Leadership involved · Formal parent meeting · Full support provided |