NRS-16918 | Observation Books [Limeburner's Creek Public School]

Full description

The purpose of the observation book was for the Inspector to record general remarks about the management of the school, the relationships and discipline within it and the range and effectiveness of the teaching. The Regulations under the Public Schools Act, 1866 noted “The Inspector’s remarks upon the state of the school visited by him, will be entered in the “Observation Book” of the school, which, as a School Record, should be carefully preserved. Entries therein are not to be erased or altered.” (Regulations adopted by the Council of Education on 27 February 1867, s. 83)

Prior to 1939, these volumes were written up by hand, and are printed in an appropriate format. Four pages are allowed for each report, which is headed by the name of the school and the date of inspection. The report is then divided into four main areas: attendance, organisation, discipline and instruction. From 1939, the majority of entries made in these volumes are entered on a specifically designed form, which is then pasted into the observation book. The form details the school and the inspection date, which was normally once a year before the later 1940’s, and every other year thereafter. The form is divided into three main areas: organisation, government and instruction.

‘Attendance’ is a brief section in which the number present on the day of inspection, the total enrolment at the school and the name of the teacher are recorded.

The ‘organisation’ section pertains to the school’s equipment, beautification programs, staff direction, records, educational agencies, smoothness and effectiveness of general management, and the standing of the school in relation to the general community.

‘Discipline’ covers observations on the pupils’ behaviour, manners, and standards of neatness in both their work and their persons. Remarks on physical training may also be included here.

‘Government’ comments on relations between staff and students, effectiveness of discipline in fostering ideals of conduct and stimulating independent thought and activity, and the socialising influence of the school on its pupils.

‘Instruction’, or general survey evaluates the co-ordination of lesson courses, preparation, general speech-training, teaching methods and their effectiveness in promoting intellectual growth and development, and an appreciation of the higher cultural values.

From 1939 until 1942 the form also includes a section headed Physical Training, which may also appear in reports for 1943 where old stocks of the forms have been used.

The series from Limeburner’s Creek Public School is currently represented by a single volume, the last in the series, which covers the period from 1933 until the final closure of the school in 1966. The first report in this volume includes the observation “The school was opened last year after approx. two years’ closure,” a statement confirmed by the absence of entries for 1930 and 1931 from the school’s Admission Register (NRS 16916 [B8436]). The whereabouts of the previous volumes in the series is not now known, but their disappearance may well be connected to this temporary closure of the school.

Reports appear annually in this volume until 1942, and approximately biennially from 1945 to 1956. Reports are next given for 1960 and 1961, and then annually from 1964 until 1966. The school’s Visitors’ Book for this period (NRS 16920 [B8435]), normally signed by the Inspectors on the occasion of their visits to the school, seems to confirm that no reports are missing.