NRS-18955 | Punishment Book [Jackadgery Public School]

Full description

Punishment Books are registers of all punishments administered to pupils and written on standard Education Department stationery.

Regulations under the Public Schools Act of 1866, adopted by the Council of Education 27 February 1867, regulate the punishment of children in schools by stipulating "In the government of the pupils, all degrading and injurious punishments are to be avoided.  The Teacher's discipline must be mild but firm, his manner kindly, his demeanour cheerful and calculated to gain the confidence of his pupils, and his language marked by strict propriety.  While he should overlook no offence, his aim should be to prevent the necessity for punishment by the improvement of the offender."

In relation to corporal punishment the regulations continue: "Corporal punishment should be inflicted in extreme cases only, and then as a last resource; and the teacher must keep a record of the time and place at which pupils were corporally chastised, the amount of such punishment and the nature of the offence."

Uniform stationery soon evolved to enable compliance with these regulations.  these punishment books are registers of all punishments given to pupils.  Details include pupils' names, teachers' names, nature of offences, instrument of punishment (invariably the cane), and amount of punishment (strokes), in chronological order.  They are periodically signed-off by Inspectors.

From 21 December 1996 corporal punishment of students attending government schools was no longer permitted under the Education Reform Amending (School Discipline) Act 1995 (Act No. 93, 1995) which amended the Education Reform Act 1990 (Act No. 8,1990), s.35 (2A).