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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

School Punishments

145 replies

Clydesdale · 01/06/2009 11:26

Hi all

My year 1 DS drew on a wall during class supervised by a cover teacher on the monday before half term. his punishment was to clean the wall and miss both breaks and lunchplay for the rest of the week. during these breaks he was to stand facing the wall in the playground.

i went mad when i found out! 1 - i was not informed, 2- i felt this was incredibly extreme punishment, 3- how did he get to draw so much in the first place?

Am i so unreasonable to feel that missing breaks and lunch play for a whole week is totally over the top? I know from my other half who is in the forces that facing the wall is a form of sensory deprivation used by the forces prior to interrogation! To do this for a whole week infornt of the whole school seems bullying to me

I am in the process of writing to the school Head, govenor and LEA and would like to see others opinons on this!

OP posts:

Thandeka · 01/06/2009 11:29

As a teacher albeit secondary we never do punishments like this. IMHO humiliation used as a punishment is unacceptable.

paisleyleaf · 01/06/2009 11:30

YANBU. Year 1?!!
I agree with your points....especially no 3.
He should have perhaps missed whatever breaks/lunchtimes it took him to clean the wall. I think that would be one, or a day.

paisleyleaf · 01/06/2009 11:32

Also, if there was cheeking back from him about it, then you'd expect a more strict punishment. But that couldn't be the case for a year 1 child.

Uriel · 01/06/2009 11:33

How awful - totally OTT on the school's part.

star6 · 01/06/2009 11:34

YANBU! I teach this age group and would NEVER use this as a consequence of actions. Cleaning the wall perhaps, as a logical consequence. But this begs the question - what was the "supervising" teacher doing?

laweaselmys · 01/06/2009 11:39

Cleaning it off is fine.

I'm a bit about the rest. Even just having to stay inside as 'detention' would be better.

In your letter make sure that it is not the fact that he has been punished but the manner of it/similarity to torture methods.

I'm not sure it is necessarily fair to blame the teachers/TAs for not spotting him on drawing on the wall, depending on the layout of the classroom and circumstances it could have been really very easy for his actions to go unnoticed until it was too late.

Kayteee · 01/06/2009 11:52

Facing the wall???!!! Feck, no! I would have been in there today demanding to know who was responsible. Make a formal complaint that is outragious imho.

Kayteee · 01/06/2009 11:53

ehem..outrageous.... I was typing too quickly!

YorkshireRose · 01/06/2009 12:30

YANBU - the being forced to face the wall is deliberate humiliation and probably would not be allowed in a prison, never mind in a classroom of 5 year olds!

Fair punishment would be to clean the wall in breaktime and apologise to the teacher (perhaps in writing if his writing is up to it).

You are quite justified in complaining - I would go straight to the head with this one.

BCNS · 01/06/2009 12:36

the child that attacked ds2 in school, breaking his nose and cheek.. got an afternoon outside the heads office and some 1-1 time etc.

whet your dc has been out through for what he did is way over the top.

there needs to be a national discaplin policy, and bullying policy..that actually works for the children and the teachers.

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 01/06/2009 12:45

YA Absolutely not BU!
Standing against the wall is sheer humiliation and totally out of proportion.

btw - did DS (i take it he is 5?) tell you about the punishment himself? Is there any way he could have got it wrong, or has someone else corroborated what he said?

londonone · 01/06/2009 12:55

FFS - Listen to yourselves -facing the wall is not torture! Facing the wall is gen erally used to help the child focus on what they did rather than pull faces at/chat to/ distract other children. I think a week seems excessive but IMO facing the wall is not am problem in any way. It's not sensory deprivation FFS.

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 01/06/2009 12:57

londonone - I am interested in your post. Do you work in education?

It seems you are out of step with what the rest of us think is reasonable for a 5-year old, and I am genuinely curious as to why.

lostinthecitylover · 01/06/2009 13:01

not sure if londonone has any dcs

londonone · 01/06/2009 13:02

Yes I do work in education. I have worked in a large variety of schools and I would say in 90% of the schools the time out table etc usually faces the wall. As I said it helps the child to think about why they are there rather than trying to catch other childrens attention etc. Normally a child is not there for particularly long. Hence me saying that I think the duration of the punishment is far more of an issue than the fact the child had to face the wall.

hercules1 · 01/06/2009 13:05

I would go along with the cleaning of the wall and missing 1-2 days break but not facing the wall. I wouldnt send my child in tbh and I'm a teacher too.

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 01/06/2009 13:05

OK, I take your point londonone, so what length of time is it acceptable for a 5-year old to stand out in a playground with his face against the wall, in full view of all his friends and the teachers?

If you were to use this method, is it intended as a punishment? Or as some kind of 'reflection'?

5Foot5 · 01/06/2009 13:11

Cleaning the wall fine. Maybe missing a break time to do this fine. Facing the wall in full view of everyone else is way over the top.

Once when DD was about 4 she was playing up at home so I sat her facing the wall until she could behave. This was just at home with noone else there. A couple of minutes later I saw she was crying her heart out. She obviously felt humiliated to be in this position. I never used that punishment again.

londonone · 01/06/2009 13:11

Who said anything about having his face against the wall? Facing the wall and having your face against it are 2 entirely different things. You also seem to have a problem with it being in front of other children and teachers? Time outs in class are in full view of everyone, is that a problem as well? Missing play and time out can act both as a punishment and as an opportunity for reflection. I certainly wouldn't expect a punishment for a KS1 child to last at all beyond the day of the offnce, unless it was very very serious.

Kayteee · 01/06/2009 13:12

well I'm glad my kids aren't in your school londonone

mumeeee · 01/06/2009 13:13

YANBU. That is OTT. Clening the wall and missing one break would have been accetable. It is always unacceptable to make a child stand facing a wall.

Deeeja · 01/06/2009 13:13

YANBU! That is shocking! Facing a wall, OMG, I would be fuming! Your poor little ds. Agree it is torture.

Uriel · 01/06/2009 13:13

Me too.

FairLadyRantALot · 01/06/2009 13:14

I think the lenght of time of the punishment is extreme, especially considering the "crime", also facing thw wall in the playground...bad idea...it is humiliation...

how badly did he draw on the wall, and if very badly, where was the teacher?

The cleaning it up, I think is fair punishment, and maybe missing one break...and having to stay inside,

londonone · 01/06/2009 13:17

Kayteee - It's not a case of "my" school. As I said the vast majority of schools use time out and oten this involves children facing a wall either sat on the floor or at a desk.

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