School uses parents to whack bad students

A private Christian school in Masterton has confirmed that parents are being called in to physically discipline students.

Homeleigh Christian School has finally received an Education Review Office report saying it complies with regulations that ban staff from administering corporal punishment.

Corporal punishment has been outlawed in New Zealand schools since 1990.

The ERO report said Homeleigh's policy in cases of serious offence was now to call parents or guardians to the school then leave them with the child "so the proper process of discipline may be carried out".

Board chairman and acting school principal Eeuwe Huizinga said the school introduced the policy so that it could fulfil "biblical requirements" for discipline.

The law prevented the school delegating that authority to teachers, so it had come up with this solution. It had not been the school's intention to find a loophole in the law.

Parents at the school believed that sparing children the rod spoilt them, and were all in agreement with the policy, Mr Huizinga said.

It was used for serious offences such as disobedience and blasphemy.

A member of the school board, Klaas Verbeek, confirmed that corporal punishment was administered by parents.

"The fact of the matter is that the parents are responsible for disciplining their children."

The school, with a roll of 32 children in years one to eight, was set up in 1989.

The ERO review services manager, Lane Mohi, said questions remained about the school's policy and whether it was applied consistently. She said the review office's view was that force should not be used.

- NZPA