Sparing the rod: reflections on the aboliton of corporal punishment in the UK and the increase in violence in British schools

Britain was the last state in Western Europe to give-up the practice of using corporal punishment in 1986, and behind other regions, such as Scandinavian countries, most of Australia, and South Africa in its reluctance to officially end this sanction. The impetus for change came from the necessity to reconcile British custom and practice with articles contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. A decade has now passed since the abolition of physical chastisement as a disciplinary measure in schools and teachers have been prohibited by their employers from using this sanction under legislation. Some critics look back lamenting the availability of the cane to inflict punishment, arguing instead that we have ‘gone soft on kids’. This also comes at a time when violence in schools is said by the teaching unions to have increased substantially and there are cases of ‘girls knifing girls’ in the classroom. How much of this can be attributed to the abolition of corporal punishment in school? What evidence is there for linking abolition with an increase in violence in schools, and how does this impact on teacher and pupil safety? Drawing on personal research in the 1980’s of the abolition of corporal punishment in British schools, and study of the current position of increasing gun and knife crime in society, this paper provides: an historical framework in which to consider the use of corporal punishment in British schools and elsewhere; a legal update as to the present arrangements for disciplinary sanctions and the use of ‘reasonable restraint’ to deal with unruly pupils; and an exploration of staff and pupil safety, set against the evidence and concern over violence in the classroom. Discussion concludes with consideration of how teachers can best respond to managing classrooms without violating children’s rights and the adequacy of law in making clear this legal position for policy-makers and practitioners.