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New clause 5
'For section 548 (no right to give corporal punishment), section 549 (interpretation of section 548) and section 550 (no avoidance of section 548 by refusing admission to school) of the Education Act 1996, the following sections shall be substituted--
"Corporal punishment lawful with parental consent
548.--(1) Where a pupil to whom this subsection applies is required on disciplinary grounds to be excluded from school for a fixed period, the school may make arrangements in accordance with subsection (2) for him to be given corporal punishment at his school as an alternative to that exclusion, and such punishment shall not be unlawful if his parent's consent to it has been given in accordance with subsection (2) and if the conditions set out in subsection (6) are satisfied.
(2) After the decision has been made to exclude the pupil the school may contact the parent to indicate that instead of and as an alternative to that exclusion, with the parent's consent, the pupil may be given corporal punishment, and if the parent indicates his consent in the form of a signed parental declaration the corporal punishment may be given instead of excluding the pupil.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply to--
(a) any pupil for whom education is provided--
(i) at a school maintained by a local education authority,
(ii) at a special school not so maintained, or
(iii) at a grant-maintained school;
(b) any pupil for whom education is provided at an independent school--
(i) which is maintained or assisted by a Minister of the Crown (including a school of which a government department is a proprietor) or is assisted by a local education authority, and
(ii) which falls within a prescribed class;
(c) any pupil for whom education is provided by a local education authority otherwise than at a school; and
(d) any pupil who is an assisted person for the purposes of this paragraph and for whom education is provided at an independent school not falling within paragraph (b) above.
(4) A pupil is an assisted person for the purposes of subsection (3)(d) if--
(a) he holds an assisted place under the scheme operated by the Secretary of State under section 479;
(b) any of the fees or expenses payable in respect of his attendance at school are paid by--
(i) the Secretary of State under section 491, or
(ii) a local education authority under section 517, or
(iii) the funding authority or a local education authority under paragraph 9 or 10 of Schedule 4;
(c) any of the fees payable in respect of his attendance at school are paid by a local education authority under section 518; or
(d) he falls within a prescribed category of persons.
(5) The Secretary of State may prescribe, for the purposes of subsection (4)(d), one or more categories of persons who appear to him to be persons in respect of whom any fees are paid out of public funds.
(6) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are:
(a) that the head teacher of the school must have previously determined, and made generally known within the school and published in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State that corporal punishment is one of the measures that may be taken with a view to regulating the conduct of pupils;
(c) that in addition to the member of the staff giving the corporal punishment, a female member of the staff must be present when corporal punishment is being given to a female pupil and a male member of the staff must be present when corporal punishment is being given to a male pupil;
(d) that the punishment must be reasonable in all the circumstances;
(e) that the reasons for the punishment must be set out in writing and given to the parent before the punishment takes place, and those reasons shall also be recorded in a register which, in accordance with regulations made under this section, is to be maintained by the school and open to inspection, and a parent shall have the right to see a copy of every entry relating to his own child on giving reasonable notice of his desire to do so; and
(f) that the register shall also record details of the nature of the corporal punishment, along with the names of those present when it is given.
(7) In determining for the purposes of subsection (6)(d) whether a punishment is reasonable, the following matters in particular shall be taken into account--
(a) whether the punishment constitutes a proportionate punishment in the circumstances of the case; and
(b) any special circumstances relevant to its imposition on the pupil which are known to the person imposing it (or of which he ought reasonably to be aware) including in particular--
(i) the pupil's age,
(ii) any special educational needs he may have,
(iii) the pupil's state of health, and
(iv) the pupil's disciplinary record.
(8) If the parent does not consent to corporal punishment as required by subsection (2) the period of the exclusion referred to in subsections (1) and (2) shall not be affected.
(9) Section 572, which provides for the methods by which notices may be served under this Act, does not preclude a notice from being given to a pupil's parent under this section by any other effective method.
(10) Where, in any proceedings, it is shown that corporal punishment has been given to any pupil to whom subsections (1) and (2) apply by or on the authority of a member of the staff and the requirements of this section have not been met, giving the punishment cannot be justified on the ground that it was done in pursuance of a right exercisable by the member of the staff by virtue of his position as such.
(11) A person does not commit an offence by reason of any conduct relating to a pupil which would, apart from this section, be justified on the ground that it is done in pursuance of a right exercisable by a member of the staff by virtue of his position as such.
(12) Where, in any proceedings, it is shown that corporal punishment has been given to any pupil by or on the authority of a member of the staff, giving the punishment cannot be justified if it was inhuman or degrading.
(13) In this section--
'parental declaration' means a declaration to be signed by a parent indicating his consent to the corporal punishment.
'exclusion' means exclusion in accordance with--
(a) the provisions of this Act in the case of pupils who are not assisted persons for the purposes of subsection (3)(d) above; or
(b) the custom and practice of the school in the case of a pupil who is an assisted person for the purposes of subsection (3)(d) above.
'excluded' means excluded in accordance with--
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(a) the provisions of this Act in the case of pupils who are not assisted persons for the purposes of subsection (3)(d) above; or
(b) the custom and practice of the school in the case of a pupil who is an assisted person for the purposes of subsection (3)(d) above.
(14) The Secretary of State may make regulations under this section.
"Interpretation of section 548
549.--(1) A person is not to be taken for the purposes of section 548 as giving corporal punishment by virtue of anything done for reasons that include averting an immediate danger of personal injury to, or an immediate danger to the property of, any person (including the pupil concerned).
(2) In section 548 and this section 'pupil' does not include any person who has attained the age of 18.
(3) In section 548 'member of the staff' means--
(a) in relation to a person who is a pupil by reason of the provision of education for him at a school, any teacher who works at the school and any other person who has lawful control or charge of the pupil and works there; and
(b) in relation to a person who is a pupil by reason of the provision of education for him by a local education authority at a place other than a school, any teacher employed by the authority who works at that place and any other person employed by the authority who has lawful control or charge of the pupil and works there.
"No avoidance of section 548 by refusing admission to school etc.
550.--(1) A person shall not be debarred from receiving education (whether by refusing him admission to a school, suspending his attendance or otherwise) by reason of the fact that any provision of section 548 applies in relation to him or, if he were admitted, might so apply.
(2) Provided the decision to exclude referred to in section 548(1) complies with subsection (1) of this section, nothing in this section shall be interpreted as interfering with the ability of the school to proceed with that exclusion where the parental consent required by section 548(2) is not given.".'.--[Mr. Pawsey.]
Brought up, and read the First time.
Mr. Pawsey: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: With this, it will be convenient to discuss new clause 6--Corporal punishment lawful in certain circumstances--
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