Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Written evidence submitted by the Association of Educational Psychologists (CWSB149)

 

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Committee

 

Summary

· The Association of Educational Psychologists believe that children should be protected by the law from violence in any setting, including in their home.

· The law in England and Northern Ireland currently allows parents to use a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ if they physically assault their child.

· Legislation has been introduced in Scotland (in 2020) and Wales (in 2022) to remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’.

· It is disappointing that the current draft of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has not taken the opportunity to provide full protection for children from physical assault.

· The AEP believes the Bill should be amended to repeal section 58 of the Children Act 2004 and remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’.

· Amending the Bill to remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ is supported by a number of key stakeholders including the Children’s Commissioner for England, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Barnardo’s.

Background

 

The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) is the trade union and professional association representing around 4,000 educational psychologists in the United Kingdom.

Every year, tens of thousands of children and young people and their families are helped by an educational psychologist (EP). EPs provide vital support in helping children and young people overcome barriers to learning and achieve their full potential. They promote the overall wellbeing of children and young people and ensure their educational and mental health needs are met.

Since 2018 our members have been calling for a change in the law and we have worked with partner organisations to actively campaign to remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ as a means of protecting children from violence.

Across the world over 60 countries have outlawed the physical punishment of children. In the UK, Scotland abolished the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ in November 2020, followed by Wales in March 2022. England and Northern Ireland remain outliers by not ofering the same level of legal protection to children.

The case for change

 

Research12 shows that physical punishment frequently leads to a lower quality of the parent and child relationship, poorer mental health in childhood and adulthood, higher levels of aggression and anti-social behaviour and an increased risk of being a victim of physical abuse. It can be a

1 Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviours and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. By Elizabeth Thompson Gershof. http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2002-01514-001)

2 Parental Physical Punishment: Child Outcomes and Attitudes https:// www.wcpp.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2018/07/PPIW-REPORT-Parental-Physical-Punishment-Child-Outcomes-and-Attitudes_fo pdf

contributory factor to the overall levels of ongoing stress felt by children now

being recognised as part of research into the impact of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) on children’s later development.

Educational Psychologists strongly believe that smacking is harmful to a child’s mental health as well as being harmful to the parents’ mental health and family wellbeing as a whole. It is a misuse of power by a parent/carer to use corporal punishment for annoying behaviour.

Furthermore, it models aggressive behaviour and communicates to children that it is acceptable to use violence as a means of expression.

Using physical punishment is not efective as a means of improving behaviours. There are many more ways to teach children the diference between right and wrong such as emotion coaching and nurture based approaches including positive modelling, as explained in the video from the Welsh Government, ‘Educational and child psychologist: alternatives to physical punishment’3.

In 2024 a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report4 reiterated the case for legislative change in England and Northern Ireland. It pointed to a range of negative health and developmental consequences for children as a result of physical punishment including:

· an increased risk of experiencing physical abuse- the risk of serious assault is seven times more likely

· a doubling of the risk of mental health problems

· an increased likelihood of becoming aggressive themselves

· deterioration in parent-child relationships over time

In addition, the RCPCH report points to a link between physical punishment and emotional and behavioural problems in school children and ‘no evidence that physical punishment may relate to any positive developmental outcome’.

Dispelling concerns about a change in the law

 

Historically concerns have been raised that removing the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ could have the unintended consequence of criminalising parents. However the focus is on helping to redefine what is acceptable in how we treat our children – and each other – and what we teach them through our own behaviour. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has stressed the importance of not criminalising parents in this regard:

‘Prosecuting parents is in most cases unlikely to be in their children’s best interests. It is the Committee’s view that prosecution and other formal interventions (for example, to remove the child or remove the perpetrator) should only proceed when they are regarded both as necessary to protect the child from significant harm and as being in the best interests of the affected child.’5

In addition, the experience in Wales has been that no parents have been victimised for breaking the law but have rather been redirected to supportive parenting programmes.

3 Ending physical punishment in Wales: professional perspectives | GOV.WALES

4 https:// www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/rcpch-equal-protection-from-assault-england-ni_policy- report-2024-v1-2.pdf

5 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 8 https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fGC%2f8&Lan g=en

Removing the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ to fully protect all children against assault is a simple but fundamental preventative measure. Parents will still be able to physically interact with their child, such as to pull them away from danger, hold or restrain a child where needed.

In order to guard against any unintended consequences it will be important to introduce measures to educate and support the public. In advance of the change in legislation in Wales the AEP worked closely with the Welsh Government on developing advice and guidance to support parents to use positive parenting strategies so as to better understand and anticipate their children’s behaviour, and be more confident about how to set boundaries and support their children in developing self-regulation.

This activity was part of a two year preparatory phase, leading up to the introduction of the change in the law in Wales. An extensive public information and communications campaign included TV, radio, print, advertising, and a leaflet delivered to every home in Wales outlining what individuals needed to know about ending physical punishment of children. The AEP advocates a similar approach to any change to the law in England.

In addition, since the introduction of the legislative change in Scotland the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report a positive impact on how paediatricians and social workers are able to engage with families to support positive parenting practices.

Recommendation

 

Scotland and Wales have paved the way by removing the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ and are demonstrating that this makes a positive diference to children and young people’s health and wellbeing. The Government should now take action urgently to bring England into line with this approach, use the opportunity of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to amend the Children Act 2004 and remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’.

January 2025