SWU supports the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) call for an urgent amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to end the physical punishment of children in England.
We are expecting this Amendment #67 to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – Baroness Finlay of Llandaff’s amendment, After Clause 4 – on ‘reasonable punishment’ to be debated in the next House of Lords committee debate on Monday June 9th.
Baroness Finlay’s amendment, backed by over 20 organisations, would give children in England equal protection under the law. We urge you to support the amendment and help protect every child from harm. The “Ensuring children’s wellbeing by ending the physical punishment of children” joint briefing from these organisations is available to read below.
It’s a safeguarding issue
A YouGov survey commissioned by the NSPCC, the leading UK’s children charity, found overwhelming support for removing the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’. The majority of professionals who work across healthcare, education, social care, and the police said they would support changing the law. The poll of over 700 safeguarding professionals in England also showed that the majority (including 95% of social workers) said they believe a parent using physical punishment on a child negatively affects a child’s mental health.
- 99% of social workers polled further said that a parent using physical punishment on a child has a negative impact on the parent and child relationship and 90% said it has a negative impact on a child’s behaviour.
- Both social workers (68%) and teachers (52%) agreed that the current legal position makes their work of safeguarding children more difficult.
- Additionally, just over half of healthcare workers (56%) and teachers (51%) said they would not be confident in determining whether a physical act towards a child is ‘reasonable’ or not under the law.
With almost 3 in 5 (59%) social workers saying that they have often encountered the use of physical punishment on children in the past year, it’s clear this remains a prominent safeguarding issue.
John McGowan, SWU General Secretary, said:
“SWU welcomes an urgent amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to change the law to end the use of physical punishment against children in England.
“This change would provide greater protection to children from violence in the home by repealing the legal defence of ‘reasonable punishment’. Physical punishment has no place in the 21st century. The international evidence tells us that it can have serious impacts on children, and that it is not effective.
“As a profession, working significantly with children and families, we fully support the aims of the NSPCC amendment to the Bill. We believe that all people, be they adults or children, should be protected from violence in any setting, including their home.”
SWU has also spoken on this issue at a House of Lords: Equal Protection of Children Against Assault working group meeting.
Sign the NSPCC’s petition to end physical punishment of children across the whole of the UK
Over 60 countries around the world, including Wales and Scotland, have put vital measures in place to protect children from harm. However, in England and Northern Ireland, the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ means children are the only section of society who are not fully protected from physical assault.
There is a wealth of evidence from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and University College London (UCL) showing that physical punishment has a detrimental impact on a child and does not improve their behaviour.
As part of the campaign to end physical punishment, the NSPCC has launched apetition to showcase public support for changing the law across the whole of the UK.
You can sign the petition here: https://act.nspcc.org.uk/page/165305/petition/1
Chris Sherwood, CEO at the NSPCC, said:
“Children should not be experiencing physical punishment in any form. Yet, as long as the law tolerates some level of physical force against children, their wellbeing will always be a matter of judgement about what is ‘reasonable’.
“Professionals are telling us that the current legal loophole makes it harder for them to assess the safety of a child. Likewise, public opinion around physical punishment is on our side, with 71% of the public thinking using physical punishment against children is not acceptable2.
“There has never been a better time for this antiquated defence to be removed than through a Bill that is all about children’s wellbeing. Scotland and Wales have led the way to change, England must follow.
“With the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill now making its way through Westminster, the Government must use this opportunity to finally put an end the use of physical punishment of children in England.”
Joint briefing on ending the physical punishment of children in England
Over 20 leading organisations working in child health, child protection and safeguarding, human rights, mental health, youth advocacy, social care, and more have jointly developed a briefing for parliamentarians to support our shared call to remove the “reasonable punishment” defence from law in England. This joint briefing calls on Peers to support an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to give children equal protection from assault.
Supporters of this briefing include SWU, BASW, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), the Children’s Charities Coalition, Article 39, the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), the British Medical Association, and UNICEF.
Read this joint briefing on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for Committee Stage in House of Lords below, or on the RCPCH website.
Listen to “The Case for Banning Smacking”
Podcast host Andy McClenaghan is joined by Baroness Joan Walmsley – Co-Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Kate Fallon – General Secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists, and John McGowan – General Secretary of the Social Workers Union in “The Case for Banning Smacking” episode of Let’s Talk Social Work. They discuss what the law says about the corporal punishment of children, the impacts it has, and efforts being pursued to ban smacking in England. They also explore changes to the legal landscape in Scotland and Wales, the situation globally, and how a smacking ban would affect social workers.