Campaigners say hitting damages mental health
EXPERTS want a smacking ban – claiming it is harmful to the mental health of children.
The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) will today demand an England-wide ban on hitting unruly youngsters at a key union conference.
Around 60 countries have already taken the measure, including Germany, Ireland, Spain and Sweden.
The AEP will propose a motion at the Trades Union Congress in Manchester calling for a full ban on corporal punishment.
Member John Drewicz is set to claim that the practice is “normalising violence” for impressionable youngsters.
He will say: “Smacking is harmful to a child’s mental health, it models aggressive behaviour and it says to them that it is OK to use violence.
“There are many other effective ways of teaching children right from wrong than by hitting them.
“Sixty countries already have full bans... and it is time to make violence against children illegal in the UK in all settings, including the home.”
The motion will be backed by the National Education Union, referring to schemes in Scotland and Wales to stamp out smacking that will have the support of the devolved governments in the two countries.
This means Scotland and Wales are in charge of their own education policy.
Corporal punishment was initially banned in state schools in 1986, with a full veto taking place in all UK schools by 2003, but it is still allowed at home.
This new plan aims to make all hitting of children in their own homes illegal.