Received from: AEP
Congress notes the actions currently being taken by the Welsh government towards introducing legislation which will provide greater protection for children in Wales and a recent statement from the children’s minister in Wales (Huw Irranca-Davies) when he said: “Physically punishing a child is outdated, and is no longer acceptable in a modern, progressive Wales. This is why we are committed to removing the defence of reasonable punishment, which reinforces our longstanding commitment to children’s rights, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
Congress further notes that the current UK government has not expressed any intention to take similar steps so as to give children in England the same protection as those planned in Wales.
Congress calls on the UK government to:
i. affirm its support for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (of which it is a signatory)
ii. acknowledge that physical punishment can have negative long-term effects on a child’s development (and is ineffective as a punishment)
iii. express its intention to draft proposals for the removal of the defence of “reasonable punishment” in criminal law regarding the use of corporal punishment of children.
Association of Educational Psychologists