Never mind excluding pupils, bring back the belt and the cane. It’s the only effective punishment as throwing them out is basically a holiday to them – Gran.
Fine the parents for their children’s behaviour, and yes, throw them out. I blame the parents – JM, Glasgow.
At my school, disruptive kids are rewarded with special days out and “normal” kids’ efforts are ignored. They should be treated like everyone else – C.A., Fife.
Bring back the belt, then there would be NO disruptions – CJ, Fife.
I was at school in the 70s when the belt was in force, it never did me any harm and it taught me to respect my elders – KC, Stirling.
Disruptive kids are constantly blamed for their behaviour. Parents should be forced to take action to resolve the problems which have created the behaviour.
Disruptive kids should not get off as lightly as they do today. They should be put somewhere that would instil discipline and respect – E., Airdrie.
Disruptive kids aren’t necessarily bad, they’re acting out of frustration. Schools should put more effort into finding out what’s worrying them rather than give up on them.
Yes, disruptive kids should be put out of school as it stops kids willing to learn from learning. The worst thing was banning the belt. At least teachers had some control when it was still in use – PS, Lanarkshire.
I was a disruptive kid and never went to school. I realised how important education was once I left to work in a factory, so the kids should be left in school – Ann.
I think that the disruptive element should get help but make sure they understand they can’t act like thugs in school – A 6th-year pupil.
Parents and teachers should work together to find out why the kids are being disruptive and not take the easy option of throwing them out. There is always a reason why a child does unexplainable things – TS, Inverness.
Yes, of course they should be kicked out. Teachers have a hard enough job without putting up with them. Bring the belt back.
Disruptive kids are a minority. I left school two years ago and I can tell you that they get let off too easy. They should be thrown out – CI, Sauchie.
They should bring back the belt, that would give the teachers more authority over kids – A, Paisley.
Kids should be kicked out for being disruptive. I have a 13-year-old daughter who is quite intelligent and there are some kids who distract her from lessons along with other kids – PMc, Glasgow.
Corpun file 10236 at www.corpun.com
BBC News On Line, 12 December 2002
Schools lose legal fight over smacking
A group of independent private Christian schools have lost their latest legal bid for staff to be allowed to smack pupils with parental consent.
The action, led by Liverpool’s Christian Fellowship School, said the law against corporal punishment breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
But the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling that the law did not interfere with parents’ freedom to practise their religious beliefs.
They said the law allowed parents to administer physical punishment if their children misbehaved at school.
The school, which has the backing of parents, had sought a judicial review of the government’s ban on corporal punishment.
Its lawyers quoted sections of the Bible supporting their case.
These included Proverbs, chapter 23:13-14: “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.”
They also quoted chapter 13:24: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”
House of Lords
Smacking was banned in UK state schools in 1986 and the ban was extended to include fee-paying schools in 1996 [sic – a rare mistake by the BBC – in fact the ban in private schools was enacted in 1998 and took effect in 1999 – C.F.].
The school said it would now take its case to the House of Lords.
Headteacher Phil Williamson said: “We don’t believe we’re given a really fair hearing, but we’re going to do all that we can to go to the Lords and see this through to the end.
“We believe that parents have rights and we believe that there are religious rights that the courts have not recognised.
“So it’s a very poor day for democracy, for parental rights and for religious rights.”