§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what are the most recent statistics for corporal punishment in approved schools; and whether he will now prohibit this, following his consultations with the organisations principally concerned, in view of the recommendation of the Plowden Committee.
§ Mr. CallaghanThe punishment returns made by approved schools in England and Wales since January, 1967 395W record that corporal punishment was used on the following number of occasions, excluding its occasional use in the classroom:
January—June 1967 1,449 July—December 1967 763 January—June 1968 705 The consultations about the development of alternative methods of controlling difficult behaviour in approved schools, foreshadowed in my predecessor's statement in the House of commons on 7th August, 1967, are still in progress. In the meantime, it remains the Government's aim to phase out the use of corporal punishment in approved schools.