Pupils and parents back belt in school

ALMOST half of parents believe caning or the belt should be brought back to the classroom, a survey suggests.

A fifth of children are also in favour of the return of corporal punishment for very bad behaviour, it found. The survey reveals the majority of both parents and pupils think teachers should have the power to be tougher on unruly children.

More than nine in ten parents (93 per cent) and two thirds of children (68 per cent) think teachers need to have more authority in the classroom.

Similar proportions (91 per cent of parents and 62 per cent of children) also think teachers should be allowed to be tougher when it comes to discipline.

The poll reveals many believe one way to crack down on bad behaviour is to reintroduce corporal punishment.

In cases of very bad behaviour, nearly half of parents (49 per cent) and a fifth (19 per cent) of pupils agreed that corporal punishment should be brought back. The researchers also asked specific questions about the methods used to deal with naughty pupils.

The YouGov poll questioned 2,014 UK parents with children at secondary school and 530 secondary-age pupils.