One boy in my old school was beaten daily and became the school hero as a result. Other boys sought to emulate his behaviour. Canings had the opposite effect to that intended. Physically abused children often have problems in life. Many prisoners were beaten in school.
Evidence shows that people who use violence to settle disputes have experienced violence themselves.
In the interests of discipline, we merely conserve the conditions in which violence can thrive. Members invoke the in loco parentis argument to support their case that parents can choose corporal punishment, but it is not right to delegate that choice to another adult. Lord Williams of Mostyn felt that parents and those acting on their behalf as parents had no more right to use physical punishment on children. The commission that he chaired felt that children should have the same right of protection as adults and said that the ban on the use of corporal punishment in publicly maintained schools should be extended to independent schools and nurseries. The Independent Schools Joint Council supports the end of corporal punishment.