The Education (Corporal Punishment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987

Abolition of corporal punishment

3.  After Article 49 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order [1986 NI 3] 1986 there shall be inserted the following Article—

“Abolition of corporal punishment

49A.— (1) Where, in any proceedings, it is shown that corporal punishment has been given to a pupil by or on the authority of a member of the staff, giving the punishment cannot be justified on the ground that it was done in pursuance of a right exercisable by the member of the staff by virtue of his position as such.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), references in this Article to giving corporal punishment are references to doing anything for the purposes of punishing the pupil concerned (whether or not there are also other reasons for doing it) which, apart from any justification, would constitute battery.

(3) A person is not to be taken for the purposes of this Article as giving corporal punishment by virtue of anything done for reasons that include averting an immediate danger of personal injury to, or an immediate danger to the property of, any person (including the pupil concerned).

(4) A person does not commit an offence by reason of any conduct relating to a pupil which would, apart from this Article, be justified on the ground that it is done in pursuance of a right exercisable by a member of the staff by virtue of his position as such.

(5) In this Article “pupil” means a person for whom education—

(a) is provided at a grant-aided school; or

(b) is secured, otherwise than at such a school, by a board; being a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years.

(6) In this Article “member of the staff” means—

(a) in relation to a person who is a pupil by reason of the provision of education for him at any school, any teacher who works at the school and any other person who has lawful control or charge of the pupil and works there; and

(b) in relation to a person who is a pupil by reason of the provision of education for him by a board at a place other than a school, any teacher employed by that board who works at that place and any other person employed by that board who has lawful control or charge of the pupil and works there.'.”