Nannies and au pairs exempt from change to smacking rules

However, the ban does not include nannies, au pairs or babysitters, as they are considered part of the family or household.

The Government has accepted the recommendations made in the report by Sir Roger Singleton, the chief adviser on children’s safety, who said that the current ban on physical punishment in schools should be extended to include any form of care or supervision carried out other than by a parent or member of the child’s own family or household.

Sir Roger said that he had concluded that to define what constituted the family or household would be 'cumbersome, bureaucratic' and 'largely impractical'. However, he recommended that parents who disapprove of smacking should make this clear to others who care for their children.

In January, Sir Roger was asked by the children’s secretary to investigate a loophole in the law that allowed part-time educational settings to smack children. Concern about the use of smacking had arisen because of allegations about the treatment of children in part-time religious schools (News, 27 January and 4 February).

Children’s secretary Ed Balls said, ‘Sir Roger’s report makes it clear that a child should not be smacked by anyone outside the family. I believe this is a sensible and proportionate approach. The Government does not condone smacking, nor do we want to criminalise parents who choose to discipline their children with a mild smack. We know that the majority of parents agree with this view.’

Physical punishment is banned in all early years settings, maintained schools and full-time independent schools, children’s homes and local authority foster homes. In his report, Sir Roger said this ban ‘should be extended to all other settings’ where children ‘learn, play, worship or are cared for.’