A LAW to amend further the Education (Jersey) Law 1999

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law –

“36A Power of members of staff to use reasonable force

(1)     This Article applies –

(a)     to provided and non-provided schools; and

(b)     to a person who is, in relation to a child, a member of the staff of any school at which education is provided for the child.

(2)     In this Article –

(a)     ‘member of the staff’ in relation to a school means –

(i)      any teacher or other person whose principal place of employment is at the school at which education is being provided in respect of a child, and

(ii)      any other person who, with the authority of the head teacher, has lawful control or charge of the child for whom education is being provided at the school;

(b)     ‘offence’ includes anything that would be an offence but for the operation of any presumption that a person under a particular age is incapable of committing an offence.

(3)     A person to whom this Article applies may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for the purpose of preventing a child from doing (or continuing to do) any of the following, namely –

(a)     committing any offence;

(b)     causing personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the child himself or herself); or

(c)     prejudicing the maintenance of good order and discipline at the school or among any children receiving education at the school, whether during a teaching session or otherwise.

(4)     The power conferred by paragraph (3) –

(a)     may be exercised only where the member of the staff and the child –

(i)      are on the premises of the school in question, or

(ii)      are elsewhere and the member of the staff has lawful control or charge of the child concerned;

(b)     is in addition to any powers exercisable under any other enactment or rule of customary law and is not to be construed as restricting what may lawfully be done under any such other powers.

(5)     The exercise of the power conferred by paragraph (3) –

(a)     does not authorize the giving of corporal punishment to a child; and

(b)     does not constitute the giving of corporal punishment to a child by virtue of anything done for reasons that include averting –

(i)      an immediate danger of personal injury to, or

(ii)      an immediate danger to the property of,

any person (including the child himself or herself).

(6)     In paragraph (5), the reference to giving corporal punishment to a child is to doing anything for the purpose of punishing that child (whether or not there are other reasons for doing it) which, apart from any justification, would constitute assault.”.