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Welfare of children: prohibition on corporal punishment

7.—(1) A registered early years provider must not use corporal punishment on a child for whom early years provision is provided and, so far as is reasonably practicable, must ensure that corporal punishment is not used on any such child by—

(a)any person who cares for, or is in regular contact with, children; or

(b)any person living or working on the premises on which the early years provision is provided.

(2) A person will not be taken to have used corporal punishment for the purposes of paragraph (1) if the action was taken for reasons that include averting an immediate danger of personal injury to, or an immediate danger of death of, any person including the child.

(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) above, “corporal punishment” means anything done for the purposes of punishing the child (whether or not there are other reasons for doing it) which, absent any justification, would constitute battery.