cane in schools.

"If we want to discourage parents from abusing their children physically and emotionally we have to set the example in our schools,'' said Mrs. Sheelagh Cooper of the Coalition for the Protection of Children.

She said the group supported the Government's forthcoming ban on school corporal punishment, due to be implemented some time next year.

There were many methods available to help teachers deal with difficult classes, without them having to resort to physical or verbal abuse, added Mrs.

Cooper The Coalition's comments follow revelations of unruly behaviour at East End primary school and Warwick Secondary School, and complaints from an anonymous teacher that her hands were tied when it came to discipline.

Earlier this month a conference on children at risk, co-organised by the Coalition, decided corporal punishment was "institutionalised child abuse''.