Even up to 1980 in my private school, at times under certain circumstances, boys were required to lower their trousers and have it on their pants and some to take it on their bare bottom. Again, if parents were walking on the path around the school (this was up high and looked down into the rooms) they could and did see caning taking place. No attempt was made to hide it. and was accepted.
One also has to remember that the school leaving age was not always 16. It was 14 and later raised to 15, so this problem did not arise.
Also, looking certainly at girls today, no in a sexual way, but a 14-year-old girl today is far more physically mature than say in 1950. that is just my view.
In secondary schools, certainly after the 1950s, there was a trend to appoint a female deputy if the head was male. In other cases, a Senior Mistress was appointed. Their job being mainly confined to disciplining of the girls.
On a personal note, I do not think I would hand spank a girl of this age nor indeed any girl after junior school, be it over clothing or bare.
Indeed as early as 1960 the HTA strongly advised heads, even in junior school to take great care when punishing girls that in no way could their motives be questionable.
This was applied to boys as well.
There was a move to cane on the hands rather than the bottom, even over trousers, in case it was suggested it was sexually motivated.
I stress that this is only second-hand information, but believe the reason for the change was not a mistrust of the head. Top juniors, for some girls, saw the onset of periods. With girl’s dresses, being thick as well as petticoats, and in those days thick school knickers, to make a punishment effective the bottom had to be exposed. or girls of his age he was regarded as “unpleasant” for all concerned so it was carried out on the hands. I think, if I hand-smacked a boy or girl of junior age before 1960 parents would complain that it was
not effective. I was only after his date, when a move against cp was started, that hand spanking became more acceptable, and not regarded as cp.
In my area, and I stress my area, hand spanking was not regarded as a punishment to be used at school. It was not effective. Later it was regarded as effective a junior age, but as we moved towards1980, as hand spanking was either bare or over pants parents were starting to question the sexual reasons behind such punishment. I can honestly say, I never recall smacking a child at school over my knee. I have many times put my grandsons over my knees and given their bottoms a smacking.
At school, my hand did land at times on a bottom, if boys were playing about in the changing room. For this it was “Stop Playing about and get changed” backed with a sharp slap on the bottom while the boy was standing up. I do not regard this as the same thing as over the knee.
