I have been on the Net for just over a year but have only just found this forum and what an interesting forum it is!

My question concerns witnessing corporal punishment. When pupils were caned at my school in the office of the headmaster or senior mistress, the teachers always made sure that there was another adult present as a witness. Presumably this was to protect the teacher doing the caning from allegations of abuse. Did this apply to schools that other readers went to? I have seen so many stories on here where there was no witness to the punishment and I am surprised that teachers would take such a risk.

Sorry. I have got off to rather a bad start. Would you please correct the typo in the above message please.

‘Tis done and I have removed your email address from your second message. (See ‘Email Addresses’ thread).

Hi Anna, the Headmaster at my school never had a witness for caning in
his office. I did see him use the cane in the corridor, also on the school
playing fields. There was plenty of classroom canings and slipperings from
the teachers though. At my wifes school it was much the same, only her Headmistress took lessons, so she had no office to punish the girls in,
it was after school in the classroom affairs. It was not unknown for the
girls friend to watch through the corridor window though, as my wife did
experience.

More common in the United States than in the UK, I believe.

Not a teacher of staff member as such. Most CP, being in the form of the strap was given in the classroom in front of the class. Headmaster used to strap in his office. The Headmaster rarely issued CP, the teachers took care of most of it t the scene of the crime.

You must be jokin!
Often times at caning there would be a huge'lynch mob' crowd of about 50-60 boys outside the caning room who jeered as each punishee emerged clutching their rear!
The adults never stopped to watch.

I have mentioned this in an earlier post. At secondary school the heads office was up a flight of stairs, just a small first floor level with staff room and heads office plus secretarys office opposite the heads.
When you reported for punishment you had to first see the secretary who led you over into the heads office. You then explained why and who had sent you up, the secretary went back to her office but the door was left ajar.
Once the caning had been given you reported back to the secretary who entered the offence and number of strokes in a book.This was the worse part as the pain in your cheeks intensified a few minutes after the initial caning, and she seemed to take her time entering the details.
Not exactly a witness but over-seeing might be a better description.