Tawse Tawse The tawse, sometimes formerly spelled taws (the plural of Scots taw, a thong of a whip) is an implement used for corporal punishment. It was used for educational discipline, primarily in Scotland, but also in schools in the English cities of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Manchester and Walsall. A tawse consists of a strip of leather, with one end split into a number of tails. The thickness of the leather and the number of tails is variable. Many Scottish saddlers made tawses for local schoolmasters. The official name "tawse" was hardly ever used in conversation by either teachers or
The Law of Corporal Punishment in England and Wales The Law of Corporal Punishment in England and Wales Battery punishment by parents of their minor children is lawful by tradition and explicitly under common law by R v Hopley [1860 ] 2F&F 202 (the justification of Lawful Correction):""By the law of England, a parent" [expunged, related to school teachers] "may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the child inflict moderate and reasonable corporal punishment, always, however, with this condition, that it is moderate and reasonable."" The common law of England and Wales has a general prohibition against physical contact and battery. The Crown Prosecution Service charging