Whether or not professionals such as teachers should touch children in their care is an area of growing concern. Fears of litigation, moral panics and the perceived risks associated with adults touching children, means that many child-orientated arenas have become 'no-touch' zones. Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University have investigated the issues concerning adult-child touching in professional contexts with the initial aim of developing practical guidelines as a basis for professional development throughout the UK.
Findings show that professionals who work with children accept that touch is essential to very young children especially those described as kinaesthetic learners. However, many respondents admitted feeling fearful of being regarded as physically or sexually abusive, did not trust others to judge their actions as appropriate, and did not trust children (and sometimes adults) to refrain from malicious allegations. "Touchy-feely," argues researcher Dr Heather Piper, "seems to have given way to touchy-feary."
In general, researchers found current practice regarding touching to be confused, contradictory, based on staff rather than child protection, contrary to known best practice regarding child development, increasingly contested and not required by legislation. "Many claimed their defensive touching practices resulted from UK legislation," Dr Heather Piper explains. "But there is no explicit ban on physical contact between children and non-family carers. Yet once translated into regulatory 'standards', prohibitions arise and are exacerbated by interpretation during inspection processes - by Ofsted inspectors, quality auditors, and child protection advisors."
In the course of the study, researchers were persuaded by their findings not to develop guidelines after all. "Our findings indicate guidelines as being negative rather than positive, products of fear rather than a characteristic of a confident profession or workforce - lists of 'dos' and 'don'ts' serving little useful purpose," she points out. Policing touching disables professional judgement and efficacy. "We need a different sense of professionalism," she continues, "based on trust and agency, to counter the risk of incremental erosion of caring interaction between adults and children."
Award number: RES-000-22-0815