Britain's Education Secretary, Michael Gove, says he will scrap rules that prevent teachers from restraining or comforting pupils by physical contact, as part of plans to ensure staff are better able to assert themselves in class.
In an interview in the Guardian newspaper, Mr Gove said he would "clarify and shrink" the 1,000 or so pages of guidance for teachers on discipline and bullying.
"Teachers worry that if they assert a degree of discipline, one determined maverick pupil will say 'I know my rights' and so teachers become reticent about asserting themselves," he said.
He promised to end the so-called "no touch" rules applied in many schools, which discourage teachers from making physical contact with children, although he said he did not believe teachers should be allowed to hit children.
"I do believe that teachers need to know they can physically restrain children, they can interpose themselves between two children that may be causing trouble, and they can remove them from the classroom," he said.
"The important thing is that teachers know they are in control and this department and the justice system will back them."
Mr Gove also said teachers would be given the power to search children for anything which is banned by the school rules, and promised a right to anonymity for teachers faced with allegations from pupils.