I attended a boys’ grammar school in Leeds in the 1960s where caning by the headmaster was certainly an option, and one or two other teachers resorted to their own unofficial CP methods. I was never caned (perhaps I was in a minority here), although got the odd unofficial slap, and there was no undue atmosphere of fear, more an awareness that there were unpleasant circumstances for severe or repeated misbehaviour.
My wife went to a girls’ grammar school in Huddersfield, the cane was available but only used for the most extreme misbehaviour and she can only recall one caning episode involving anyone in her class. But the girls knew it was there somewhere!