Twenty students aged five or below suspended from schools over sexual misconduct as shock figures hit record high in UK
Comment now Next TWENTY pupils aged five or below have been suspended from schools due to sexual misconduct, as shocking figures hit a record high. In the 2024-2025 school year, 7,278 students were suspended for sexual misconduct, figures from the Department for Education show. Pupils aged 13 and 14 were the most frequent offenders, accounting for 1,564 suspensions (stock image) Credit: Getty In the 2024-2025 school year, 20 pupils aged five or below were suspended for sexual misconduct (stock image) Credit: Getty Advertisement It’s the highest total since the current recoding method started in 2020. Of those, 20 children aged five or under were suspended for sexual misconduct. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Nineteen of those were in the reception year. Five kids in the infant years were expelled outright with no conditional return. Read More on UK News FATAL STABBING Two guilty of murder after man, 37, killed in broad daylight knife attack VLAD V VADER Army top brass urged to train future officers like Star Wars’ Jedi Knights Primary schools accounted for 759 of all suspensions. Suspensions due to sexual misconduct can cover sexual assaults, abuse, harassment and lewd behaviour. This can be aimed at either other pupils or staff. The latest figures show cases have risen by 12 per cent, from 6,479 in the previous school year. Advertisement Most read in The Sun RAGING INFERNO Huge fire breaks out sparking evacuations as 'blast blows roof off building' PLANT BLITZED Ukraine lands hit on Putin's factory producing parts for ballistic warheads MILI-TANTS Miliband faction in Labour 'waging war with Home Sec' over immigration reforms The rise comes while the total number of suspensions for all other issues is dropping. Ofsted , which inspects school, found sexual harassment was normalised among schoolchildren. Teachers’ leaders have warned that misogynist online influencers , such as Andrew Tate , are shaping how boys treat girls in schools. Pupils aged 13 and 14 were the most frequent offenders, accounting for 1,564 suspensions. Schools can record up to three reasons for each suspension. Advertisement Amongst the worst cases, 143 pupils were permanently excluded from school last year. Christopher McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “These shocking figures represent only the tip of the iceberg of misogyny in schools. “Most cases go unreported. “Schools are no longer safe places for girls and for female teachers. “The Government needs to greatly expand the option of single-sex schooling rather than allowing it to largely disappear.” Advertisement Soma Sara, chief executive of the charity Everyone’s Invited, said: “We hope that schools are now more conscious of the reality of sexual harassment and abuse among children and young people, and are better equipped to identify it and intervene when it happens. “For too long, the harm children were experiencing was not always being recognised or understood by the adults around them.” RECOMMENDED STORIES A government spokesman said: “As part of our strategy to halve violence against women and girls, we have pledged to make sure all young people are taught about healthy relationships and consent from an early age. “We have also forced tech companies to tackle harmful content and protect young people online through the Online Safety Act.” Comment now