07-29-2009, 12:00 PM
By Jon Swaine
Published: 8:43PM BST 28 Jul 2009
Many of the reception class pupils were removed for attacking their teachers, fighting with other children or committing a sexual offence.
A survey of local education authorities (LEAs) found that of 85 that responded, 647 reception class pupils were suspended.
That suggests that, in all, about 1,140 reception pupils were suspended from all of England's 150 LEAs.
The survey results also suggest that about 900 primary school pupils behaved so badly that they were permanently expelled in the last school year.
A five-year-old pupil in Birmingham was suspended for sexual misconduct, while in Hammersmith a pupil of the same age was expelled for attacking a classmate.
Meanwhile in South Gloucestershire a reception class pupil was expelled for attacking a teacher.
It also found that among suspensions in other age groups, a 10-year-old pupil was suspended in East Sussex for sexually assaulting an adult, while a nine-year-old in the same area was suspended for smoking.
Four girls from primary schools in Leicestershire were suspended for sexual misconduct, the survey found.
The figures were released in advance of full and official Government data on suspensions and exclusions from schools in 2007-08.
The Government statistics, which are to be released on Thursday are expected to show that more than 40,000 primary school children were suspended.
Last yearââ¬â¢s figures showed that in 2006-07 there were 45,730 suspensions from primary schools.
In total 3,690 pupils aged four and under, four and five were suspended. Overall 23 per cent of suspensions were due to persistent disruptive behaviour.
The National Union of Teachers said that a breakdown in family discipline was responsible for some of the problems in primary schools.
A spokesman said: "A small minority of parents do not teach their children respect for others. Primary schools have to overcome any lack of discipline already instilled within the child."
Nick Seaton, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Suspension or expulsion for children as young as this suggests that something is seriously wrong with discipline among children.
"When you are seeing sexual misbehaviour in five and six year olds there is obviously something very wrong about the way adults are dealing with childhood."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/edu...chool.html
Published: 8:43PM BST 28 Jul 2009
Many of the reception class pupils were removed for attacking their teachers, fighting with other children or committing a sexual offence.
A survey of local education authorities (LEAs) found that of 85 that responded, 647 reception class pupils were suspended.
That suggests that, in all, about 1,140 reception pupils were suspended from all of England's 150 LEAs.
The survey results also suggest that about 900 primary school pupils behaved so badly that they were permanently expelled in the last school year.
A five-year-old pupil in Birmingham was suspended for sexual misconduct, while in Hammersmith a pupil of the same age was expelled for attacking a classmate.
Meanwhile in South Gloucestershire a reception class pupil was expelled for attacking a teacher.
It also found that among suspensions in other age groups, a 10-year-old pupil was suspended in East Sussex for sexually assaulting an adult, while a nine-year-old in the same area was suspended for smoking.
Four girls from primary schools in Leicestershire were suspended for sexual misconduct, the survey found.
The figures were released in advance of full and official Government data on suspensions and exclusions from schools in 2007-08.
The Government statistics, which are to be released on Thursday are expected to show that more than 40,000 primary school children were suspended.
Last yearââ¬â¢s figures showed that in 2006-07 there were 45,730 suspensions from primary schools.
In total 3,690 pupils aged four and under, four and five were suspended. Overall 23 per cent of suspensions were due to persistent disruptive behaviour.
The National Union of Teachers said that a breakdown in family discipline was responsible for some of the problems in primary schools.
A spokesman said: "A small minority of parents do not teach their children respect for others. Primary schools have to overcome any lack of discipline already instilled within the child."
Nick Seaton, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Suspension or expulsion for children as young as this suggests that something is seriously wrong with discipline among children.
"When you are seeing sexual misbehaviour in five and six year olds there is obviously something very wrong about the way adults are dealing with childhood."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/edu...chool.html