ENGLISH SCHOOLS RECORD 7,278 SEXUAL MISCONDUCT SUSPENSIONS

Department for Education figures record sexual misconduct as a reason for 7,278 school suspensions in England during 2024/25. That total rose by 12 per cent from 6,479 the previous year and reached its highest level since the current recording method began in 2020. The figures include 20 suspensions involving children aged five or under, 19 of them in reception. Schools also recorded sexual misconduct as a reason for 143 permanent exclusions. A school can give up to three reasons for each suspension or exclusion.

Primary schools recorded 759 of the suspensions and five permanent exclusions, according to the department’s figures. Pupils aged 13 and 14 accounted for 1,564 suspensions, the highest count for any age group. The category covers sexual assault, abuse, harassment and lewd behaviour directed at other pupils or staff. The number of suspensions for all reasons fell over the same period. Christopher McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said he believed many cases went unreported and called for more single-sex schooling.

Ofsted has found that sexual harassment had become normalised among schoolchildren. Teachers’ leaders have warned that online influencers, including Andrew Tate, shape how some boys treat girls at school. Soma Sara, chief executive of 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.” McGovern said he believed schools were unsafe for girls and female teachers. Neither the department’s suspension figures nor the accounts cited here establish how many incidents occurred across English schools.