Children aged five and under among those accused of rape and sexual assault as nearly 450 sexual offences reported Norfolk schools
Nearly 450 sexual offences have been reported in Norfolk schools over the last five years, with children aged five and under among those accused of rape and sexual assault.
The shocking new figures, obtained through a freedom of information (FOI) request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, have sparked fears that peer-on-peer abuse between younger children is on the rise.
The investigation has led education bosses to call for early intervention to tackle sexual violence.
And there are warnings the issue could be even larger than the figures suggest, due to chronic under-reporting of violent and sexual behaviour in schools.
The findings follow intense debate around the problem of misogyny in schools in recent
months.
Nearly 70 per cent of the reported victims in the new statistics are female, with school watchdog Ofsted warning that sexual abuse and harassment of girls has become “normalised” in schools.
A recent survey by the watchdog revealed that nine out of 10 girls have received unsolicited sexual images and been subject to sexist name-calling at school.
WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW?
Since 2020, there have been 444 sexual offences reported at Norfolk schools, according to the figures from Norfolk Police.
Of the alleged crimes reported in the last five years, 15 per cent (63) occurred at primary schools – including among nursery-age children.
Figures show 45 children aged 10 and under were accused of crimes, which include rape and sexual assault. There were eight children aged five and under named as suspects in sexual assaults on girls and boys under 13.
Two children aged five and under were also named as suspects for the rape of a boy under 13.
Sixty-seven per cent of offences – 297 – were committed at secondary schools. Sexual assault on a female aged 13 or over is the most reported crime, with 157 offences recorded.
There were also 58 sexual assaults on girls under 13 recorded. Children aged between 11 and 15 make up nearly 70 per cent of suspects for these two crimes.
Comparatively, 47 sexual assaults on boys aged 13 and over and 46 on boys aged under 13 were reported. Ninety-one per cent of reportedoffences led to a charge, with Norfolk Police confirming that 404 suspects had been charged for sex offences committed in the
schools since 2020.
However, when children under 10 have been accused of offences they are not considered to have reached an age of criminal responsibility and cannot be charged.
A certain number of the offences recorded will have been historic crimes, but are included in the data as they were reported in the past five years.
Some of the crimes reported involve online offences between pupils. In such cases, support, safeguarding and education are the outcomes sought by police, not criminal charges.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said: “All offences are recorded and investigated at an appropriate level given the individual circumstances. Victims are provided with the highest level of support and care whilst a thorough investigation is carried out.”
Next month, Norfolk Police has said it is launching a new scheme to provide schools with more support to tackle “behaviours and attitudes that can lead to allegations of sexual offences”.
The spokeswoman added: “We will continue to support schools in tackling these behaviours through education and targeted engagement opportunities.”
‘GRIM READING’
The figures follow warnings from the National Education Union (NEU) that schools in Norfolk are facing a crisis of classroom violence.
Scott Lyons, a teacher and Norfolk secretary of the NEU, said: “This makes for grim reading and it confirms our own data.
“We have found there are serious challenges to sexual safety in schools, including seeing an increase in younger perpetrators, aged under 10 years old.
“The 63 primary school offences among the 444 reported suggest external influences are driving young sexualised behaviour and we need schools to do more to challenge parental behaviour.
“We also need targeted interventions in secondary schools for peer-on-peer abuse.
“The problem is likely larger than reported – violent and sexual behaviour is notoriously under-reported in schools.”
Misogyny and violence against girls and female staff in schools has come under intense focus in recent months following the success of
the British TV show Adolescence.
The series, starring Stephen Graham, has fuelled national conversations about toxic masculinity among school pupils and its consequences.
