BOY 4, BECOMES one of the youngest pupils in Britain to be expelled from school

By Jaya Narain


Last updated at 4:36 PM on 23rd November 2009

A boy aged four has become one of the youngest children in Britain to be expelled from school. He was thrown out of his primary just weeks after starting for constantly disrupting classes and attacking teachers.

In one incident the youngster is said to have lashed out at a teacher after he was dragged away from light switches he was repeatedly flicking on and off. And a second teacher claims the boy, who cannot be named, kicked her after he got into an argument with another pupil over a jigsaw.

The youngster was expelled from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Preston. Up to a dozen five-year-olds have been given their marching orders from schools across the UK but this youngster is one of the first four-year-olds to be expelled.

Under education guidelines children who behave badly can be sent home from school by the headteacher for a fixed period or permanently. The boy, who only started school in September, was kicked out after what teachers described as a catalogue of problems. His parents refused to agree to a special action plan to deal with his behaviour and he was expelled a few days later.

But his family say he is a lively and lovable little boy who has never caused any problems before starting school. His mother said she was 'shocked' when she was called out of work to collect her son from the school. She said: 'They are making him out to be a thug and I think they are treating him far too old. 'They are saying he won't listen, is disruptive and is just doing what he wants but he's still only four and getting used to school and they just don't know how to be with him.'

The school claims the youngster lashed out at a teacher. The mother, a caterer, said: 'There is absolutely nothing wrong with [my son] and he knows the difference between right and wrong,.

'At home he is quiet and if he does get a bit boisterous then he gets told off and told to behave himself. 'He was one of the youngest in the class and it is down to the teachers to help him settle and I don't think that has been done. 'They are saying he's very violent and all the other kids are scared of him. I've never heard such nonsense.' The mother said she and her husband are worried their son will now find it very difficult to settle in a new school.

She said: 'They said he is being disruptive and he is very immature, but he is only four year old for goodness sake.' The child was sent home on four separate occasions by the headteacher at the Lancashire primary school before finally being expelled a week ago. The headteacher said:

'It is only on very rare occasions that a school would consider permanently excluding a child as young as four. 'At such a young age, behaviour of the kind that could lead to exclusion needs to be investigated and dealt with quickly by the appropriate specialists. 'In order to do this, we do, of course, need the full co-operation of the family so that we can put the right support in place. 'Our aim is not to punish but to carry out an assessment and successfully reintegrate the child into mainstream school as quickly as possible.' She added:

'When children are excluded permanently, if parents disagree with the decision, the usual course is for them to appeal to the school governors and then to an independent panel. Both have the power to overturn the decision.'

A spokesman for the National Association of Headteachers said: 'Previous fixed term exclusions for a four-year-old is highly unusual but they demonstrate how seriousness of the problems with this child.'

The youngest pupil to be expelled from a British school was a three-year-old girl who was thrown out of school for her violent behaviour. The unnamed little girl was sent home from a reception class for assaulting a fellow student at a primary school in Caerphilly in Wales last year.

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