A five-year-old boy has been expelled from school for hitting a teacher.

The boy is believed to be the youngest child to be permanently excluded in Sussex after he was kicked out of Broadwater Church of England first and middle school, in Worthing.

The decision, which has shocked parents, was made by headteacher Janet Sharp and is set to be reviewed by the board of governors.

Tonight officials at the school and West Sussex County Council, the local education authority, refused to reveal any of the details of the incident.

A statement released by the school said: "We confirm that a pupil has been excluded from the school. A decision to exclude any pupil is taken in response to serious breaches of a school's behaviour policy.

"We cannot comment further on this case as school governors have yet to review the headteacher's decision, following which there may be a further right of independent appeal."

The school, in Rectory Gardens, Worthing, caters for 500 pupils aged between four and 12.

Christine Colthurst, the chair of governors at the school, refused to discuss what had happened.

She said: "I am aware that a pupil has been expelled. There will be a governors' committee meeting in due course to decide the next step."

Parents collecting their children at the school gates this afternoon spoke of their shock at the move.

One 42-year-old man, who has one child at the school, said: "If it was my boy I would be having words with the powers-that-be. It is wrong to expel someone at that age."

Another parent, a 35-year-old woman, said: "I didn't know about it but but it does seem a shame. That lad will have a mark on his character for the rest of his life."

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, whose constituency the school is in, would not comment on the decision to expel the child.

Government figures released under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year show that increasing numbers of children are being barred from primary school for offences as serious as sexual assault, theft, racism and even drug dealing.

It was revealed that 230 pupils are suspended and six are permanently excluded from primary schools across the country every day during term time.

The figures show 50 five-year-olds - and 10 children under the age of five - were expelled from schools in the last academic year.

A spokesman for the Department of Children, Schools and Families said: "We want to build upon our tough stance on discipline, which is why we have given schools new disciplinary powers to instil the 'behavioural 3Rs' - rules, responsibilities and respect - more effectively.

"A teacher's authority must be absolute, and if young people do misbehave badly, we fully support schools taking the difficult decision to exclude."

Earlier this year the National Union of Teachers, Britain's biggest teaching union, voted to walk out of the classroom if pupils who attack staff are allowed to remain in school.

Teachers claim that many pupils arrive at school without any sense of respect for adults as parents fail to impose any discipline in the home.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) warned in a report at its annual conference in Bournemouth of "rampant" bad behaviour in classrooms.

A spokeswoman for the ATL said: "Violence against teachers is never acceptable, regardless of the age of the child involved.

"Unfortunately it is a very real problem and teachers are being assaulted in schools across the country. Our survey suggest 34 per cent of teachers have been assaulted at some point and it just is not acceptable."

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