Children as young as five are being suspended from school for attacking other pupils and even teachers, alarming figures reveal.

A Gazette investigation has found that hundreds of fixed-term exclusions have been handed out for acts of violence across the Canterbury and Faversham areas.

At least 188 were for assaults on fellow pupils - accounting for almost one a day across the 2017/18 academic year.

But the true number could be even higher as schools are only required to disclose details if at least five of the punishments have been handed out.

In total, 969 fixed-term exclusions were issued to at least 530 pupils at schools in Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and Faversham.

The most common reasons were for persistent disruptive behaviour and verbal abuse against an adult.

Worryingly, there were at least 22 fixed-term exclusions for physical assaults of an adult - most likely against a teacher or a helper.

Listen to Roger Gough discuss the exclusions

This includes one Year 1 pupil who could have been as young as five and was suspended on five different occasions. The Gazette has chosen not to disclose the name of the school the child attends to avoid the risk of identifying them.

There were a further 31 exclusions for drug or alcohol-related offences.

Canterbury Academy gave out the highest number of fixed-term exclusions last year, at least 218, followed by Faversham’s Abbey School with 143, and Spires Academy in Sturry with 135.

Jon Watson, the executive principal of Canterbury Academy, points to the fact it has more than 2,000 pupils on its campus and the largest sixth form in Kent.

“It is a very good school, is popular and oversubscribed,” he said. “It has an inclusive approach to education based upon clear systems of sanctions, values and rewards and believes that every child is good at something.”

The Abbey put its figures down to the fact it is Faversham’s biggest school and says it only ever uses the punishment “as a last resort”.

Meanwhile, Spires Academy Head Nicki Mattin says her school has recently tightened up its rules around uniforms, attendance and mobile phone use.

“We changed a number of policies last year, which did put up our fixed-term exclusions,” she said. “For example, we went mobile-free, so students do not use their phones during school hours. They must be switched off and in their bags, and some young people found that difficult because there is a massive addiction to it.

“If schools continue to do the same thing they have always done, they stagnate a little bit, so it’s important to take a step back every now and then.

“We expected to see a spike because of changes in our expectations. The impact has been that our fixed-term exclusions have gone up, but they have now started to come back down again.”

Ming Zhang, the county council’s head of service pupil referral units, inclusion and attendance, says fixed-term exclusions are “on the rise” nationally.

“Although Kent’s fixed-term exclusion is part of that trend, the rate of fixed-term exclusion has been reduced to a level that is now better than the national average,” he said.

“Kent’s current rate of fixed-term exclusion is 4.58% while the national average is higher at 4.76%.”

The level of permanent exclusions from schools in the area have declined.