NEARLY 130 children a day are being sent home from school after being caught with booze, drugs or cigarettes.
Alarmingly, the figures for England obtained by The Sun include at least one pupil as young as five.
All suspensions and expulsions must be recorded and our probe uncovered a small number of pupils in Years 1 to 3 — aged five to eight — affected.
Incidents can include children turning up to school drunk or high, plus students caught trying to deal drugs.
They also cover youngsters caught with drink or drugs at school, unable to study due to problems with prescription drugs, and pupils smoking.
Figures for the year ending July 2023, the latest available, show there 24,073 suspensions for drugs and alcohol rule breaches — up six per cent on 2022.
They included one pupil in Year 1 — where kids are aged five or six. There was another in Year 2 and six in Year 3.
There were another 590 incidents where kids were expelled, the figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws show.
With the school year containing 190 days, it means each school day sees just under 130 children suspended or expelled for drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.
Campaign for Real Education chairman Christopher McGovern said: “It reflects a breakdown of order at home as well as in the classroom.”
The Department for Education said: “We are determined to get to grips with the causes of poor behaviour.”
