The shocking new figures, obtained through a freedom of information request by this newspaper, 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 shocking figures show children under 10 are among those suspected of committing sexual offences (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

The findings follow intense debate around the problem of misogyny in schools in recent months.

Nearly 70pc 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.

Hundreds of sexual offences in Norfolk schools have been reported to the police in the last five years (Image: Norfolk Police)

WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW?

Since 2020, there have been 444........

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