Police logged at least 8,500 sexual offences against children aged 13 or under in England and Wales between 2021 and 2025, including around 2,000 allegations of rape or attempted rape.
The figures amount to an average of 4.7 sexual offences involving younger children reported each day. The rape and attempted rape allegations equate to roughly one report connected to a school in England and Wales every day.
The data was gathered through freedom of information requests sent to all 43 police forces in England and Wales, with 33 responding. Most reports did not record the age of the alleged offender, although the majority are believed to involve fellow pupils.
More than one in three of the rape victims were under 13, while girls accounted for almost two-thirds of the sexual offences where the victim’s gender was specified.
The figures also included 6,140 offences involving the possession, taking, making or distribution of indecent or prohibited images of children under 18.
In at least 1,890 of the reported sexual offences against under-13s, the alleged perpetrator was described as being under 18.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said child-on-child sexual abuse in schools was “widespread, normalised and too often brushed under the carpet”.
“We have taken important steps in the last few years,” she said. “But as these figures show we have a long way to go. This is not simply a school or college issue, it is a societal one.”
A Government spokesperson described the figures as “appalling” and pointed to schools’ statutory duty to respond to sexual violence and harassment.
“No child should be unsafe at school, and no child should have to carry this alone,” they said. “That is why schools’ duty to respond to sexual violence and harassment is now statutory, and why staff are trained to spot concerns early and support victims.”
The spokesperson added that, as part of the strategy to halve violence against women and girls, the Government had pledged to ensure young people were taught about healthy relationships and consent from an early age.
They also said technology companies had been required to tackle harmful content and protect young people online through the Online Safety Act.
