A school in Bristol has been forced to suspend a four year old child from school for violent behaviour. One of the youngest children in the country to be excluded, Shaun Maule-Javoric was suspended from school for four days after injuring several children in his reception class.

Shaun’s mother declared herself ‘shocked’ by the decision to exclude her son. ‘I am not trying to stick up for Shaun,’ she told reporters. ‘I know he can be trouble. But he is four years old, not 14. He doesn't understand why he has been excluded. Maybe I could understand if he was off for a day, but I think this is a bit much.’

Shaun’s head teacher, Julie Ault, has been quick to defend her decision. ‘As a head teacher I have to make decisions which are in the best interests of each and every pupil in school,’ she said. ‘It is rare to have to exclude a pupil so young,’ Ms Ault admitted, ‘but, without going into the details of the case, several children have received physical injuries at this child's hands. I am confident that I made the correct decision in order to protect him and other children in his class.’

• Was the head teacher right? Talk about this here
  
• Toddlers - bully or attention-seeker?
  
• This Week's News