Mum slams primary school for teaching about LGBT community with parental permission
The school claim they teach about the LGBT community to celebrate Pride Month
By Steve Brown
A mum has demanded that primary schools shouldn’t teach about the LGBT community without permission from parents first.
The mum – who wished to remain anonymous – found it astonishing that pupils would be taught about the LGBT community before the children had been given sex education lessons, the Metro reported.
She claimed the Heavers Farm Primary School, in South Norwood, didn’t ask parents if they would be happy for their children to be taught lessons on the subject.
She said: “My Year 4 son is just far too young to be learning about all of this.
“He came home the other day talking about lesbians and transgender people and I was so shocked.
“They haven’t even started sexual education classes yet, but they’re being taught all about LGBT.
“I’m all for diversity and for children to learn about it, but not in Year 4 when they are incredibly immature.
“My son has learning difficulties and subjects like this are very hard for him to understand, and I’m sure he isn’t the only one.
“I know there will be Muslim families who would find the idea of taking part in such an event a very difficult thing to do.”
The head teacher of the school, Susan Papas, said the lessons were taught during Pride Month which her school and the sister school Selsdon Primary were running.
She said: “Both of our schools are celebrating Pride Month as part of our continuing work on equalities and challenging stereotypes.
“The children have been learning about this in many different ways, this including Black History Month, learning about the Suffragettes to commemorate 100 years since women won the right to vote, and most recently learning to have ‘pride’ in ourselves and our families and showing respect for families and people who differ from our own.
“We have a number of children in LGBT families and we feel that it is important that they feel valued in our schools.
“This work forms a key part of our federation’s vision and values.”
“We are not teaching this as part of our Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) programme, and as such we do not need to seek consent from the parents.
“We are planning a ‘pride parade’ on June 29, 2018, to which parents have been invited. This is planned to be a celebration of what makes the children proud.
“This can be what makes them proud about themselves and or what makes them and their families special. The children have been making banners to represent this and they will carry these banners on the parade.”