Birmingham school stops LGBT lessons after parents protest

A PRIMARY school in Birmingham has stopped LGBT lessons after some Muslim parents reportedly withdrew hundreds of students from the classes.

Parkfield Community School, in Alum Rock, a predominately Muslim area of Birmingham, has halted the No Outsiders lessons that challenged homophobia after parents claimed they were promoting gay and transgender lifestyles.

The lessons would continue only after full consultation with every parent, the school said.

In a letter to parents, the school said: “Up to the end of this term, we will not be delivering any No Outsiders lessons in our long-term year curriculum plan, as this half term has already been blocked for religious education (RE). Equality assemblies will continue as normal and our welcoming No Outsiders ethos will be there for all.”

Last Friday (1), parents withdrew about 600 Muslim children, aged between four and 11, from the school.

Angry parents claimed they have not given their consent to their children receiving lessons on homosexuality and gender equality as part of the No Outsiders project run by Andrew Moffat, the openly gay assistant teacher at Parkfield Community School.

The issue was first raised by Fatima Shah, who pulled her 10-year-old daughter out of the school, saying children were too young to be learning about same-sex marriages.

“We are not a bunch of homophobic mothers,” she was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

“We just feel that some of these lessons are inappropriate. Some of the themes being discussed are very adult and complex and the children are getting confused.

“They need to be allowed to be children rather than having to constantly think about equalities and rights.”

Supporting the school, the chief inspector of schools, Amanda Spielman, said it was vital children knew about “families that have two mummies or two daddies.”

“It’s about making sure that children who do happen to realise that they themselves may not fit a conventional pattern, know that they are not bad, they are not ill,” Spielman said.