Parents face court action for removing children from gay history lessons
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:56 AM on 07th March 2009
Parents face possible court action for withdrawing their children from
lessons on gay and lesbian history.
More than 30 pupils were pulled out of a week of teaching at a primary
school which included books about homosexual partnerships.
The controversial content was worked into the curriculum at George
Tomlinson School in Waltham Forest, East London.
The council has declared that children who missed the lessons will be
viewed as truants.
The ruling means some families could breach rules that children should
not be absent for more than 19 days a year.
Sanctions include spot fines, parenting contracts and ultimately court
action.
The parents, who objected to the lessons on moral and religious grounds,
said the content was more appropriate to secondary age pupils.
Pervez Latif, whose children Saleh, ten, and Abdur-Rahim, nine, attend
the school, said he knew of up to 30 withdrawals from the lessons.
The 41-year-old accountant said Christian and Muslim parents had
objected to the theme linked to Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History
Month.
‘We as parents did not receive any guidance that this was going to
happen,’ he added. ‘There was just a newsletter mentioning the week and
that certain themes would be taught.
‘I didn’t want my children to be learning about this. I wrote a letter
to the chairman of the governors explaining that I would be taking my
children out of school and he wrote back saying that there was no other
option.
‘If I am faced with court action, then I will just explain that these
are my views. It was also very difficult explaining to my nine- and ten-
year-old boys why they were being removed from school.
‘I found it difficult to explain topics such as homosexual relationships
at such a young age.’
One story covered in a lesson was King and King, a fairytale about a
prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with one
of their brothers.
Another book, And Tango Makes Three, features two male penguins, Roy and
Silo, who fall in love at a New York zoo.
Sarah Saeed, 40, took her eight-year-old daughter out of school during
the week.
She said: ‘It is not an appropriate age for the children to be learning
such matters. We have our own way of explaining things to them and they
should not be subjected to this.
‘I was aware they were going to be learning about homosexual
relationships through stories.
‘If the council takes action against me I will tell them that I told the
school beforehand I would be taking my child away if they did not change
their policy.
‘She has a 100 per cent attendance record otherwise. This is the only
time and this is the only choice I had.’
Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from religious
education and sex education lessons – apart from science lessons which
cover biological reproduction as part of the national curriculum.
A spokesman for Waltham Forest Council said: ‘As part of the borough’s
policy of promoting tolerance in our schools, children are taught that
everyone in our society is of equal value.
‘At George Tomlinson, parents were invited to meet with teachers and
governors several weeks ago to discuss what work would
be taking place throughout the national LGBT History Month and how this
work would be delivered.
‘Regrettably, some parents chose to remove their children from school.
‘The council does not condone any unauthorised absence from school and
action has been taken.’
Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said: ‘It is a
fundamental principle of education law that children must be educated in
accordance with the wishes of their parents.
'It is outrageous for a school or local authority to think it can ride
roughshod over parents and impose lessons upon children that arouse such
widespread concerns.
‘The only action that needs to be taken is to offer an apology to the
parents concerned.’
George Tomlinson is close to a school which launched a gay version of
Romeo and Juliet called Romeo and Julian – also to mark the alternative
history month.
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Saturday, 7 March 2009
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