Parents protest over LGBT lessons
A row has developed between parents and schools in areas of Birmingham and Manchester over whether primary school children should be taught about LGBT issues.
Some parents have staged weekly protests at Parkfield Community School, Birmingham, over lessons taught as part of the No Outsiders programme which was set up by assistant head Andrew Moffat.
According to protesters, the lessons promote homosexuality and teaches children about issues they feel youngsters shouldn’t know.
For many it is important in this age to teach primary school children about the existence of LGBT people.
Student Oliver Franklin, who identifies as gay, said: “If there had been lessons on LGBTQ+ issues maybe I would have felt more comfortable with myself.”
According to the protesting-parents it is too early to expose children to LGBT issues in primary.
But one primary school teacher who thinks these lessons should exist in all primary schools said: “It’s important that they understand the world around them including same sex marriages and LGBT issues.”
The issue has upset many in the LGBT community who liken such attitudes to the days of Section 28 which Margaret Thatcher introduced in 1988 which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools.
