Parents seek to move or home educate their children over No Outsiders classes

Parents of children at the Parkfield Primary school have said that they plan to home educate or move their children to a different school.

• Parents say they will home school their children

• Parents say they held a mass walkout of their children on the 12th of July

• Say they feel victimised and discriminated against

• Offer an apology to the LGBT community

In a statement, parents of children at Parkfield Primary School on the Alum Rock Community Forum have said that they will homeschool or move their children out of the school because of the No Outsiders programme. They have also said that they have felt discriminated against over the “hijacking” of their children’s education.

Parkfield Primary, where 98 percent of pupils are Muslim, has become the centre of a row over whether children should be taught about same-sex relationships and differing gender expressions via a programme called No Outsiders.

The No Outsiders programme deals with social issues, race, religion, gender identity, age and disabilities, however, the parent’s protests have seemingly become a one issue protest, over the LGBT+ aspects of the lessons.

Despite this, the parents claim in their statement that they “unequivocally condemn” the labels of bigots and homophobes that have been levelled against them since their protests and demonstrations were reported on back in March.

They wrote, “We would like to reach out once again to our LGBT community to clear up any misconception, build bridges and strength [sic] our bond in this diverse community by offering our apology for any actions that may have upset them as this was not our intention”.

Considering homeschooling

Parents say that they feel that they’re not being listened, reaching an “impasse” with the school’s leadership team – saying that the school has an “unwillingness to build, repair and bridge this important relationship with parents”.

The statement continues, “therefore as a consequence… are currently seeking to move their children to alternative local schools and considering homeschooling option to best sever [sic] the needs of their children’s educational needs”.