A brand new petition in support of the No Outsiders campaign for Primary School ages gains thousands of signatures in just a few hours.
Andrew Moffat’s No Outsiders campaign is getting a lot of love after a petition was created in support of the lessons which aim to teach primary school-aged children about LGBT+ acceptance, relationships and equality.
Parkfield Primary school has become somewhat of a battleground as parents removed 600 pupils from the school in February, and then proceeded to demonstrate outside the school in protest at the lessons. The parents say that the lessons are not age appropriate and that they weren’t consulted with about the lessons.
Critics of No Outsiders have called it “toxic” and parents and their children at the protest, last Thursday, shouted “shame, shame, shame” at the idea of teaching children that it is okay to be gay and Muslim.
The No Outsider lessons include reading children, as young as five-year-old, story such as Mummy, Mamma and Me, which can be heard here:
The protests at Parkfield School are shocking. It is the inclusion of story books like Mommy, Mama and me that are allegedly the issue – one of my daughter’s favourites. Judge for yourself if you think this is harmful. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. #lgbt pic.twitter.com/xIow1Mc5ud
— Sally Brooks (@sallybbrooks) March 8, 2019
The petition, which was created by Lacey McFadyen wll be delievered to Parkfield Primary School and reads,
Andrew Moffatt is the deputy headteacher at Parkfield Community School near the deprived Bordesley Green area of Birmingham. Birmingham is home to a diverse range of people from different backgrounds and beliefs, which is what makes our city inclusive for everyone.
Andrew’s “No Outsiders” programme reflects this and teaches children about inclusiveness and diversity. This ethos has been extended to parents too through parent/child workshops, where the message can be continued at home. The programme has also been extended to other schools in cities across the UK.
Andrew also runs a “Parkfield Ambassadors” after-school club that creates opportunities for children at his school where 99% of students are Muslim to meet others of different races, religions and cultures around Birmingham.
In May 2016 Ofsted awarded the Parkfield School ‘Outstanding’ status, recognizing Andrew’s project as a strength, saying: “The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength and permeates the school’s work. This is an inclusive school that celebrates diversity.”
In November 2017 Andrew was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for services to equality and diversity in education.
Programmes like “No Outsiders” are more than ever needed to ensure future younger generations learn about acceptance and respect of others.
In recent media there has been a backlash of the project with concerns that inappropriate material is being taught to the children. This includes a concern over topics such as LGBT+ being included in the programme. Concerns raised have included the stereotype that LGBT+ is ‘inappropriate’ and ‘sexualised’. This project does not include topics of this nature and instead teaches children about different family dynamics in general.
Please show your support for Andrew’s “No Outsiders” programme by signing this petition and to support the inclusion of LGBT+ topics in this programme.