A humanist headteacher’s attempt to promote LGBT ideology over Christian values in her school has been quashed.
Hampshire County Council refused an application from Poulner Infant School for exemption from the Government requirement to hold Christian collective worship.
Headteacher Jo Conner claimed pupils would be better served by the controversial pro-LGBT ‘No Outsiders’ programme.
Legally, schools must conduct acts of collective worship “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. This usually takes place as an assembly.
But Conner — who describes herself as a humanist — told the local authority’s Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE): “There should not have to be a Christian slant to the assemblies, or ‘Christian values’”.
In her report to the committee, she also said: “We use the No Outsiders curriculum which is based on the ethos of everyone included and everyone welcome.
“We look at gender, sexuality, disabilities and different viewpoints and we share with the children that it doesn’t matter who you are, you are welcome.”
Following legal advice, the SACRE — a diverse group of councillors, faith community representatives and people from the education sector — refused the application.
The religious advisory board pointed out that 34 per cent of parents at the school “identified themselves as Christian, the largest religious group”.
“Furthermore”, it said, “any parent had a right to withdraw their child from collective worship but no withdrawals had been recorded by the school”.
The SACRE stressed the need for the school “to adhere to the legislation”, adding that “any change to this could only be made by parliament”.
Andrew Moffat, the gay activist and author of ‘No Outsiders’, claims the programme is designed to teach children about ‘British values’ and the Equality Act 2010.
However, modules for eight-year-olds on marriage and family use the books ‘King and King’, about a homosexual prince, and ‘Mommy, Mama and Me’, about a child with two female parents.
When the scheme was introduced at a school in Birmingham, parents said the lessons were used to push Moffat’s personal preferences and promote homosexual and transgender lifestyles.
The school halted the scheme following parents’ protests, but ran a modified version called ‘No Outsiders for a faith community’ from September 2019.
Christian teachers, parents and pupils are increasingly facing difficulties as the education system becomes more secular. Pressure groups with their own agendas are approaching schools offering advice, training and resources. Often this is backed up with vague appeals to the ‘Equality Act’ to make schools feel they have no alternative but to follow the advice given.