Parents accuse teachers of 'brainwashing their children when teaching about homosexuality'

 

23 April 2016 • 5:01pm

Parents are emailing teachers at all hours accusing them of “brainwashing” their children when they teach about homosexuality as headteachers denounce "unacceptable emails and posts on social media". 

“[Technology has meant] school leaders have to deal with unacceptable emails and posts on social media.”

Russell Hobby of the NAHT

Heads voiced their concerns as parents worry of the sort of content their children are taught during sexual education classes at both primary and secondary schools.

It came as teachers renewed their call to make Personal, social, health and economics education (PSHE) compulsory in schools to shield them from accusations of hidden agendas.

Headteachers argue the move would protect them from threats from parents who object to being taught  what they deem as ‘controversial’ topics at school.

Russell Hobby, general secretary  of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), also said the British public was still divided over when to teach sexual education to children, particularly at the start of primary school.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “We don’t think you need to make it statutory to make teachers do it, you need to make it statutory to protect teachers when they do it, otherwise they’re vulnerable to accusations that they are pursuing a personal agenda.

“We’ve seen really difficult situations where parents who disagree with the philosophies that are being promoted saying ‘you’re doing this, you’re brainwashing our children’.”

There is no consensus of what's the best age to start teaching children about sexual education Credit: Alamy

He said parents are accusing teachers of teaching “controversial” topics to their children and parents are threatening to withdraw pupils from lessons as a result.

He said: “If you deal with topics related to homosexuality in a lesson and a parent from whatever background they might be disagree with that and say ‘I don’t want my children taught about these issues’ they have accused schools and teachers of doing that sort of thing.

“These are controversial topics which our society doesn’t wholly agree on and teachers have to be quite brave sometimes in doing that and we should have their back when they do that and don’t leave them to have challenges.”

Heads 'dealing with unacceptable emails and posts on social media'

Mr Hobby said that apart from aggressive threats, parents are emailing teachers to pressure them to stop teaching certain topics in sexual education classes.

He said: ““Children learn best when there’s a strong bond between the home and the school. This bond can sometimes be strained, particularly when schools want to educate children on contentious issues.

“Technology has allowed these objections to be expressed in many new ways, including emails and social media. Legitimate objections from parents are fair enough and easily addressed but the strength of feeling sometimes means school leaders have to deal with unacceptable emails and posts on social media.”

Separately, heads said parents often complain about their children being taught sexual education  but attributed this to a lack of understanding of the sort of content they are learning.

James Bowen, former headteacher at Mill Rythe Junior School in Hampshire, said: “If they’ve got a five, six, seven year olds, often [parents] hear the words and they wonder why [they are being taught sex and relationships education], but actually when you look at what schools tend to cover with five-year-olds, it’s not anywhere near what parents fear sometimes.”