Anti-LGBT protests prove why relationship education has has “got to start” at primary school, the teacher at the centre of a fierce debate about equality in relationship education has said.
In an exclusive interview with HuffPost UK, Andrew Moffat said he had considered quitting his job at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham but was now “not going anywhere”.
“Change isn’t always easy and this is about how we can move society forward so that everyone is welcome and everyone has a contribution to make. So the protests only go to show why this work is so important in schools,” he said.
“I want children to be proud of who they are. And I think all parents want that for their children. It’s an anti-bullying resource. No parent wants their child to be bullied.”
Speaking about his own experience as a child, Moffat said: “I remember a boy in that class saying ‘I think all gays should be put up against a wall and shot’ and everyone cheered – and the teacher didn’t say anything.
“Primary schools are where it’s got to start,” he added. “My hope for the future is that no LGBT child goes through what we went through in the 1980s. I want them to know that it’s alright and you’re going to be ok.”
Moffat is the creator of the No Outsiders programme, which uses children’s books to teach about the Equality Act – including lessons about sexual orientation and religion.
But segments about LGBT relationships prompted a backlash from some parents who claimed it clashed with their Muslim faith, and later hundreds of children were withdrawn from classes at Parkfield as a result.
Protesters demonstrating against the teaching at another Birmingham school, Anderton Park Primary, have vowed to continue their campaign despite an court injunction banning them from staging the demonstration near the school gates.
Education Secretary Damian Hinds has said the protests outside the school “have to stop”.
Moffat’s commitment to education equality comes as LGBT rights were drawn into the Conservative Party leadership race.
Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary, has said parents should be able to withdraw their children from sex or relationship lessons until they are 16.
Justine Greening, the former Tory education secretary, told McVey “you can’t pick and choose on human rights & equality”.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, has said McVey’s argument was “illegal, immoral and deeply dangerous”.
Meanwhile Ann Widdecombe, the Brexit MEP and former Conservative minister, triggered a backlash after she said “science” might be able to “produce an answer” to being gay.
A 2017 report by Stonewall found 45% of LGBT pupils in British schools had been bullied.
The interview with Moffat is part of HuffPost’s Proud Out Loud project, launched today, which profiles the next generation of LGBTQ change-makers from around the world to mark 50 years since the Stonewall Riots.