Friday, 1 July 2011

SPUC is motivating parents to challenge explicit sex education in schools

On Wednesday night (29 June) a larger-than-expected audience of over 150 fathers and mothers came to the London Muslim Centre to hear Antonia Tully of SPUC's Safe at School campaign speak to them about how sexually-explicit sex education materials are being used in local primary schools. Antonia showed a clip from "Living and Growing", the Channel Four video series which uses cartoons to depict sexual intercourse, giving examples of various sexual positions.

Sharing a platform with Antonia was Yusuf Patel, the chief executive of SREIslamic, who exposed how myths about sex and relationships education (SRE) are being used to prevent parents knowing their rights and protecting their children.

The meeting was also briefly addressed by Councillor Ollur Rahman of Tower Hamlets Council, the council's cabinet minister with special responsibility for children's services. He assured the meeting that he supported the parents' concerns about sex education in Tower Hamlets schools.

The meeting was a great success, with parents and others very interested and motivated to use the knowledge imparted to ensure that local schools respect parents' rights and remove anti-family material from the curriculum. The audience were given a list of action points, which I include below as a model for parents in other parts of the country. For more information about the meeting, do read the reports in the East London Advertiser before and after the meeting. Antonia also gave an interview before the meeting to SPUC's friends at Premier Christian Radio.

Action points for parents

1. Contact your child’s school to read the policy on sex and relationships education (SRE):
  • find out what resources are being used.
  • request that all parents are given plenty of opportunity to view all the materials.
  • approach the school in a spirit of co-operation – wanting to work with the school for the benefit of all the children.
For more information visit: http://www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/safeatschool/

2. Write to your Local Authority: [e.g. Tower Hamlets Council, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, E14 2BG].

3. Write to your MP at: [Name of MP], House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

4. Write to the Secretary of State for Education: Department for Education, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ.

5. Contact campaign groups for support, advice and help:
6. Collect signatures for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) nationwide petition entitled: “Give Children Back their Childhood.” For more petition forms and leaflets call SPUC on: (020) 7091 7091.

7. Workshop for parents: Safe at School and SREIslamic are offering workshops for parents to equip them to act effectively in protecting their children from inappropriate SRE. If you are interested please call:
  • Antonia on 020 8407 3463
  • Yusuf on 0788 302 7067
Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
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