Headteacher suspends two 10-year-olds for Homophobia!

Heavers Farm Primary School - South London

The head-teacher of Heavers Farm Primary School in South London, has suspended two 10-year-old children of African descent for 'homophobic language' after they asked for permission on religious grounds, not to participate in an LGBT lesson during 'Gay Pride Month'.

The organisation 'Christian Concern', allege that the headteacher, Susan Papas, told the children that they had to participate in the lesson because it was part of the school curriculum. It is also claimed that she told both children that they were "a disappointment to the school."

On June 20, pupil Farrell Spence asked his teacher Alex Smith, for permission not to participate in a lesson when Mr Smith handed out LGBT material for colouring. The teacher denied permission, insisting that the LGBT lesson was part of the curriculum.

After class, Smith allegedly accused Farrell of using "Homophobic language" and saying "LGBT sucks and LGBT's dumb", which the child categorically denies. Farrell, a Roman Catholic, was sitting with his classmate Kaysey Francis, a Pentecostal Christian, who also told another teacher he did not "accept LGBT" because of his religion.

It is claimed that the teacher asked the two children - "Do you want LGBT people to die?" "We said no", Farrell replied, but added that if they went back to their countries, they would be punished for being gay." The teacher asked Farrell where he was from and the child told him he was of "African Jamaican" heritage, and because "everybody is Christian and Catholic", so they don't accept LGBT."

Later, head teacher Papas, called in the two children and shouted at them: "How dare you? you are a disappointment to the school."

Ms. Papas, whose daughter Attie is a lesbian and the school manager, put the children in separate rooms and scolded Kaysey saying: "How dare you say that you want to kill LGBT people?" Kaysey replied: "I didn't say kill." Ms Papas then shouted at her and said, "Yes, you did, and don't lie," she was then sent to detention from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The headteacher then suspended both Kaysey and Farrell  from school for five days.

Heavers Farm Primary School educates 750 pupils in the multicultural and multi-religious borough of South London. Both the school manager and the assistant headteacher, Robert Askey, are openly gay.

The mothers of the two children complained to the Principal Officer, citing school regulations that state it is unlawful to suspend a student for “a non-disciplinary reason.”

The parents insist their children did not make homophobic comments and have accused the headteacher of failing “to eliminate discrimination based on religion or belief.” They also cited the European Convention of Human Rights, saying it requires that schools respect the manner in which parents seek to raise their children in accordance with their Christian faith. They are now threatening legal action against the school.

By all accounts, this is not the first time that the school and its headteacher have faced criticism over LGBT activism. In June 2018, the school organized a "Gay pride" parade in its playground, posting rainbow flags around the school, and telling students to wear bright colours for the event. Ms. Papas also invited parents to watch the "Proud to be Me!" parade and join in celebrating "the rainbow of things that make them and their family special."

It is likely that incidents of this kind will become a regular occurrence in schools, when the state and middle-class teachers try to foist trendy liberal ideas about homosexuality on people who find these ideas totally abhorrent, because of their religious beliefs. Clearly people of the Christian faith, consider homosexual practices and gay marriage, contrary to scripture.

In the UK, human rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998. Article 9, protects your right to hold both religious and non-religious beliefs, freedom of thought and conscience. This is an absolute right that cannot be interfered with by the state.

The alphabet soup brigade who run Heavers Farm Primary School, who seem to proselytize 'Queer politics', should have respected the rights of both children to exclude themselves from LGBT lessons on grounds of religious belief or ought to have consulted their parents. For the Government to insist that these lessons are compulsory for all children seems to be a breach of Article 9. Many parents also seem to object that children in primary schools, are being subjected to this kind of social engineering, at such an early age. There is a danger that what we might finish up with, is children who become extremely confused about their own personal identities and sexuality. .

A friend of the writer and Lesbian, Jeanette Winterson, who supported equal rights, once said to her: "Darling, you know I am on your side, but how many more letters of the alphabet do you think you might need?" Even pensioners like myself, find all this crap - LGBTQIA, gender fluidity, totally bewildering. Are five-year-olds in primary schools, likely to understand it better?