Anglican Mainstream

By Harry Templeton

Unnoticed, ‘Big Brother’ Britain has now smashed its clunking bruising fist into the very heart of primary and secondary schools; with, of course, the best of intentions; in an attempt to curb racist, homophobic or transphobic attitudes in the playground.

Thus, local and central government, directed by five abstruse pieces of turgid legislation, countless reams of detailed and boundless guidance and an army of nit-picking officials, now closely supervise childish playground banter, which, if politically incorrect, is formally recorded on a computer database for unending analysis, even by Whitehall. Persistent unacceptable behaviour will receive particular attention.

Children will be monitored up to the age of 24.

The view is held that the real aim is to identify parents who may be teaching their children inappropriate attitudes – the ‘bigots’ and ‘racists’ of tomorrow.

However, others deem this as part of a sinister attempt by the homosexual lobby to get activists involved in sex education because the average teacher lacks any in-depth understanding and may be less than gay friendly. The more homophobia that can be found will intensify the gay demand for direct intrusion.

Consider the fact, but briefly, that Stonewall was created in order to defeat Section 28 that prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in schools. Since then they have not been slow in advancing the idea that our schools are infested with homophobic bullies. With little or no empirical findings Stonewall claim there are 150,000 gay school kids. Closer examination reveals the figure is simply the figment of imagination of its CEO Ben Summerskill.

One of the first cases was that of ten-year-old Peter Drury in March 2010.

A pupil at the Ashcombe Primary School in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, he casually called his friend a ‘gay boy’. Following a complaint from another mother, details were officially entered in the schools ‘hate register’ as a homophobic remark. He will now be monitored on a computer database by his local authority for the rest of his school days for any signs of prejudice. Protestations from his parents that he barely knew about sex, let alone homosexuality, made no difference. Headmaster, Peter Turner, subsequently shunned all enquiries, referring instead to the North Somerset Local Authority.

Dr Michele Elliot, director of the children’s charity Kidscape, said, “Children are being criminalised and singled out here from a very early age when they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Less than a year later, the Manifesto Club obtained additional information under the Freedom of Information Act about what was happening in our schools. Their report revealed that for the year 2008-2009 10,436 primary schoolchildren and 41 at nursery school, had been labelled racist or homophobic over minor squabbles, A further 29,659 incidents were reported in secondary schools. Head teachers who fail to report any cases are criticised for under-reporting. Ominously, schools maintain records of incidents, many of a petty nature and if a future employer or a university asks them for a pupil reference, the record will be disclosed which could blight a child’s future for life.

Adrian Hart, a spokesman for the Manifesto Club observes that these policies misunderstand children profoundly and create the illusion of a racism problem in schools in England and Wales.

The following year (2009-10), 34,000 nursery, primary and secondary pupils in England and Wales were branded as bigots. As the system smartens up, more children will be caught up and be harmfully incriminated.

This pernicious legislation, which amounts to a witch-hunt of the innocent, has become an insidious dystopian nightmare and is another example of a repugnant law gone horribly wrong. And the situation worsens. 

Harry Templeton
 

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