Secondary schools which fail to teach pupils LGBT lessons will be penalised by inspectors, it has been revealed.
Ofsted, the British schools regulator, said that schools will no longer be able to secure a rating better than “requires improvement” if they neglect to inform pupils about LGBT lifestyles and about “all the protected characteristics”, the Daily Mail reports.
An Ofsted spokesman commented: “The Department for Education’s guidance makes it clear that secondary schools must teach about LGBT issues.
“Therefore, from next summer, if secondary schools do not teach about all the protected characteristics, they will receive a judgment of ‘requires improvement’ for leadership and management.
“However, government guidance is that primary schools have more discretion over when LGBT issues are age appropriate, and so won’t necessarily be marked down if they exclude them,” they added.
A report published by Ofsted this week asserted that schools would still be allowed “to teach the tenets of any faith on the protected characteristics”, such as that same-sex pairs should not marry or engage in sexual relations according to a particular religion.
“However, if they do so, they must also explain the legal rights LGBT people have under UK law, and that this and LGBT people must be respected,” the document states.
The hardline, “progressive” leftist National Secular Society, which wants to see a ban on faith schools in Britain, was furious that institutions will be able to continue to impart some religious teachings on homosexual activity.
“It’s wholly incongruent for Ofsted to penalise schools that refuse to teach about LGBT people, but turn a blind eye with faith schools that teach being LGBT is morally wrong,” a spokesman railed.
“All pupils should be entitled to study in a welcoming and accepting school that doesn’t make them feel ashamed about who they are,” they added — without addressing the question of how their proposed education regime might make pupils from religious families feel.
Earlier this week, Christian Concern reported on the case of a pastoral administrator who was sacked from her job at a Church of England primary school in Gloucester over Facebook posts which raised concerns over plans to make sex and relationships education (SRE) mandatory for primary school children from the age of four.
In two posts on the social media website, Kristie Higgs highlighted the introduction of transgender ideology and the promotion of homosexuality in primary schools, warning against forces wish to make the teaching of “fundamental Christian beliefs” on the topic of men, women, and marriage “forbidden”.
Her employer, Farmor’s School, opened an investigation into Mrs Higgs after an anonymous complainant alleged that the posts were “homophobic and prejudiced to the LGBT community” and then announced they were sacking her for “illegal discrimination” and “inappropriate use of social media”.