Councillors’ petition welcomes LGBT lessons

The new classes include teaching children about lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people following a change in the law that means the topic will become mandatory for all schools in England from September 2020.

The petition calls on Sheffield Council and its councillors to “robustly support schools in the city to challenge bigotry, hatred and division” and notes what the petitioners say is “the new Education Minister Gavin Williamson’s poor record on standing up for the LGBT community.”

The teaching of LGBT relationships in primary schools led to eight weeks of unrest in Birmingham by protesters who said the lessons contradicted Islam.

Coun Ben Miskell, who is a teacher and also represents Park and Arbourthorne ward, said: “I’m proud to live in a city that is diverse. Some children come from families that have either two mummies or two daddies and it’s only right that our schools reflect the reality of life in modern Sheffield as part of their lessons.

“It is now the law of the land that gay people can get married and the vast majority of people support it. We’ve seen protests from a vocal minority of people in Birmingham, who want to turn back the clock and return us to the 1950s, but I think that Sheffield people are much more accepting.”

Visit http://chng.it/Xmzm5VFjWp to see the petition.