Ofsted chief urges all schools to teach about LGBTQ issues regardless of their religious background
Amanda Spielman spoke up after protests outside a school in Birmingham
By Steve Brown
The head of Ofsted has urged all schools to teach children about same-sex couples regardless of their religious background.
Following a petition from angry parents calling for an end to pro-LGBTQ classes at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, and protests have regularly taken place outside the school this term, Amanda Spielman – the chief inspector at the education watchdog – said it’s crucial to teach children about same-sex relationships.
She told the BBC that it was important children knew “there are families that have two mummies or two daddies”.
Spielman continued: “It’s about making sure that children who do happen to realise that they themselves may not fit a conventional pattern know that they’re not bad or ill.
“The essence of democracy is that we don’t all get our way.
“We accept majority decision which means there will always be things that some of us don’t like, but that is the very essence of it – accepting that we can’t have 100% of what we want.”
Following the protests, the Ofsted chief said there needed to be a “careful exploration of the middle ground” but urged the importance of LGBTQ topics.