U.K. Parents Accuse Church of England Primary School of Promoting Trans Ideology
Christian parents in the U.K. are accusing a Church of England primary school of going against the Christian faith by indoctrinating young students with transgender ideology, claiming children as young as 3 years old can be “non-binary.”
Parents Calvin and Nicola Watts removed their three children from St. Michael’s Church of England primary school in Tenterden, Kent, earlier this year because of the school’s alleged “trans indoctrination,” according to The Times of London.
The Wattses, who are being represented by the London-based Christian Legal Centre, claim that their 8-year-old daughter was made to watch a video in school about a children’s book titled “It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity,” which was read by Nana Ceecee and written by Theresa Thorn, an American author whose child is reportedly transgender.
The book explores the topic of children who are supposedly “both a boy and a girl,” or “neither a boy nor a girl,” or “non-binary,” and tells readers, “Your gender identity might not match what people thought you were when you were born.”
St. Michaels Church of England primary school in Tenterden, Kent.
(Google Maps)
Despite having explained in writing their religious opposition to “lessons that [normalized] LGBT relationships,” the Wattses claim their daughter was shown the video without their knowledge or consent, according to a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
“When we found out that extreme transgender ideology was being pushed on our 8-year-old without our consent, we were shocked and horrified,” the Wattses said. “We felt very disrespected and betrayed as we had asked at the start of the year for our children not to be exposed to any LGBT ideology.”
When they met with the head teacher with their concerns, the Wattses claimed they “were made out to be ‘unloving,’” which they noted “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
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Calvin Watts told GB News that he believes the Church of England has “kicked the Bible out in exchange for politics.”
(YouTube screenshot)
“Our primary concern is for the welfare of our children and their classmates after being exposed to such harmful material. Once we raised concern, the priority from the school, however, was to shut us down,” they said. “If you watch the Nana Ceecee video it can only be described as child abuse – it is unscientific, nothing to do with relationships and encourages the idea that 3-year-olds can declare themselves as non-binary to their parents.”
Stuart Reeves, CEO of the Tenterden Schools Trust that oversees the school, told Fox News Digital in a statement that he had met with the Watts parents “to discuss their concerns in detail,” and that he has “subsequently spoken with our teaching staff to better understand the decisions that were made in relation to the use of this particular resource.”
“While I understand Mr. and Mrs. Watts’ concerns, I have found no evidence whatsoever to suggest the promotion of any particular ideology in this school. While we would not expect parents to see or approve all of our teaching resources, we appreciate the need for greater transparency and clarity around certain topics and will [endeavor] to achieve this in the future,” Reeves continued.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby leads the opening service of the 15th Lambeth Conference at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England.
(Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
“We remain committed to creating a culture of openness and acceptance across our schools, where children feel free to express themselves and to ask questions in the knowledge that they will be supported and cared for,” Reeves added.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Canterbury also provided Fox News Digital with a copy of a letter Reeves sent to the Wattses, in which he acknowledged the subject “was not appropriate for all children,” while noting there were two qualified adults in the room to answer any questions from the children when the video was shown.
“In view of the sensitive nature of the topic it would have been better to have checked the suitability of the resource with the head teacher,” wrote Reeves.
Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England.
(larigan – Patricia Hamilton via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for the Church of England told Fox News Digital that “decisions on the teaching of relationships, sex and health education, including the resources used, are the responsibility of the school’s governing body in consultation with parents.”
During an interview Wednesday with U.K. outlet GB News, Calvin Watts said that by enrolling their children in a Church of England school, he and his wife had hoped to avoid exposing their children to gender ideology they oppose on the basis of their Christian faith.
“As a Christian myself, I look at the teachings of the Bible, and it’s very clear on this subject. God made man and woman, [male] and female, and the Church of England have completely rejected the Bible,” Watts said.
“And basically what they’ve done is they’ve kicked the Bible out in exchange for politics, and this is why they’re in such a mess, because their backbone is completely gone. And the Bible sums it up very nicely: it says that they have a form of godliness, but they deny its power,” Watts continued, referencing the third chapter of Second Timothy.
Boxes of petitions against VAGC were dropped off Dec. 12 at Lambeth Palace, the London headquarters of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
(Christian Concern)
“And this is why secular people, as well as Bible-believing Christians, are looking at the church saying, what do you actually stand for? And when are you actually going to return back to the Bible that you claim to believe?” Watts added.
The Church of England has lately faced calls to scrap “Valuing All God’s Children” (VAGC), its guidance for schools that critics maintain opens the door to affirming children as young as 5 years old in the opposite sex.
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The Church of England has denied that VAGC encourages the affirmation of young children to be transgender.
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