Contributions
17 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI do not have children attending schools in Birmingham. My children are grown up, and I have a grandchild who is not in Birmingham. It is not for me to pass judgment on the…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI have already given way on a couple of occasions. [ Interruption. ] Well, the hon. Member will have plenty of time to make a speech, because this debate could go on until 7…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActThank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to raise the important issue of parental involvement in primary school pupils learning about the Equality Act, which was passed in 2010.…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI will deal with that later. The relationships and sex education set out in the Children and Social Work Act does not come in until September 2020, although primary schools can…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I cannot give him an answer because I can only refer to what is happening in Birmingham. I shall continue to refer to that. In a…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI have made it clear that I am not giving way. The parents therefore had their own meeting and, after asking the brother of one parent who is in the property business and is well…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI will not. The question that those who have sought to characterise the disputes at both schools as a clash of cultures should be asking is, what have the headteachers and their…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActNo, I will not. The school is in an area with a very large Muslim population. Nearly all the children who attend are from Muslim families. When the protests began outside the…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActThere are 256 primary schools throughout Birmingham, as I said, where meetings take place all the time between parents and teachers. I do not accept the argument that there could…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI have given way a lot, but I will in a moment. After each demonstration, the parents had email correspondence with the police superintendent to seek written confirmation that the…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI have given way on many occasions. I told the protesters this and I also told them that they had made their point and that the protests should end. I reiterated this when they…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI am obliged to you, Mr Speaker. I have to say that the breakdown in trust between the headteacher and the parents has not been helped by certain tweets that the headteacher has…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI will not give way anymore. If parents say they have concerns, and if they have sought to raise those concerns with the headteacher and have not been allowed to do so, I believe…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActNo.25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActNo, I have given way on a lot of things. Furthermore, the police who were present wore body cameras and were asked by the organisers of the protest to check whether any placards…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI will come to that point in a minute. The parents want clarification. First, they want to know whether it is permissible for headteachers to partner with parents to decide how…25 Jun 2019HANSARD Parental Involvement in Teaching: Equality ActI thank the Minister for his measured and clear response to the questions I put to him. Although what he has said today may not be acceptable to other Members in this House, it…25 Jun 2019