A court has been told that a four-year-old boy was being compelled to take part in his school’s Pride parade against the wishes of his Christian parents.
On the first day of a hearing at Central London County Court, the judge reportedly described Izzy Montague and her husband as 'devout born-again Christians', adding: 'They bear a belief that sexual relations should be abstained from or take place within a life-long marriage between a man and a woman and any activity outside those confines is sinful.’
In June 2018, Heaver’s Farm Primary School, Croydon made plans to participate in Pride month with various activities, including a parade. When Mrs Montague learnt about the parade she requested that her son be withdrawn. She was told by headteacher Susan Papas that if her son did not attend it would be considered a behavioural issue.
On the day of the planned parade, several children were kept away from school and the parade was cancelled.
Mrs Montague said that during a meeting with the head in September 2018 following her complaint, Ms Papas’s daughter, also a member of staff at the school, was present and wore a T-shirt with the slogan: ‘Why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you could just be quiet?’.
Mrs Montague withdrew her son from school and brought claims for discrimination, victimisation and breach of statutory duty. She argued that the 'Pride parade' was unlawful ‘discrimination against children who follow their Christian or any other mainstream religion’.
According to the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting her, several parents claimed the school was forcing an aggressive LGBT agenda onto their children in a way that abused their parental rights.
Ahead of the hearing, Mrs Montague said: ‘I wasn’t even trying to stop the Pride event. I just wanted my child to receive an education, rather than indoctrination. After I complained about my young child being forced to take part in an event that goes against our Christian beliefs, the school’s attitude towards me changed completely. Other parents were afraid to speak up because of how the school treated me.
‘It was like being bullied. They stopped treating me like any other parent but were antagonistic towards me.’
Mrs Montague said she was taking a stand to raise awareness among parents about what is happening in our primary schools.
Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre said: ‘The treatment of parents at Heavers Farm Primary School represents some of the most chilling breaches of parental rights I have ever seen in my many years of working on educational issues.’
The ruling has yet to be handed down.
