Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

News

Probe into school’s ‘anti-gay’ policy

Published

on

 

  • Apologetic headteacher blames ‘old policy’ on school website
  • Scandal follows PM’s 2009 “We got it wrong” apology

 

A HAVERFORDWEST school is being investigated by the Welsh Government after its website was found to carry an unlawful policy on teaching pupils about homosexuality.

Tasker Milward school in Haverfordwest, which has over 1000 students, was one of a number of schools in the UK identified as having a published policy which breached the 2010 Equality Act.

The policy statement echoed the notorious Section 28 brought in by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1988, which outlawed the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools. In 2003, Section 28 was repealed and the 2010 Equality Act made discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation an offence.

Tasker Milward’s policy stated it: “[did] not prevent teachers from addressing issues of homosexuality in the classroom in a neutral and unbiased manner; however, the local authority shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material which actively promotes homosexuality.”

The policy’s presence on the school’s website was described by campaigners as “simply unacceptable” and the Welsh Government confirmed it was “concerned” and investigating as “a matter of urgency”.

Stonewall advertising boardThe school has stated that the policy dated from 2008, was an old one that had not been in operation and that an oversight led to the policy not being deleted from the school’s website.

The school has not explained how a policy directly referring to legislation repealed in 2003 was placed on its website five years later. All bar one other policy accessible on the school website carry a date of 16 January 2013.

The school has apologised for any offence caused.

An investigation by the British Humanist Association led to the revelation that 45 schools either published policies that replicated Section 28 or had policy documents that were “overly vague” on the issue. The British Humanist Association (BHA), campaigns against faith education.

BHA spokeswoman Pavan Dhaliwal said schools in question must urgently review their policies to ensure all pupils were treated with equal respect and understanding.

She said: “It is simply unacceptable that over a decade after the repeal of the pernicious Section 28 that these schools continue to enforce similar policies, while others have statements which are overly vague on this matter.”

The BHA first started investigating after a policy at Colston Girls’ School in Bristol was brought to their attention.

In total, the BHA found 20 policies where it believes there is something clearly offensive, a further 22 that still seem to imply that Section 28 might some way be in force and three that are otherwise vague.

There are no national curriculum guidelines on sex education and details of lessons are left to individual schools to draw up. However schools are required to comply with the Equality Act, forbidding any discrimination.  There are fears that faith schools launched under the Coalition Government’s controversial ‘Academy’ system are seeking to circumvent the law and breach the Act.

After Tasker Milward School’s policy was made public, the Welsh Government said on Twitter: “We are investigating this as a matter of urgency.”

Introduced in 1988, Section 28 of the Local Government Act banned the “promotion” of homosexuality by local authorities and said that schools “could not promote of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

Section 28 was repealed in England and Wales in 2003 and in Scotland in 2000.

Officials at the UK Department for Education (DfE) launched a separate investigation from the Welsh Government yesterday.

On Tuesday, the Chairman of the Commons Education Committee urged for ministers to update SRE guidelines. Conservative MP Graham Stuart said: “It looks like an echo from the past. It looks as if schools have just copied that wording from years ago, before Section 28 was revoked, rather than with any deliberate intent.”

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “All children and young people in Wales should receive inclusive Sex and Relationships Education.

“It is extremely important that young people are taught in a way that does not subject them to discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 is very clear on this.

“Our guidance to schools provides definitive advice about the teaching of all aspects of relationships and specific sexual health and well-being issues such as sexual orientation.

“Teachers should deal with sexual orientation honestly, sensitively and in a non-judgemental way. The needs of every learner must be met and schools should encourage open discussion, promote inclusion and challenge inequalities.

“We will be reminding all schools of our guidance and their responsibilities.”

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “The Sex Education policy on the Tasker Milward school website was an old policy not in operation and which had not been deleted.

“The school does have a current Strategic Equality Plan, further details of which can be obtained directly from the school.

“The headteacher, Maggie Haynes, apologises for any distress that the failure to remove the old policy from the website may have caused.”

Tasker Milward is the same school where WikiLeaks whistle blower Bradley Manning attended while living in Wales with his mother. As a 13-year-old pupil at the school, he is said to have questioned his sexuality before later coming out as openly gay.

Wes Steeting, head of education at Stonewall, said: “We need to see very clear guidance about the importance of tackling homophobic bullying and the promotion of a curriculum that is inclusive.”

Former pupil Hywel ap Dafydd, 34, said: “It’s thoroughly disheartening that some two decades after I first came out my old secondary school still advertises Section 28 on its website almost a decade after it was repealed.

“In the 7 years I attended Tasker Milward I was constantly victimised about my sexuality, often in front of teachers who ignored it, receiving little support with the exception of my friends and a few notable teachers. My distress was clearly visible and even though I was once discovered crying with a knife at my wrist, no real effort was made to address my problems.

“I would like to believe that in the 20 years since,, the school might have understood the concept of Pastoral Care but in light of this latest oversight I wonder just how much has changed and how many other pupils have suffered the same neglect that I did?”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

Published

on

PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

Continue Reading

Business

Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

Published

on

TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

Continue Reading

News

Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

Published

on

NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

Continue Reading

Business6 hours ago

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that...

News17 hours ago

Police ask motorists to avoid A44 trunk road due to heavy snowfall

DYFED-POWYS POLICE have issued an appeal to motorists to avoid a 25 mile section of the A44 trunk road between...

Crime1 day ago

Woman will quit the booze after seeing shocking drunken video in court

A HAVERFORDWEST woman this week vowed to undertake ‘a complete alcohol abstinence’ after being shown court video footage of her...

News2 days ago

Family heartbroken by loss of ‘larger than life character’ in M4 crash

THE FAMILY of the man who died in a collision on the M4 motorway say ‘he will be greatly missed...

Business2 days ago

Victory for WASPI women but the fight goes on

A LANDMARK ruling by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman could benefit around 5,000 women in Ceredigion born in the...

Entertainment4 days ago

A night to remember: Symphonica Tywi’s ‘Film Fantastics’ was a triumph

ON SATURDAY (Mar 23), Haverfordwest High School was ablaze with the soaring melodies and dramatic scores of some of cinema’s...

News4 days ago

Memorial for all those affected by Covid-19 unveiled at County Hall

A LASTING tribute for Pembrokeshire loved ones lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and those working on the frontline has been...

Top News5 days ago

Princess of Wales announces cancer diagnosis and treatment

CATHERINE, the Princess of Wales, has shared her recent health struggles with the public, revealing a diagnosis that has sent...

Charity6 days ago

RNLI lifeguards back on patrol in Pembrokeshire for the Easter Holidays

RNLI lifeguards will be on patrol once again in Pembrokeshire ahead of the Easter holidays. This Saturday, 23 March 2024,...

Community7 days ago

Neglected Pembrokeshire poodles find their forever homes 

THIRTY poodle type dogs were in total rescued after they were found in an unsuitable environment where their owner also...

Popular This Week