In Wales, a devastating setback for parents

The Welsh government forces through the indoctrination of working class kids

Yesterday was a devastating day for women, children and families across the UK. Not only was self-ID passed in Scotland, but Mrs Justice Steyn of the High Court in Cardiff took the side of the Welsh government and ruled that the parents of state-educated children (i.e. working class families) have no rights to safeguard their children from compulsory Welsh RSE in schools. 

The ruling considered the curriculum ‘capable’ of being implemented in a pluralistic way. Of course, that doesn’t mean it will be. It also asserts teaching doesn’t have to be ‘value neutral’.  It looks like sex positivism and LGBTQ+ narratives can therefore dominate the dialogue, and nothing will stop this curriculum until children suffer the consequences, and teachers foot the blame. 

Worse still, the ruling appears to suggest parents never had any rights over their children’s education to begin with, despite the European Convention on Human Rights obliging states to ensure it’s in conformity with their parents’ religious and philosophical convictions. 

The Welsh government obviously applauded the ruling, and backed up by the courts, can continue stripping parents of oversight in the education of their children, particularly in Relationships and Sexuality Education, which is clear enough that it mandates compulsory instruction in gender ideology, sexual activity, sexual development and human sexuality from the age of just three years old, while vague enough to mean just about anything goes. 

The court affirmed the Welsh government’s power grab, leaving working-class parents with the worst of choices - send your children to school to endure mandatory sexualisation and ideological indoctrination, or privately educate them, even though that’s a financial impossibility. It’s no choice at all. In totalitarian style, the outcome of the ruling confirms that practicality and intersectionality are irrelevant to those at the top, unless it benefits them. “

Given the ruling, the Welsh government retains the power to change the curriculum at any time. There are parents who still believe that Welsh RSE isn’t so bad right now. That could change quickly, and thanks to the now-validated Welsh government’s Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, there will be no grounds for future objection. Those naive parents have already conceded their parental right to opt out to the state, and it will be nigh on impossible to re-establish that in the future. 

Whether or not this judgment is overturned on appeal, there is nothing good about it. A far left-leaning government with no meaningful opposition has abused its devolved powers to exercise totalitarian authority and take complete control of children’s education on the contentious constructs of gender and sexuality, and a court has backed them up.

The parents raising concerns about this have done their homework. They’ve read the policy documents from the Welsh government, submitted countless FOIs and have scrutinised every paper and draft right through to the final mandated Curriculum Code and Guidance. They know this curriculum is built on really bad ideas, even if it’s superficially dressed up as rights-based and inclusive. 

Meanwhile, the Welsh government has been hiding the evidence, for example deleting links to UNESCO’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education from their Hwb website. Nevertheless, diligent parents can still recognise the undeniable influence of the World Health Organisation and UNESCO’s standards for sexuality education. And they have the receipts. 

Worried parents also understand how serious it is that they’ve been legally excluded from oversight in their children’s education, and the overwhelming risk this presents to their children. They are not ‘misinformed’ or ‘misleading’, as the government has claimed. They’re being bullied by an ideologically driven government, who are gaslighting the public. 

Throughout all of this, the Welsh government has shown nothing but contempt for families, and this should concern everyone. This is evident first in their removal of the parental right to opt-out of RSE, and second in their attitude to safeguarding concerns. The contempt from those in power is even visible on the streets. Last weekend, it’s alleged that Welsh Liberal Democrat councillor and school governor Jon Shimmin wrestled a mic from the hand of a Public Child Protection Wales speaker before coming back round to tear leaflets from another peaceful protestor, just to throw them in the bin. The video footage of the incident is available here; watch until the end and keep your eyes on the background. The ruling recognised that more than 87% of people consulted opposed the compulsory curriculum. Parents are being silenced and sidelined in every possible way. 

While everyone has been focusing on women’s rights in Scotland, other devolved U.K. governments have been quietly taking away children’s parental protections. Parents want a safeguarding first approach, and the right to ensure their children will be educated in a way that respects their values. Meanwhile, the extremist Welsh government has incomprehensibly accepted the paedophilic belief that children are ‘sexual beings’ from birth, and most parents have no idea that their children’s RSE curriculum is now built on that sexualising ideology. 

The fight isn’t over though, claimant Kim Isherwood said in a press release today: “We asked the High Court to recognise the overreach of power by the government, we asked the court to help us protect our children from future emotional, physical and psychological harm. The evidence we provided to the court referenced and highlighted concerning levels of betrayal, deceit and false claims made by the government, but it appears as though the judge agrees with them - not only do we parents not have rights, but they were never there to begin with. The team is preparing the appeal, the higher the court the louder the message. This is not a loss; this is another level of exposure. We look forward to another court hearing in the coming weeks where we will fight all the harder to protect our children.’

Lucia Thomas, co-founder of PCPW said of the judgement: ‘My main concern is Justice Steyn quoting Professor Emma Renold and the support of her work on this RSE curriculum. Emma Renold references her own work and has a deep-rooted belief that childhood and childhood innocence is a myth. We look forward to another day in court.’

While the Welsh government can exploit the taxpayer for endless funding to fight families for control of children, these warrior parents are putting their livelihoods on the line to protect them. It’s expected they will be landed with huge bills from this setback. They have already achieved what seemed impossible by bringing a case against the Welsh government. Support their appeal and help them continue the fight to protect the nation’s children by donating to PCPW’s cause here.