Ofsted chief supports Parkside Community School after same sex education protests

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has said that children must learn about same sex couples regardless of their religious background.

Her comments come after parents held demonstrations outside Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, where children are taught about same sex couples through story books. Parkfield said it has no plans to change its teaching, despite the protests.

Protesters, of Christian and Muslim faiths, have claimed the lessons contradict their faith. They argued assistant head Andrew Moffat has been "promoting personal beliefs and convictions about universal acceptability of homosexuality as being normal and morally correct". Moffat is gay, and has told the BBC he had been receiving threats from parents who disagreed with the programme.

Spielman told the BBC it was crucial children were exposed to differences in society, and that it was important children knew "there are families that have two mummies or two daddies".

Spielman said: "It's about making sure that children who do happen to realise that they themselves may not fit a conventional pattern know that they're not bad or ill" and added that there needed to be a "careful exploration of the middle ground".