The city’s schools have hit back at false claims they have banned children from saying mum and dad.
Both national and local titles ran headlines with the untrue claim, based on quotes from unnamed parents published on Friday.
The fake claims were further shared by one Conservative councillor on social media – even after exasperated parents told him it was untrue.
One school told parents it had been forced to field angry calls from members of the public – but said none of these were from parents.
Finally, on Tuesday evening, Brighton and Hove City Council released a statement confirming the claims were untrue.
The stories quoted policies found on the websites of four schools, St Luke’s Primary, Elm Grove, Carlton Hill and Saltdean Primary.
But all these made it clear they were referring to situations where teachers were addressing or talking about large groups of parents and carers rather than an individual child’s mum or dad.
The council statement said: “Recent reports claiming four Brighton schools are not allowing the words ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ to be used are untrue.
“These are the facts:
• The words ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ are still used for children who have a mum and dad, and this hasn’t and won’t change.
• For instance, a teacher/staff member speaking to a pupil who they know has a mum and dad would say to a pupil, ‘tell your mum and dad…’.
• However, not all children have a mum and dad. So, if a child has two mums, two dads, are looked after by their grandparents, foster carers or has a single parent (a mum or a dad), then the appropriate term will be used.
• If a teacher/staff member isn’t sure of the child’s family situation, then ‘grown-up’ would be used.
• If a teacher is talking to the whole class, or a group of pupils, they will use the more general terms ‘tell your grown-ups’ or ‘tell your parents and carers’ as it’s possible not everyone in the group will have a ‘mum’ and a ‘dad’.
“As most parents and carers will know, this approach and use of ‘parents and carers’ has been used in schools throughout England – not just in Brighton & Hove – for many years to ensure schools’ staff are addressing children’s very differing family situations sensitively.”
Councillor Robert Nemeth shared one headline which falsely stated children had been banned from saying mum and dad on Facebook on Monday.
After parents told him this claim was completely untrue, he said he would not be taking it down, adding: “I trust people to interpret the article in a mature way and take from it what they will.”
The Conservatives should hang their heads in shame for spreading fake news like this. Desperate virtue signalling from them as always.
Shame on you Martin for not checking the facts and just reading a Green press release.
This article has been running for 5 days in the National press. All of the schools said the same in the article
‘We try to talk about our “grownups” rather than our “mums and dads” to acknowledge the different family groupings our pupils live in.’
Nothing about if X say Y and if Z say A as in the “clarification” today.
This further muddies the water by saying the below.
“• If a teacher is talking to the whole class, or a group of pupils, they will use the more general terms ‘tell your grown-ups’ or ‘tell your parents and carers’ as it’s possible not everyone in the group will have a ‘mum’ and a ‘dad’.”
In other words, they won’t be saying mum and dad.
The schools in the Green voting areas were being woke for woke sake.
In fairness, they even caught out their Green council mothership who are fighting a rearguard action in between planning more cycle lanes.
Chaz, my children go to one of these schools. The policies have been selectively quoted or their meaning simply ignored to claim that children are being banned from saying mum and dad. They aren’t.
Please stop lying about my children.
These schools actually have unofficially banned the use of male and female pronouns also.
It’s they or them instead of he or she. We don’t live in Canada so cut out the woke dribble, it’s a dispicable use of a privalidged position as educators to force your politics on children.
Isn’t that what we banned back in the 1950s with how religious groups ran schools, no differece at all here, cultist behaviour.
What on earth are you talking about? There is not truth in that whatsoever. What is wrong with people believing such rubbish.
Hi Jo – is this article an unbiased analysis of the situation, or is it your opinion as a parent?
Hi Phoebe,
Although I am happy to be clear this story is closer to my heart than most, the article is based solely on facts.
It is a fact that none of the schools have banned children from saying mum and dad.
The heads have now had a letter published in The Argus – which has changed the headline on the original story – which says the council made it clear to both national and local media that this was untrue before they published.
If you have a problem with that, I will have no problem banning you from commenting in future
And who are you to do the banning?
Hi Hove Guy,
I am the editor, and I also co-own the company which owns this website and pays for its running.
Is that enough?
Sounds like Jo thinks herself another Rupert Murdoch or Rebekah Brooks and she decides what she wants thinks is truth, push her opinions, and is entitled to surpress those she disagrees with.
Can’t work out whether this is “cancel culture”, “wokism”, or “megalomania” 😉
Let’s hope journalists who support freedom of expression, and open discussion without censorship from editors take their work elsewhere.
Disgusting, but perhaps unsurprising, to see a Conservative councillor is unrepentant about spreading false information. He is undermining the city’s schools and students and showing lamentable contempt for all the hard work they do. He should withdraw or correct his comments at the very least.
He’s still using the usual doublespeak to deny he lied and repeat the claims. Its all about energising the base ahead of local elections.
Appalling that he brings our kids into his electioneering simply to throw red meat to the Tory base.
Of course it was Nemeth..
Not the first time Nemeth’s lied (OSR cycle lane) and certainly not the last.
How did Nemeth “lie” about the OSR cycle lane?
Didn’t the council lie about the lack of usage by cyclists, the delays, the congestion, the increased emissions, and the negative effect on local businesses?