Paul Diamond represented Kim Isherwood & Others in a case about the parental rights in relation to the teaching of LGBTQ+ to children as young as 3 years old.
A number of parents launched a legal case to protect their children. All the parents were members of Public Child Protection, Wales and were determined to protect their children. The case was reported in the press: In the Daily Mail ( article 11436051 Parents accuse Welsh Government totalitarianism High Court fight
The Welsh Government had introduced a mandatory course subject of Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) commencing at the earliest age and was claimed to be ‘transformational’. RSE was to encompass all courses (from Maths to Geography) as well as the whole school environment (the whole school approach).
The court held that parents have no rights to control the education of their children, if they lack resources for private education and select a State school.
Isherwood & Others v Welsh Ministers can be: seen here: Mrs Justice Steyn held at [102]
The statutory right of excusal from sex education or religious instruction is distinct from a parent’s right to opt to secure suitable education for their child otherwise than at a school (which is sometimes referred to as the ‘right of withdrawal’): s. 7 of the 1996 Act (paragraph 5 above). Parents can choose to secure suitable education for their children by educating them at home or by sending them to private schools, albeit, as the claimants emphasise, for many parents home schooling may not be a realistic and practically viable option, and most parents would not be able to afford private school fees.
