THE FINAL PART (3): THE FULL STORY PARENT RIGHTS ? DO THEY STILL EXIST?

Report on the Family Education Trust Conference. Lisburn, N.Ireland.

PART 3 of my series published by UK Column focusses on the rights of parents wrt the school curriculum and how they might exercise them. Available HERE

‘What They Didn’t Want to Hear: the Continued Sexualisation of Our Children’

Scroll down for Parts1 and 2 and my interview with Prof. Diane Rasmussen McAdie

FAMILY EDUCATION TRUST CONFERENCE: What is wrong with sex education?

“Parents must build a network of resistance to this evil legislation”

John Smeaton is Vice-President of the International Right to Life Federation and co-founder of Voice of the Family, an organization formed to support bishops seeking to uphold Catholic teaching on marriage, human sexuality and the sanctity of human life. John set out the framework for dealing with these matters and outlined how a more progressive approach to sex education had infiltrated the Catholic school system, lesson plans on topics such as LGBTQ, puberty, pregnancy and abortion mirroring, unopposed, the preferred direction of global institutions.

Dr. Philip Kiszely, a lecturer, cultural historian, and Senior Fellow at The New Culture Forum, has published extensively in the fields of history and education and has been outspoken against identity politics and the activist impulse in the media and institutions, gave a talk on ‘Don’t Tell Your Mum: Schools, Gender, Children’

Laoise de Brun is a barrister and campaigner, advocating the rights of women, children and families in Ireland. Laoise pointed to the campaigns to alter language and its meaning to bring about a new perception of women, particularly the attempt to refer to mothers as ‘carers’. Laoise, speaking as a mother, said that the instincts of a mother were beyond the role of ‘carer’. Laoise also discussed gender self identification.

Hugh McCarthy is a retired head teacher. Answering the question, how did we get here?, Hugh outlined the process from the WHO guidance through to governments, then curriculum councils and into the classroom. Hugh highlighted the rights of parents in Northern Ireland and offered advice on how they might exercise them. Hugh joined the other speakers in calling on parents to speak out against the ideology now permeating many schools in Northern Ireland, with which few agree but about which they are too frightened to speak out.

Stephen Balogh, Chairman of The Family Education Trust. Stephen brought the conference to a close with an inspiring and uplifting few words on the dedication of so many groups working towards upholding parental rights in the development of their children. Stephen outlined the beginnings of FET from responses to a letter in The Times by a GP who saw how often patients presented with problems that were related to family breakdown, he wondered if others were concerned about the state of the family and the effect on society.

Scroll down for the full conference report.

What are your Children being taught?

Interview with Professor Diane Rasmussen McAdie of UK Column HERE

In Scotland, Dr Jenny Cunningham, a retired paediatrician and a Director of the Scottish Union for Education and Kate Deeming: ‘What’s wrong with Scottish Education?’

In Wales Kim Isherwood is Chair of Public Child Protection Wales, an organisation dedicated to providing the highest standards of safeguarding and raising awareness of exploitation and abuse.

In England, Belinda Brown wrote in her excellent Conservative Woman article

FAMILY EDUCATION TRUST

LISBURN CONFERENCE APRIL 2025

“What’s Wrong With Sex Education?” FULL REPORT

John Smeaton

John explained that in essence, church documents taught that the role of educators in this endeavour must be secondary to, and in accordance with, the wishes and rights of parents as the first and foremost educators of their children. John outlined how a more progressive approach to sex education had infiltrated the Catholic school system. The lesson plans on topics such as LGBTQ, puberty, pregnancy and abortion mirrored, unopposed, the preferred direction of global institutions. Already, John said, parents were reporting concerns about what their children were saying about what happens in class. John foresaw the collapse of trust between the school and the family when only lip service is paid to upholding parental rights.

Dr. Philip Kiszely.

Phillip gave a talk on ‘Don’t Tell Your Mum: Schools, Gender, Children’ and began by citing examples where a school encouraged all male pupils and staff to ‘Wear a skirt to school’ day, where teachers in Surrey instructed nine- year-olds to masturbate as part of their weekly homework, and about the teaching resource that champions anal sex to 12-year-olds. Philip reminded us of the school in Scotland that allowed a child to identify as a wolf. Philip demonstrated how gender ideology is smuggled into the classroom under the plain wrapper of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, he considers how we have managed to arrive at a situation in which benchmarks of excellence are measured in terms of political indoctrination, sexual obsession and cultish behaviour. Pupils now receive lessons on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender relationships, are told there are up to 72 genders and perhaps they might be ‘born in the wrong body’.

Dr. Kiszely warned that once it takes hold, gender advocacy spreads with alarming rapidity, he advised we should be prepared to speak out, make the case for meaningful opt-out of RSE, act to impose a legal obligation that all resources in schools should be published, citable, and open to public and regulatory scrutiny.

Laoise de Brun

Laoise spoke on the unnatural aspect of surrogacy, because the newborn is almost still one with the mother, their attachment one to the other is overpowering, the heartbeat, temperature, smell, sound of the mother has been imprinted on the child. To separate the baby from his mother is not good for either, yet in surrogacy that is always the result. Laoise made the connection with human trafficking, where poorer girls could be brought to a country for the purposes of surrogacy arrangements. Laoise discussed gender self-identification, she made clear that it was always understood that women and girls deserved a separate space, apart from men and boys, but self-id by males has allowed them to enter toilets, sports, and female prisons. Among other very current topics, Laoise recognised how ‘hate speech’ laws interfere with the normal interactions within families and between people, most noticeably in relation to the ban on conversion therapy where debate and discussion may be classed as ‘hate speech’. The inclusion of trans ideology in the classroom, the emergence of porn internet forums, and the impact of immigration on the experiences of young women were explored under expert attention.

Hugh McCarthy

Hugh has researched the evolution of sex education from osmosis within the family to a global undertaking of industrial proportions. Unable to attend in person, we played his short video ‘Moral Courage’ which was viewed with interest, and much nodding in agreement. Hugh outlined the process from the WHO guidance to governments, then curriculum developers, and into the classroom. Hugh pointed out that the rights of parents in Northern Ireland were protected to a greater degree than in other regions of the UK. He noted how a Board of Governors could ensure that the implementation of sex education programmes was in keeping with the wishes of parents and the ethos of the school. Hugh believes that ‘fear’ had stopped others from speaking out against government directions in the sex education of the young, he called for moral courage from all concerned about the origins and aims of the sex education movement, and the content and nature of their programmes. Attendees were given details on how to access the full Column UK interview online.

Stephen Balogh

The Chairman of ||The Family Education Trust brought the conference to a close with an inspiring and uplifting few words on the dedication of so many groups working towards upholding parental rights in the formation of their own children.

Stephen outlined the beginnings of FET from responses to a letter in The Times by a GP who saw how often patients presented with problems that were related to family breakdown, he wondered if others were concerned about the state of the family and the effect on society. The outcome was the establishment of The Responsible Society, which developed into Family and Youth Concern, and then as the Family Education Trust. FET is a secular UK charity, whose main purpose is fact-based research into matters that affect the well-being of the family. Stephen highlighted the connections between a network of like-minded groups, and how FET’s research and engagement with those who wish to see the true flourishing of families has helped parents to confidently put forward their objections in the matter of school-based sex education and give information about the current situation in several matters relating to the good of society. Stephen considered our journey as a fellowship of travellers coming from different places but all heading in the one direction.

Mary Russell.

For further information contact Lucy Marsh, Press Officer of FET. lucy.marsh@familyeducationtrust.org.uk