CHIPS (Challenging Homophobia in Primary Schools) is being taught in a number of primary schools with the support of Birmingham City Council, with plans to have training and further implementation rolled out in all state maintained primary schools by March 2015. Schools using CHIPS are advised to embed the programme in their literacy planning. Activities in the CHIPS programme include small children having to participate in cross gender dressing, creating a wedding scene featuring two men and screening a US news item about a 7-year old boy, who identifies as a girl, winning a legal battle to use the girls' toilets at school. Children are being worked on in the classroom, to praise a particular sexual orientation.
Policies have been developed and teaching is being delivered that:
1. Did not involve any or adequate consultation with parents and the wider community. Instead parents learnt about CHIPS in the local and national media. There is a lack of parental engagement and schools are not working in partnership with parents. Schools are not being transparent about what is being taught and the legal justification for doing so.
2. Undermine parents' rights when ultimately parents are responsible for the upbringing of their children. Schools are giving inordinate priority to CHIPS instead of addressing key priorities such as poor outcomes in literacy and numeracy for vulnerable groups.
3. Are not culturally sensitive or reflective of parents' wishes and the culture of the community that the schools serve. Schools are not taking into account the views of parents and their local community.
4. Do not protect pupils from age inappropriate content and material.
5. Do not promote the importance and significance of marriage for family life and bringing up children as key building blocks of community and society.
6. Do not have regard to the age, religious and cultural background of our children.
7. Fail to respect persons with protected characteristics such as religion and belief in providing education as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
8. Promote sexual orientation which is inappropriate teaching and contrary to DfE guidance that no school, or individual teacher, is under a duty to support, promote or endorse marriage of same sex couples. Also there is no requirement in national curriculum science at Key Stage 1 or 2 to teach pupils about same-sex or heterosexual relationships.
Some schools are treating parents with contempt, in a patronising fashion and as second class citizens with parents not being consulted or notified about CHIPS. The manner in which CHIPS has been introduced and taught does not reassure parents about content and context. Where parents have been consulted their religious and philosophical convictions and views are ignored with schools not taking on board concerns that are raised. When parents have raised legitimate questions some schools have responded with bullying tactics, intimidation and threats. Education is now characterised by aggression, intolerance, lack of respect and a climate of fear. When parents complained in writing they were vilified. For example, when parents used the democratic process and wrote to the Birmingham Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services, she responded by vilifying parents in the media (megaphone diplomacy). Our elected representatives are failing to: defend us from these unwarranted attacks, represent us and take up our concerns.
This kind of behaviour is contrary to democratic norms, primary legislation, the Secretary of State's guidance on the issue and recent evidence given by the Minister of State for Schools to the Parliament Education Committee. The democratic system is failing concerned parents.

We, the undersigned parents/legal guardians of registered pupils in state schools; and concerned members of the community call for:
1. An immediate end to the teaching of CHIPS and similar themes and topics to our children.
2. Our children be protected from teaching and materials which are inappropriate, having regard to their age, religious and cultural background.
3. Our children are educated in accordance with our religious and philosophical convictions, only so far as it is compatible with providing efficient instruction and training and unreasonable public expenditure is avoided.