A couple who took their daughter out of a school’s Bible based programme, called Values in Action, were told by the school that an alternative programme would be provided for children who opted out.
However the child’s father says that when he visited the school he found his 7 year old daughter left alone in a classroom “naughty corner” with a book during the 35-minute lesson.
“Last year my daughter spent a total of 4.5 days sitting in this corner,” said Jeff McClintock
McClintock now takes his daughter Violet out of the classroom corner once a week for a walk while Values in Action is taught.
McClintock and his wife took a stand against the class when as a 5-year-old Violet began asking if she could “meet God”.
“We went along to have a look and realised it was run by very devout Christians”.
He said although the school asked parents for permission for their children to learn Values in Action, it was not clear until he pressed the previous principal and board of trustees who agreed that it was “religious instruction”.
A 2008 Education Review Office report advised the board to clarify exactly what the class was.
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