Will and Maria Taylor were so disgusted by the vastly inappropriate images, depicting men allegedly in bondage gear, in a book that the nursery were giving to children, that they pulled their daughter out
Source: Dailystar.co.uk.
UK – Two parents were rendered sick after discovering their daughter had been exposed to sexually inappropriate images in a book that her nursery was giving her to read.
Will and Maria Taylor, from West Hull, were so enraged with the photographs, featuring men in “bondage gear”, that they made the call to put their child’s safety first and remove her from Genesis pre-school.
Their decision came after staff gave an unsatisfactory response following the couple flagging their concerns regarding ‘Grandad’s Pride’.
Speaking to Hull Live, Will explained: “We identified two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear. One has a leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch, along with garters running down his thighs. He also has a studded dog collar around his neck and knee-high boots. Both have various leather straps around their bodies and studs/spikes.”
He continued: “The main and most immediate concern is that children have been exposed to at least two age-inappropriate sexual or erotic images of a man in what can only be reasonably described as ‘bondage/fetish/BDSM’ gear.”
Upon expressing his worries over the images, Will expected the school to acknowledge their mistake. However, he was left appalled when the Safeguarding Lead attempted to defend the images.
The concerned parent stated: “They argued the children would not understand or perceive erotic or sexual images. Staff claimed the image was just portraying ‘dress-up’ and would not be perceived as erotic by a child as they have no idea what ‘erotic’ is. They disagreed with our assessment that the images are erotic and stated, ‘That’s just your opinion’.
“But this was no justification in our eyes. Arguing with us over the appropriateness of these sexual images quickly damaged the trust we held for the nursery team. At this stage, I was concerned and took our daughter out of the nursery.”
Will stated that whether the children understand or not, they shouldn’t have to be exposed to such outrageous imagery.
He said: “It seems those with safeguarding responsibilities are basing their decisions on what is safe and appropriate based on whether the child will recognise the risk for what it is. To be clear, the ‘perception’ of the child is not the arbiter of what is age-appropriate or safe, regardless of their level of understanding.”
https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailystar.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flatest-news%2Fparents-pull-daughter-nursery-book-30739956&cre=bottom&cip=22&view=web
While the school made a wild accusation that Will was being ‘bigoted’, he has blown that claim out of the water. He regularly helps out at Pride Events. He has no concerns with sexual orientation. His issue is purely with his child seeing images that are wildly inappropriate for her age.
He added: “The staff felt I was being bigoted, and I was not having that. I have volunteered at both Hull and York Pride events. Some people will try and twist this and make me out to be some kind of homophobe. But if we want equality and understanding, then we should respect certain boundaries.”
Will continued: “There are many LGBTQ+ books at the nursery, which is great. They encourage children to be tolerant, respectful and not to judge people. But I believe this book has gone too far in introducing sexual imagery.
“I have been to many Pride events, and there can be inappropriate behaviour for children, which is why Hull has a family-friendly zone, and that’s fine.
“It is a shame as this is a very good nursery, and my children have been very happy here. The trustees have responded reasonably well and taken the book out while carrying out a safety audit. My criticism is with the staff who thought it was okay in the first place.”
The nursery has since removed the book.
The trustees have admitted that they hold the same stance as Will, saying: “As Trustees, we agree that the images in the book Grandpa’s Pride are not age appropriate. This book has been removed from Genesis, and a comprehensive audit of all other books has taken place to ensure all books, whilst celebrating culture and diversity, are age appropriate.“
