School Removes All Christmas References From Panto to Make Children Feel “Safe”
A school in the UK announced to parents that it was removing all Christmas references from a panto in order to make children feel “safe”.
Yes, really.
The head teacher of Wherwell Primary School in Andover, Hampshire, banned any reference to the festive season from a Jack and The Beanstalk show so as not to offend any non-Christians who were attending.
Mandy Ovenden said the embargo was necessary in order to make children feel “safe” and “valued”.
“When we chose to invite the travelling pantomime to Wherwell, our request was a practical step to ensure all children at the school would be able to attend and enjoy the show,” said the school.
“Our aim, as always, is to foster inclusivity in our school community, and be a place where children and their families feel safe, welcomed and valued.”
Ovenden said the school had requested the company putting on the play “that the show contain no reference to Christmas.”
According to a report by the Telegraph, parents were outraged, asserting that the decision “shouldn’t be allowed” in order to merely ensure that “a few people will not be offended.”
In order to ensure a “fully inclusive event,” the head teacher asked that all Christmas references be eradicated because, “We have a number of families who either do not celebrate Christmas or do so in a different way.”
Chaplins, the company behind the Jack and The Beanstalk play, said it normally included references to Christmas at this time of year.
Because God forbid children in a supposedly Christian country be exposed to anything related in any way to Christmas during Christmastime.
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