Parents of several children in the age of group of 7-11 were left aghast after a private school assigned them to define pornography terms as part of home learning schedule. Archbishop Sentamu Academy, a private school located in Hull, a port city in England, has apologized for the gross error.
The aggrieved parents and carers of the students vented out their anger on social media sites, forcing the school authorities to issue an apology.
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
In the assignment which was part of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) class, the students were asked to define terms like pornography, soft pornography, hardcore pornography, female genital mutilation, wet dreams, trafficking, transgender pornography, and transvestite.
Speaking to Hull Live, Taylor, a mother of 11-year-old student of the school, said that she was shocked to find out the terms her daughter had to define as part of the school assignment. Stating that she would be 'scarred for life', the mother went on to add: "My daughter is very innocent and naive. She should be doing stranger danger and don't share your info online, but genital mutilation is another thing. It was asking about male circumcision, breast ironing...I don't even know what that is myself. At 11 I was playing with Barbies."
Leon Dagon, an older brother of a student, wrote on Facebook: "My little sister knows make-up and TikTok at the age of 13. She doesn't know about hardcore porn, and then asking her to define it. The majority of children nowadays will now go on the internet to help them with their homework and if you type that kind of thing on the internet, God knows what's going to pop up."
School Apologizes for the 'Genuine Error'
In a message sent to the parents, the school expressed a 'genuine error' on their part. "Your child may currently be working from a home paper pack that could include materials that are not age appropriate. This is a genuine error for which we apologise. Please could you check the work and if it is not suitable please dispose of this accordingly. Kind regards, Archbishop Sentamu Academy," the message from the school read.
Stating that the students were not required to search for the answers online, as the same were provided in the material sent to the students, Chay Bell, Principal of the School, said that the assignment was part of the PSHE learning. "I am genuinely sorry if parents or students have unnecessarily researched any of these phrases and for any offence caused by this mistake. Students were not directed to research these topics themselves on the internet because all the answers to the questions posed are contained in the teacher-produced materials we shared," he told Hull Daily Mail.
However, social media was soon to express its opinion on the incident. "Hull school 'sorry' after pupils researched porn homework on web WTF is this? These disgusting pedos must be dealt with already," expressed a user on Twitter.
Taking to Facebook, Linda Ellis wrote: "Odd that this teaching material should be given to such a wide age range of children. It sounds suitable for 15-year-olds but not eleven-year-olds. Additionally, such sensitive topics should be dealt with when there is a class teacher there to lead discussion."
"I agree the more they are taught the better... but the key word being 'taught'...providing this to do at home on the big wide web is dangerous opening up all sorts of inappropriate doors for kids of this age," expressed Amy Porter.
