Fears of more 'toxic' protests as council refuses to cancel English classes at Glasgow school

A crowd of around 60 people gathered outside Dalmarnock primary in Glasgow to push the city council to stop English for Speakers of Other Languages [ESOL] lessons in a school annexe. The demonstration has been branded “misguided and toxic” by the local authority.

Four mothers of children at the school take classes run by ESOL Scotland in a self-contained building in the school grounds. Parents stating concern for their children’s safety have told the council they want an end to the lessons.

On Monday, parents, local residents and supporters held a demonstration outside the school gates and vowed to continue the protest every Monday until the lessons are moved.

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An adult Read, Write, Count class in the school that is understood to be attended exclusively by white Scottish parents has not faced any pushback.

It follows similar scenes in Renfrew where Renfrewshire Council suspended ESOL classes on a shared school and community centre campus following protests.

Some of the protestors from Renfrew swelled the numbers of the Glasgow protests.

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One man said these two pickets were the start of what they hoped would be Scotland-wide attempts to ensure no adults other than teaching staff are allowed in schools.

Only two of the four mothers who attend the lessons turned up to the class on Monday morning. hose two had to be escorted through the crowd and away from the school by a teacher wearing high vis.

The Scotsman approached the tutors from ESOL Scotland who were accompanying the women, but they were too upset to speak.

Glasgow’s education department has provided ESOL lessons for parents in primary and secondary schools for at least the past 20 years without parental concerns being raised.

It is understood parents were invited into the school for a meeting with new Glasgow City Council director of education John McGhee and the school’s head teacher, Charles Neil, but the meeting ended without resolution.

Adults attending the protest - some of whom had seen the event publicised on Facebook - said they would picket the school every Monday until the classes were moved.

No protestors The Scotsman spoke to were willing to be named, but one grandmother of a former pupil said: “It’s not about the colour of their skin. These are adults without background checks who are allowed into the school.

“We didn’t even get asked about it - they just started these classes without telling anyone. The council says they are for parents only, but we don’t believe them. Anyone could sign up.”

Residents living next door to the school, where Union flags have been hung on nearby lampposts, confronted Mr McGhee in the school’s carpark.

One husband and wife said they should have been consulted about “asylum seekers” being “invited into the community”.

The woman, who declined to be named, said she had a camera trained on the school annexe and was filming inside the classroom to “prove” men take lessons there too.

Some parents chose to keep their children out of school until after the demonstration ended at 11am.

Dalmarnock primary sent out a text message to parents on Monday morning asking any child attending school after 11am to be supplied with a packed lunch.

Adults attending the protest claimed the council was trying to “punish” the parents for attending the protest and said children reliant on school meals would go hungry. However, a school insider said no pupil would ever be left without lunch and teachers will routinely make sandwiches where needed.

The source said: “Teachers here would hand over their own lunch before a child went hungry.”

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “We will not tolerate racism or bigotry of any kind in our schools.

“We will also not tolerate strangers and vigilante groups coming into our schools claiming to keep children safe when they have a clear hidden agenda to incite fear and alarm by spreading misinformation and inciting violence, which is bigotry-fuelled and inflamed.”

The spokeswoman added: “The education director met with a representation of parents during the protest and gave reassurance that there is no safeguarding issue in relation to the class.“The classes will continue as part of the wider family learning offer across the city for parents and carers.”