Setting the Record Straight on Norwood Primary

This webpage is not owned or run by Norwood Primary School, it has been created by Parents of children at the school, in an effort to share non-sensationalised information to people reacting adversely to badly written news stories. 

If you feel affected by what you have read regarding Norwood online, we implore you to please read the information held here.

In late March 2025, Norwood Primary School, in Eastleigh, Southampton was misrepresented by local media. Headlines claimed the school had “axed Easter,” leading to outrage and abuse online. Here’s what really happened:

✅ The Facts

• Norwood is a non-faith community school.

• There is no ban on Easter or Christianity at Norwood.

• The school chose not to run a church visit or Easter bonnet parade this year.

  • ...after having done so for many years.

  • many schools in fact stopped doing this years ago

• However, the children continue to learn about easter, and many other religious festivals - Christian or otherwise - in their classrooms and assemblies, as they have done for years, and will continue to do in the future.

• Further to this, Daily Collective Worship [you can read about this below] still happens, as is required by UK law.

• Norwood Primary balances all of the above with its Government-mandated duty under the Prevent duty to promote mutual respect, inclusion, and understanding across all beliefs and backgrounds. 

It's what they have to do. 

If they don't observe the requirements of the Prevent Duty, they are acting unlawfully.

✅ What Ofsted Said (Sept 2024)

• "Pupils know the fundamental British values... They respect the views of others and know that discrimination is unacceptable."

• "Norwood is a happy and caring school... Pupils are respectful and welcoming of everyone."

Norwood was rated Good for personal development, leadership, and inclusion in it's most recent Ofsted report.

✅ The Law & Inclusivity 

Schools must provide daily worship of a broadly Christian character, but they’re not required to hold Easter events. 

➡️more information here: Religious Education & Collective Worship in faith & non-faith Schools

The Prevent duty in place at all schools in the UK requires that schools take a balanced, neutral approach to all faiths.

➡️more information here: PREVENT Duty Guidance for England And Wales

Norwood’s decision reflects its diverse school community - and its' legal right to approach this with care and balance.

📰 The Daily Echo ran sensationalist headlines that distorted this simple decision and encouraged a flood of online anger.

A parent shared an email from the school - meant only for parents, discussing the decision to cancel the church visit this year on a public social media platform. 

It was a poorly worded email at worst, but it wasn't confrontational, and it wasn't dismissive. The parent asked for other parent's views on the matter, it was publicly circulated many times by others, quickly finding its' way to The Daily Echo, who wrote and published a story about it. 

At first shared locally to Southampton, it was then widely shared online both nationally and internationally. The further it travelled, the less detail it seemed to take with it, and ever more hateful comments came back in the direction of the school; all of them based on a very rushed and incomplete perspective of what had actually occurred. 

For what it's worth, the Parent who originally shared the email out to the public has since deleted that post and apologised wholeheartedly for the nightmare that it's created.

Several more sensationalist articles later [averaging more than two a day so far], The Daily Echo continues it's reporting and sharing, the Headteacher has had her picture and full name splashed across social media several times, and both the school and staff have been threatened physically with violence / damage. 

There's an ongoing plan to stage a protest of some kind outside the school, whilst a couple of hundred scared children try and learn some stuff in their lessons.

Look... this is where our kids spend their days, making friends, learning how to count and spell and playing tag in a playground. 

These headlines might be the only thing you've ever heard about Norwood Primary, but it's a great school, and a well loved part of it's community.

The ongoing actions of the organisations and groups above are affecting our kids, directly, and it is happening right now. 

How might you feel if your child's school was being raked through the coals over and over?

• Well-known national and international public figures are reading the headlines, and then re-sharing them on social media without fact-checking

• The Daily Echo continues to publish articles on the matter

• The Daily Echo also is likely getting a nice uptick in advertising revenue thanks to all the clicks it's getting on those advert-plastered webpages.

🧡 Please share calmly. 

Abuse helps absoloutely nobody.

Created by Norwood parents to support our school, staff, and children.

📝 Concerned about the media coverage? 

If you believe The Daily Echo overstepped the mark in its reporting, you can report it to the 

Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

IPSO promotes and upholds the highest professional standards of journalism, and supports members of the public in seeking redress where the Editors' Code of Practice has been breached.

➡️ Here's the Editors' Code of Practice: https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/

➡️ Here are the Daily Echo's published articles on the matter [so far]

Eastleigh primary school scraps annual Easter service / 22/03/25

Eastleigh school scraps Easter service in 'outrageous' move / 23/03/25

Easter Axed at school Norwood Primary headteacher letter in full / 24/03/25

Richard Tice slams Norwood Primary school as protest planned / 25/03/25

Norwood Primary school working with police over planned protest / 25/03/25

➡️ Here's where we believe The Daily Echo has fallen short: 

Clause 1: Accuracy

The stories are not true and framed disingenuously to state Easter has been axed, in fact the school moved the service from the church to their own premises. Numerous parents in replies on Facebook are trying to set the record straight but are being deleted or hidden by the Southern Daily Echo.

Clause 3: Harassment

The repeat posting of the bad faith framing of the stories as well as reporting on the responses from people and hate organisations like the 'Disciples of Christ' who have not taken time to fact check have led to the headteacher and parents being sent death threats and threats of violence against themselves and the school, and many have reported their children are afraid to go to school. They have repeated the story on Facebook with continued disinformation and not taken any of their threads down despite repeat requests from parents who are stating the harm being caused.

Clause 6: children

There are protests from far right religious group 'the disciples of Christ' planned at the school and the police have already had to be present. Parents are saying their children are scared to go to school.

Clause 12: Discrimination

The framing has been 'for religious differences' and referenced a 'refugee week instead' both of which have been refuted by the headteacher and parents from the school but their comments are being deleted from the Southern Daily Echo Facebook page. The racism and Islamophobic comments are not being deleted.

➡️ If you're so inclined, you can easily submit a complaint here: https://www.ipso.co.uk/complain/complaints-form/

#EasterWasNeverCancelled

🧡 Please share calmly. 

Abuse helps absoloutely nobody.

Created by Norwood parents to support our school, staff, and children.