Parents at Cronk y Berry School are up in arms about a colouring sheet sent home with five- and six-year-old pupils featuring the message ’I bear witness that there is no god besides Allah.’

Head teacher Rob Sellors has apologised in a letter to parents in which he explained the worksheets featuring the Shahadah had been intended by year four pupils and had been given out to younger pupils by mistake.

The letter said: ’Several RE worksheets about the Muslim faith (for eight- and nine-year-old pupils in year 4) appear to have made their way into a classroom in year one (ages five and six).

’They were accidentally placed in a colouring tray for wet play activities.

’They were not intended to be used with pupils in KS1 as they are not considered age-appropriate by the school.’

One of the parents, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: ’We are mortified that this type of propaganda has been given out by teachers to year one students, at five and six years of age.

’Thankfully at that age they are unable to understand exactly what it is saying.

’The fact that the school has said it wasn’t meant for year one but was meant for year 4/5 leaves me even more concerned to exactly what they are teaching our children.

’They will understand exactly what it’s saying! It most certainly is not the school’s job to mislead children in this way.’

We asked the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to tell us where the sheets had come from and whether they were being distributed to other schools in the island.

A spokesman said: ’The worksheets were not brought in or distributed by a visiting party but were used as part of one of the school’s RE modules for older pupils, ’Why is Muhammad important to Muslims?’.

’In line with all island schools, and as provided for in the Education Act, an introduction to different faiths, cultures and beliefs, feature as part of the RE curriculum.’

The spokesman said: ’The school has acknowledged the mistake and the head teacher immediately issued an explanation and apology to Y1 parents.’

He added: ’The topic of ’Why is Muhammad important to Muslims?’ is in the advisory guidance provided to schools by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture. It derives from the UK’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s (QCA) guidance for Year 4s.

’The specific worksheet does not come from this guidance, with schools having the responsibility to construct and deliver their curricula.’

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