The assistant headteacher of a school teaching children about homosexuality as part of a special programme has defended its decision after 400 predominantly Muslim parents signed a petition for the subject to be dropped from the curriculum.

Andrew Moffat, who was awarded an MBE for his work in equality education, claims he was threatened and targeted via a leaflet campaign after the school piloted No Outsiders – a programme run as part of sex and relationship education (SRE) lessons. Its ethos is to promote LGBT equality and challenge homophobia in primary schools.

Moffat, the author of Challenging Homophobia in Primary Schools, resigned from another primary school – Chilwell Croft Academy, also in Birmingham – after a similar dispute with Muslim parents.

Moffat, who resigned from his post in December 2013, said then that some Christian parents had also complained. The current dispute centres on Parkfield Community School in the Saltley area of Birmingham.

Children from reception age through to year 6 were being taught five No Outsiders lessons per year, each one covering topics to meet requirements in the Equality Act. Books being read by the pupils include Mommy, Mama and Me and King & King - stories about same-sex relationships and marriages.

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However, following the inclusion of the programme in the curriculum, Moffat, who is gay, faced angry protests by parents, who gathered outside the school gates, while others removed their children from the school.

The issue was first raised by parent Fatima Shah, who initially pulled her 10-year-old daughter out of the school, saying children were too young to be learning about same-sex marriages and LGBT in the classroom. “It’s inappropriate, totally wrong,” she said.

Shah, whose daughter has now returned to the school, which is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, has revealed that she will continue to fight against the teaching of No Outsiders. She added: “Children are being told it’s OK to be gay, yet 98% of children at this school are Muslim. It’s a Muslim community. He said all parents are on board with it, but the reality is, no parents are on board with it.”

Shah claimed her children were becoming “confused” about homosexuality and that the local community’s concerns were not being taken on board. She said: “We have nothing against Mr Moffat – we are as British as they come. We respect the British values … but the problem is, he is not respecting our ethos as a community.

“We don’t send our children to school to learn about LGBT. We send them to school to learn maths, science and English.”

But Moffat, who was one of three British teachers shortlisted for the Varkey Foundation’s “best teacher” prize, says the feedback from most parents has been positive, and that the protests have arisen from the concerns of a “very small minority” of parents.

“I’m in exactly the right place and I have no plans to leave,” he said. “I know that some parents struggle with some aspects of the Equality Act and we’ll always talk and have respectful discussion.

“But, as I’ve said, the vast majority of parents understand that it’s in context. Yes, we’re talking about LGBT in a small amount of lessons but it’s always in context. The context is that living in the UK, you can be different, but you can get along with other people.”

Moffat, who is also a personal social health education teacher at the 770-pupil school, introduced the programme around four years ago. It includes the welcoming of people of any race, colour or religion and those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

He said: “I’m just teaching children from an early age that there are different families out there and, let’s not forget, that in some schools there are children with two mums, so I see it that they’re not being taught anything. All they’re seeing is their family is being accepted.

“We want all children in Birmingham to know that their family is normal; that their family is accepted and welcomed in schools.”

Moffat, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2017 for services to education, also runs an after-school club which he says helps create opportunities for children at his school to meet people of different races, religions and cultures around Birmingham.

The award-winning school is in the heart of a devout area where three inquiries have been held into the alleged Islamist Trojan horse plot by Muslim governors to take over state schools. Parkfield was not affected.

Olympic gold medalist Callum Skinner, whose father is gay, tweeted a message of support for Moffat. He wrote: “Mr Moffat sounds like he’s doing a great job. When I was at school, I was someone who had one set of same-sex parents. It sounds to me as if this programme is as much about protecting kids from intolerance as well as same sex couples. It should be commended, not shunned.”

Hazel Pulley, the chief executive of Excelsior Multi Academy Trust which runs the school, said she was disappointed by the protest. She said: “We’ve been doing No Outsiders for four years now and it’s been so successful … We want the best for our children. We want them to be accepting and to welcome anybody.”

Mohammed Idrees, the Muslim councillor who spoke out in support of the protesting parents and said pupils were “too young” to be taught about homosexuality, has since apologised for his comments and has been formally reported to Birmingham City Council’s Standards Committee by Conservative councillor Gareth Moore, who is gay.

Moore said: “Part of the challenge when you are growing up is that you don’t understand what’s wrong. This scheme, if you are different, lets you know there is nothing wrong with being different. I would have liked this scheme when I was growing up.”