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LGBT-inclusive primary school programme axed by Warwickshire County Council

April 15, 2020

Warwickshire County Council’s LGBT-inclusive primary school educational programme has been scrapped following complaints from anti-LGBT+ groups and some parents.

The Christian Institute was among those putting pressure on the council to pull the All About Me initiative, claiming it promoted ‘experimental transgender ideas in schools’.

The Institute said: ‘Lesson materials encouraged masturbation and included gratuitously graphic sexual images yet made no reference to marriage, contrary to national requirements and despite the lessons concerned not being classed as sex education.’

Warwickshire County Council had said the programme, which has been replaced with ‘an information and signposting offer’ was developed to ‘support young people’s understanding of healthy relationships and to enable them to build positive and safe relationships as they grow and develop into adults’.

But some parents and campaigners claimed it didn’t chime with traditional. family values.

John Denning, education officer at The Christian Institute, said: ‘The highly explicit imagery and one-sided ideology of All About Me has no place in Primary Relationships Education.

‘Schools are obviously facing a challenging time at the moment. But as soon as they can, they must consult with parents on a different approach to teaching RSE which complies with the law.

‘As with other teaching in state schools, it must be balanced, objective and critical, not pushing particular controversial views such as transgender ideology.’

A statement from the council said: ‘In line with government guidance, the council has taken the decision to replace its primary school All About Me Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) programme with an information and signposting offer to schools.

‘This new offer to schools will be aligned with the Department for Education’s national materials and resources to support schools to meet their statutory requirements under the new Relationships & Sex Education regulations. These regulations place statutory responsibility upon schools to deliver RSE to meet the needs of their school community.

‘Warwickshire County Council continues to be committed to supporting this agenda and to working with schools to help them to deliver this important aspect of education.’

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