Leader of the House of Commons Weighs in on LGBT+ Education Debate
March 21, 2019Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons, has weighed in on the growing debate surrounding LGBT+ education in primary schools.
The debate has surged in recent weeks after schools in Birmingham protested the inclusion of the “No Outsiders” programme which teaches children that families come in all different sizes and shapes, including same-sex parents, and that it is important to be tolerant and to not bully those that are different.
“I think it is right that the government should have passed legislation that requires relationships and sex education is taught in schools, but at the same time, I also agree that it’s right parents should be able to choose the moment that their children become exposed to that information,” Leadson said in an interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari.
When asked whether she believed a five-year-old should learn about LGBT+ people she said: “I don’t believe that that is the case … I think it’s really important that we accept equality in every area, whilst at the same time respecting that parents may have concerns about how young their children are when they become aware of these things.”
She, however, said she had no problem with own children learning of LGBT+ people: “I would be entirely happy for my children to grow up finding that their LGBT classmates are exactly the same as them.
“One of my own kids was in a class with a friend who had two mums. That was absolutely normal, right from a very young age.”
Many LGBT+ activists have criticised Leadson’s remarks as missing the point, that all children need to be taught that other family types exist and that it is not okay to bully people over their sexual orientation.
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