Teachers' union calls for LGBT education from nursery
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has passed a motion calling on its members to teach nursery children about same-sex relationships and transsexualism.
The motion was passed by delegates at the NUT's annual conference in Cardiff, which took place over the Easter weekend.
Christian Concern's Chief Executive Andrea Williams warned that this would create unnecessary confusion amongst very young and vulnerable children.
Calls for compulsory LGBT education
Earlier this year, Education Secretary Justine Greening tabled an amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill, which would make "age-appropriate" sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory for primary and secondary school children. Parliament has approved the bill and it awaits Royal Assent.
Andrea Williams has said that teaching SRE to young children would be "devastating" and risks "robbing them of their innocence".
But the NUT has gone further and said that 'LGBT+ education' should be an "essential" part of the SRE curriculum.
"It is high time that PSHE and SRE – including LGBT+ education – is recognised as an essential part of the school curriculum," Kevin Courtney, the NUT's General Secretary, commented.
He went on: "It is important for a modern forward-thinking society to understand and embrace differences within our communities. Schools are ideally placed to do this."
Annette Pryce, a member of the NUT executive committee and a teacher in Buckinghamshire, said the NUT must "ensure that SRE is inclusive to LGBT young people now and forever".
LGBT agenda imposed on nursery children
The NUT even said that members should campaign to ensure that LGBT material is promoted to "all schools from nursery throughout all phases of state education".
Meanwhile, the NUT's Vice President, Kiri Tunks, claimed that allowing faith schools and parents to opt out of compulsory SRE was a "dangerous loophole" which would "leave many young people ignorant and vulnerable".
'Sexuality is not an issue for toddlers'
Commenting on the suggestion that children as young as nursery-age should be taught about LGBT issues, Andrea Williams said: "Hate crime is not an issue for toddlers. Sexuality is not an issue for toddlers. The more paper tigers we create the more confused our children will become. When will common sense prevail?"
Laura Perrins, co-editor of The Conservative Woman, also criticised the move, saying: "It seems nothing is off-limits for adult bullies who want to use young children as a tool in their misguided agenda."
Related links:
Teach toddlers about transgender issues, National Union of Teachers say (Telegraph)
Call to teach toddlers about transgender issues (Times £)
