A petition to remove LGBT content from the primary school curriculum has received well over its target signatures for discussion in parliament.

Sign the counter-petition here to keep the LGBT curriculum in schools.

We’re quite disgusted, to be honest.

The petition asking for LGBT content to be removed carries a simple yet disturbing statement “We believe kids shouldn’t learn about this at an early age. I am sure there are many parents who do not want their or other children taught about LGBT in primary school”. They haven’t specified their real reasons, which makes it all that more alarming.

At the time of writing, it currently has 196k signatures — well above the 100k needed to get the topic considered for debate in Parliament. Why is this disturbing, you may ask? Relationships of all kinds have a place in society. Introducing these relationship types at a young age can facilitate openness and understanding — but taking them away could cause a further divide in society and health risks too. 

What’s worse, is it’s actually not compulsory for primary schools to cover LGBT content, though they are enabled and encouraged to do so if they consider it age-appropriate, The Pink News says.

Ultimately, educating on LGBTQIA+ topics at a young age can help generate a wider acceptance of those in non-heteronormative relationships with others, and those who do not feel part of society’s norms, genders and labels.

Manchester content creator @zackhipps does an amazing job of raising awareness surrounding this issue, who even talks about acknowledging their sexual identity from as early as primary school:

“My earliest memory of learning what a “gay” person is, was in primary school. A teacher told us that being “gay” was JUST a description of who someone loved… Something so simple, but true, and it became a core memory for me.”

Our own data, which surveyed 400 Gen Zs, found almost nine in ten (87%)  think sex education in schools needs to be made more inclusive, with two-fifths (39%) of respondents admitting to never learning about any of the below topics. Below is just a snapshot of how little respondents did learn in school:

• Responding to pressures to have sex (47%)
• Expressing intimacy without sex (13%)
• PrEP (14%)
• Contraception in non-heterosexual relationships (20%)
• Asexuality (8%)

We know there’s already a gap in sex education in schools (going as far as getting sex education on TikTok), so surely, further education on these topics from an early age can help facilitate those on a journey to self-discovery and safer sex in the future.

We asked students for their thoughts on sex education and the petition — here’s what they had to say:

What can I do?

Fortunately, there’s a counter-petition you can sign, urging the government NOT to remove LGBT content from the Relationships Education curriculum.

As it stands, this petition is just falling short of 100k. We’re urging those who read this to sign the petition, to protect the right to education on LGTQIA+ matters, safe sex and awareness in schools.

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