A study by Civitas, utilizing research conducted by Deltapoll, has delved into the teaching of LGBT ideology in English schools, analysing responses from over 1,000 teenagers aged 16 to 18 and parents of 12 to 16-year-olds. The study found that 67% of the teenagers reported being told that biological sex is “assigned at birth”, while 32% stated they were taught that a “woman can have a penis”.
Although the majority of teenage respondents (80%) claimed that their schools encouraged different viewpoints on contentious social issues such as gender, sexuality, and sex, a considerable proportion (35%) admitted to feeling uncomfortable sharing their opinion, fearing judgement or bullying from peers. Parents’ views were also explored in the study, revealing that 59% disagreed with schools teaching pupils that a “man could get pregnant”, with only 17% in favor.
When it came to Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), the majority of respondents (77%) believed that parents should have unrestricted legal access to all teaching materials and lesson plans, with only 14% opposing this. Furthermore, 64% of respondents supported parents’ right to withdraw their children from such education.
Jo-Anne Nadler, the author of the report, expressed concern over the findings, suggesting that parents must be vigilant about what is being taught to their children and who is doing the teaching. Nadler criticized the activist-led vision infiltrating education, which, she claims, is teaching children what to think rather than how to think, stifling diversity and inclusion of different viewpoints.
Miriam Cates MP called the report “worrying reading for any parent”, noting that something was going awry when one in ten teenagers said they have or want to change gender. The Department for Education spokesperson responded by stating that the Education Secretary had initiated an urgent review of the curriculum, promising that the forthcoming guidance would clarify the legal position of schools and emphasize parental involvement. This report follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s earlier warning this month about ensuring age-appropriate content in sex education lessons.