Over half of British adults support primary school LGBT lessons, research shows

Protesters outside Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham Credit: Jacob King/PA

More than half of British adults support primary schools teaching LGBT-inclusive lessons, new research has found.

Commissioned by Stonewall, the analysis shows 60% of British people believe it is right to teach pupils about different kinds of families, including same-sex parenting.

The research – conducted by nfpSynergy, which surveyed 1,000 adults – found that almost one in five (17%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with LGBT-inclusive teaching at primary school level.

Among people aged 16-24, those who support teachers talking positively about different families, including LGBT families, increases to over two thirds (68%).

Stonewall – Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality – believes the new research highlights how attitudes have shifted since the charity began 30 years ago.

It was founded to lobby against Section 28 – legislation that effectively banned conversations about same-sex relationships in schools.

Relationships education for primary-age pupils and relationships and sex education (RSE) for secondary-age pupils in state schools will become compulsory from September 2020.

Research by Stonewall in 2017 found that two in five LGBT pupils (40%) were never taught anything about LGBT issues at school, while almost half (45%) were bullied for being themselves.

Paul Twocock, chief executive of Stonewall, said: “LGBT-inclusive education is life-changing teaching for so many young people, which is why it’s so powerful to see so much of the British public support the new legislation.

“We owe it to the next generation to ensure our schools are a place where all children and young people can be themselves.”

A primary school in Birmingham was at the centre of a series of school gate protests before the summer holidays with people campaigning against LGBT teaching.

Protesters were banned from an exclusion zone around Anderton Park Primary School following a court injunction secured by Birmingham City Council.