Protest leaflets claim relationship education teaches primary school children masturbation

Leaflets claiming that relationship education lessons will encourage primary school pupils to masturbate have been distributed in east London, reports suggest.

It comes after protests against LGBT+ lessons have taken place outside schools in Birmingham.

Parents have been given a leaflet claiming that relationships lessons will promote “transgenderism and homosexual lifestyles” and “pervert the course of natural child development”, according to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The leaflet, which was distributed in Newham, also claims: “Children in infant school will be encouraged to masturbate. First sexual experiences will be encouraged by the age of 12.”

The group behind the leaflet, the Schoolgate Campaign, has now removed the specific accusation that infants would be “encouraged to masturbate” in its literature. But it stood by its other claims.

Labour councillor Rohit Dasgupta told the BBC that the leaflets had been handed out as a form of “intimidation” and contained “untruths”.

From September next year, relationships education will be compulsory in primary schools in England – and relationships and sex education will be mandatory in secondary schools.

The government wants primary schools to teach about different kinds of families – including same-sex relationships – but it said it will be for individual schools to decide what is “age appropriate.”

Unions and headteachers have criticised the Department for Education (DfE) for not making guidance on the topic clearer and they have called for stronger support for teaching diversity.

Earlier this month, The Independent revealed that the number of hate crimes in schools and colleges in the county affected by protests against LGBT+ lessons surged by more than 50 per cent in a year.

One of the schools at the centre of a row over equality lessons – Anderton Park Primary School – has reported “homophobic” footage and far-right “Islamophobic” mail to the police.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), told The Independent: “This is another example of wilful misinformation being targeted at schools.”

He added: “It hasn’t been helped by comments from the Department [for Education] which said it is ultimately down to each school to interpret the guidance.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We want pupils growing up in the 21st century to understand the world around them and know what positive and safe relationships of all kinds look like, which is why we are making relationships education compulsory.

“At primary school, this starts with family and friends, how to be kind, and recognising the difference between online and offline friendships.

“Schools should consult with parents when developing the content they use and it must be delivered in an age-appropriate way.”