A group of campaigners, including parents, have taken the Welsh government to court over compulsory sex education lessons for young children, that they say gives prominence to LGBTQ+ themes.
Those behind the challenge have accused the Welsh government of adopting “ideological totalitarianism” and say they are breaching the European Convention of Human Rights.
Wales launched the new curriculum in September. Their new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) seeks to ’embed sex and gender themes into day-to-day classes’ ….but with no opt out for parents.
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The Mail Online reports: Public Child Protection Wales brought the legal challenge against the curriculum before Mrs Justice Steyn at the Civil Justice Centre in Cardiff after they launched a judicial review in May.
The group are seeking to overturn the new curriculum which they have said is inappropriate for primary age children.
They have said that children as young as three will be taught about ‘sensitive and arguably inappropriate topics’ including gender ideology and said that the sex education lessons amount to ‘indoctrination’ by the government.
But lawyers for the Labour-run government told the High Court that the curriculum should be taught in school so children as young as three can learn ’empathy’ with different people. And they have said that the group’s claims were ‘incorrect’ and lessons would be age-appropriate.
Up to 300 protesters from Public Child Protection, who say the new curriculum is inappropriate for primary age children, yesterday mounted a demonstration against the new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) code outside the High Court hearing.
One banner held at the protest said: ‘Protect kids from woke agenda – allow sex education parental opt-out.’
A mother who asked not to be named, said: ‘They have given no details of what the lessons entail only that sex and gender issues will be part of everyday school lessons.
‘As parents we have rights to know what our children are being taught and we should be allowed to say ‘no’ if we don’t think it is appropriate.
‘We have been told the lessons will be ‘developmental appropriate’ but we don’t know is the judge of that. One teacher might think teaching three-year-olds about S&M is appropriate and we can’t stop them.’
But Jonathan Moffett KC, representing the Welsh Government, said transgender themes were important to give children a ‘pluralistic’ world view.
He said: ‘This is to equip children for what they will encounter in life.
‘In real life society there are people who identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex. In real life there are people who self-identify as the TQ+ element of LGBTQ+.
Niamh Harris
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