Damian Hinds has denied reports primary school children will be taught about gay and transgender relationships from the age of five – but refused to pinpoint when such lessons would begin.
As the government announced its first update to sex education in almost 20 years on Monday, the education secretary revealed that relationships education would be mandatory in primary schools.
But branding five a “very sensitive age”, Hinds refuted claims that reception class children would be taught about LGBT+ relationships.
“Nobody is talking about suggesting that there should be these difficult conversations with children that age,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme.
“At a young age, what you’re talking about is having respect for all kinds of people, understanding there is difference in the world and thinking that is a good thing.
“You have to have respect and understanding for all the different types of families, for example, that you may come in contact with.”
But when asked at what age lessons about gay and transgender families would begin, the East Hampshire MP said it would be down to teachers to decide, arguing that they were “best-placed to know when is an appropriate time”.
“That point may be different in different schools, in different places with different cohorts of children,” he added.
Hinds’ comments came on the same day MPs are set to debate whether parents should be able to remove their children from mandatory sex and relationships education.
Under new government guidelines, from 2020 secondary school children will be taught about the risks of sharing photos online, the impact of viewing explicit content and how the internet can promote an unhealthy view of sex and relationships.
“Growing up and adolescence are hard enough, but the internet and social media add new pressures that just weren’t there even one generation ago,” Hinds said in a statement.
“So many things about the way people interact have changed, and this new world, seamless between online and offline, can be difficult to navigate. Almost twenty years on from the last time guidance on sex education was updated, there is a lot to catch up on.”