A sex education syllabus launched by a school on the Isle of Man in September has been suspended after parents complained their 11-year-old children were being taught about anal sex, and a drag queen guest speaker told pupils there are 73 genders.
The Isle of Man government has ordered an independent review after a petition was launched by parents concerned about the “graphic, disproportionate, and indecent presentation” of sexual acts being shown to their children at the Queen Elizabeth II High School on the island.
The petition expressed the parents’ anger at the “complete failure of safeguards, training, curriculum assessment and consideration of the Isle of Man education policy in respect of the delivery of PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education)” at the school.
“What we find wholly unacceptable and consider unsafe and placing children at risk of harm is the graphic, disproportionate, indecent presentation of sexual acts, materials and different gender identities (including graphic detail of transgender operations) within Key Stage 3,” it added.
Parents were shocked to learn their children were being taught how to masturbate, how to engage in oral and anal sex, and were learning in detail about sex-change operations including how skin grafts can be used to create an artificial penis.
Another group of children was subjected to a talk by a drag queen who claimed there are 73 genders, and when one child responded to say there are “only two,” they were told to leave the classroom. The parents told local authorities that having a drag queen in class was “wholly inappropriate.”
Charlotte Clarke, the school’s head teacher, confirmed an independent review of the curriculum will now take place “given the concerns being raised, and in order to be open and transparent.”
“As such, I am happy to take part in the independent review which is being deployed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture and would encourage our community to avoid speculation at this time,” she added.
“Schools must make sure all content they use is factual and age-appropriate, and engage with parents so they are aware of what their children are being taught,” said a Department for Education spokesperson.
“We will write to all schools this term to emphasize the rights of parents to see teaching materials being taught to their children in schools.”