Labour MPs have shown support for an activist group which promotes ‘transgender Cinderella’ books to primary school children.
Pop’n’Olly, which visits classrooms to teach gender ideology, welcomed politicians to a Parliamentary drop-in event which it said was sponsored by Nadia Whittome MP.
The gathering included Labour MPs Kim Leadbeater, Paul Davies, Darren Paffey and Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty.
These four MPs posed for social media photos in front of the Pop’n’Olly logo with a sign reading: ‘I support LGBT+ education’.
Last night, campaigners condemned their support for the group as ‘hugely concerning’.
Pop’n’Olly, which describes itself as an ‘LGBT+ educational resource’, tells children that sex is ‘assigned’ at birth and gender can be seen as ‘a spectrum’.
It has also produced a book aimed at primary schools, ‘Jamie – A Transgender Cinderella Story’, featuring a girl who gets to dress as a ‘boy called Jamie’ for a ball and win the heart of a princess.
Pop’n’Olly distributes this and other books to schools, and claims to have donated a total of 12,000 to 4,000 primaries.
After the event, on June 3rd, Mr Davies reposted his photo on his own open Facebook page with the caption: ‘Today I showed my support for LGBT+ education.
‘I believe that every student deserves to see themselves reflected in what they learn.’
However, many of Pop’n’Olly’s teaching materials are highly controversial.
Among them is a video called ‘Gender Explained for Kids’, which is marketed as ‘family friendly’.
It says: ‘Most people’s gender will be the same as their assigned sex, although this will not be the case for everyone.’
It adds that gender ‘can be something that someone discovers about themselves as they grow older’.
And it says: ‘Some people find it useful to think of gender as a spectrum’.
The group’s training lead, Jack Lynch, who identifies as ‘non-binary’, wrote last year about speaking to a group of children aged nine to 11 at a primary in Sussex ‘about gender identity’.
Lynch said a nine-year-old girl said during the session: ‘I feel like you feel. I don’t fit into a box that everyone else seems to fit into.
‘I don’t like doing normal girl things. I like football and wearing boys’ clothes.’
In 2021, Pop’n’Olly celebrated on Instagram after being awarded an ‘honorary Mermaids’ certificate by the now discredited Mermaids organisation.
This month’s event was revealed on Facebook where the group tagged MPs and boasted: ‘A MASSIVE thank you to over 20 MPs, ministers and staffers who attended our drop in event in @ukparliament on Tuesday.
‘We had so many fantastic conversations, shared valuable information and witnessed such amazing support for LGBT+ inclusive education at primary school!
‘We have come away feeling proud, hopefully and renewed in our passion for this incredibly important work.
‘A huge thank you to @nadiawhittomemp for sponsoring our event and for her ongoing support for LGBT+ Education.’
The event has sparked concern that some Labour MPs may not be attuned to concerns about teaching transgender concepts to young children.
Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend said: ‘Pop’n’Olly is an activist organisation masquerading as an innocent, fun, children’s educational resource.
‘Their message to little children is that they may have been born “wrong” and need fixing.
‘They introduce doubt into impressionable children’s minds – am I a girl or am I a boy?
‘No child should be asking this question, as if they have a choice.
‘Trans ideology can only cause confusion, doubt and fear for children too young to understand it is not the reality.’
She added the transgender Cinderella story could be seen as ‘turning a lesbian into a straight boy in order to win the hand of the princess’.
‘It is hugely concerning that so many Labour MPs openly support such regressive, sexist and homophobic views,’ she said.
Parent groups have previously warned gender ideology reinforces old-fashioned stereotypes of ‘male’ and ‘female’.
The previous Tory government’s guidance for ‘gender-questioning children’ says schools should not teach ‘gender identity’ as fact.
However, this has been ‘under review’ since Labour took power last year.
Pop’n’Olly is a private company which provides LGBT+ teaching resources, books, staff training and direct child-facing sessions to schools.
While the company is not officially sanctioned by the Department for Education (DfE), headteachers are free to invite them or any other education company in to work with their school.
Pop’n’Olly was created by Olly Pike, 39, who says he produces ‘inclusive videos and children’s books that combat homophobia and transphobia’, while ‘drawing on his background in theatre’.
A spokesman for Pop’n’Olly said: ‘We are incredibly proud of the work we do at Pop’n’Olly which supports schools, parents and carers in teaching about diversity and inclusion.
‘Our work is supported by many thousands of teachers, educators, parents and carers, designed and delivered by education experts, in line with all current legislation and informed by research.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘Schools have a clear duty to safeguard their pupils – and should make sure children are never taught concepts that they are too young to understand, and never made to feel that not fitting with gender stereotypes means they were born in the wrong body.
‘Our review of the Relationship, Sex, and Health Education guidance will put children’s safety at its core, making clear that concepts around sex and gender should only be taught in a way that reflects the facts and law on biological sex and gender reassignment.’
The MPs did not respond to attempts to contact them, and Labour declined to comment on their behalf.
