In response to “anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric” coming from the Tory Party Conference, LGBTQ+ children’s education company Pop’n’Olly has announced they are donating 300 of its LGBTQ+ children’s books to primary schools in the constituencies of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Olly Pike, CEO and Founder of Pop’n’Olly, said, “When the people in power won’t see LGBTQ+ people for who we are, it can make us feel helpless. However, we do have power and we can make a difference with our actions. We are delighted to donate 300 books to these primary schools and ensure they arrive in time for Anti-Bullying Week.
“Children are not born prejudiced; it is a learned behaviour. We know that if we teach children from a young age that everyone is different, and how that is a good thing, we can combat LGBTQ+ prejudice before it can begin to form.
“Here at Pop’n’Olly, we believe that LGBTQ+ children deserve to feel joy about who they are and should be able to see themselves and their families represented in bright, inclusive futures.”
Pop’n’Olly is one of the UK’s top LGBTQ+ education companies, creating videos, books and classroom resources that are used by thousands of schools throughout the UK and beyond, to help children learn about diversity and equality. They also provide LGBTQ+ inclusion training for primary schools. The aim of the company’s work is “Sparking joy, eradicating shame and empowering all children, teachers, parents & carers through LGBTQ+ inclusive education and storytelling”.
The company has just reached a significant milestone and donated over 10,000 of their books to UK primary schools. Each month, the company donates books on behalf of supporters, called Pop’n’Olly Patrons, as well as individual donors and corporate sponsors.
Olly Pike says: “Despite the 2020 changes to the RSE Government guidance for mandatory teaching about LGBTQ+ relationships in schools, many teachers we spoke to still say they have very little access to LGBTQ+ resources, so we decided we could do something about it.”
Reports from both Stonewall and the LGBTQ+ young people’s charity Just Like Us show the significant negative impact a lack of LGBTQ+ education can have on young people. The most recent Positive Futures report from Just Like Us, shows that LGBTQ+ children who grow up in unsupportive environments are “more than twice as likely to have had suicidal thoughts and feelings” and their previous report Growing Up LGBT+ showed that “48% of pupils had little to no positive messaging about being LGBTQ+”.
Pop’n’Olly hope that the book donations to Rishi and Suella’s constituencies will help to improve all children’s understanding of LGBTQ+ identities and be part of creating a more inclusive world.
