Children’s Education Company, Pop’n’Olly, to Donate LGBT+ Books to Primary Schools in Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman’s Constituencies.

In response to the recent anti-LGBT+ rhetoric from the Tory party, LGBT+ children’s education company, Pop’n’Olly, have tonight said they are donating 300 of their LGBT+ children’s books to primary schools in the constituencies of Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman.

CEO and Founder, Olly Pike says, “When the people in power won’t see LGBT+ 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.”

With LGBT+ bullying being the most common form of bullying in UK schools, Pop’n’Olly believes the answer is education. “Children are not born prejudiced, it is a learned behavior. 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 LGBT+ prejudice before it can begin to form. Here at Pop’n’Olly, we believe that LGBT+ 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 LGBT+ 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 LGBT+ 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 LGBT+ inclusive education and storytelling”. The company has, only this month, 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 LGBT+ relationships in schools, many teachers we spoke to still say they have very little access to LGBT+ resources, so we decided we could do something about it”. Numerous reports from both Stonewall and the LGBT+ young people’s charity, Just Like Us, show the significant negative impact a lack of LGBT+ education can have on young people. The most recent ‘Positive Futures Report’ from Just Like Us, shows that LGBT+ 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 LGBT+”.

Pop’n’Olly hope that the book donations to Rishi and Suella’s constituencies will help to improve all children’s understanding of LGBT+ identities and be part of creating a more inclusive world.