School children must be taught about “different, strong and loving” families in the new relationship education lessons, Damian Hinds has said, in his strongest response yet to the Birmingham LGBT row.

The Education Secretary said he would “strongly” encourage primary school teachers to discuss with children about how there are all sorts of types of families, including those with same-sex parents.

His intervention comes amid a row over teaching children about LGBT relationships with several primary schools in Birmingham suspending the lessons following protests and petitions from Muslim parents.

Parkfield Community School, along with five primaries run by the Leigh Trust, postponed the "No Outsiders" programme where children are taught about same sex couples and gender identity.

Hundreds of parents have protested outside the schools, saying that teaching children about LGBT rights and homophobia contradicts their Islamic faith.

Meanwhile, Birmingham city council obtained a high court injunction to temporarily to bar demonstrators from an exclusion zone around Anderton Park primary, another school that was caught up in the row.

The Government has published guidance for schools on how to teach Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), which will become a statutory requirement from September 2020.

Mr Hinds said there is no reason why teaching children about “the society that we live in and the different types of loving, healthy relationships that exist” cannot be done in a way that “respects everyone”.