A gay lobby group has been given lottery cash to promote ‘alternative families’ in Scottish primary schools.

The Awards for All scheme gave £10,000 to Stonewall Scotland to circulate DVDs celebrating same-sex parents.

Stonewall Scotland says the scheme challenges homophobia, but critics say it undermines the traditional family.

Evidence

Every primary school in Scotland will receive a DVD along with support materials.

Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust said: “There is a key difference between acknowledging the existence of different family types on the one hand and positively promoting them in the classroom on the other.

“It still takes a man and a woman to create a child and all the available evidence shows children benefit enormously from the complementary nature of the care that only a father and mother can provide.

Reality

“We should not close our eyes to the reality that where a child is not being raised by both natural parents, it is a cause of sadness or regret.”

He added: “Rather than using resources that celebrate alternative family forms and pretending that all types of family are of equal benefit to children and society, schools should be presenting the natural family unit, consisting of children raised by their own mother and father, as the ideal to aspire to.”

John Deighan, parliamentary officer for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, said: “This is a controversial issue and given that it is now part of a political process should not be receiving Lottery support. Children should not be exposed to the work of political lobby groups.”

Response

Colin Macfarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland, said: “Families in modern Scotland are made of all shapes and sizes. The majority of families still have a mum and a dad but different families exist, too.

“These include children with one mum or one dad, two mums or two dads or children living with their grandparents.

He added: “our resources have been developed in direct response to the overwhelming requests from schools and teachers to help them teach and celebrate the reality of what different families in modern Scotland look like.”

An Awards for All spokesman said: “We’re proud to support Stonewall.”