Primary pupils to get lesbian doll lessons

But the Lottery-funded project was today branded inappropriate by church leaders and drew criticism from opposition councillors for focusing on the differences between people.

The Lesbian Mothers Scotland group has set up the scheme after being given a 4819 You and Your Community Award from the Millennium Commission to create so-called Persona Dolls which will be used at the city’s Leith Walk Primary school.

Backers claim that the dolls offer opportunities to discuss issues including racism, gender, disability, health, culture, religious and other equality issues.

The dolls typically "visit" for informal story-telling sessions and backers say the scheme helps children to "unlearn discriminatory attitudes and behaviour".

But Tory education spokesman Kate MacKenzie today branded the scheme "divisive"

She said: "A lesbian woman or gay man looks exactly the same as a heterosexual. I feel the only way we’re going to get an inclusive society is if we treat people as individuals regardless of whether they’re black, disabled, homosexual or lesbian."

"By drawing people’s attention to it, you’re saying, ‘these people are different.’ But we’re all minorities in our own way."

Lib Dem education spokesman Jim Lowrie said he was "surprised" there hadn’t been consultation with parents over the dolls.

He added: "I think it probably has a place in schools but I think it should be more for older children in P6 or P7."

Persona Dolls have previously been used other local authorities including Leicester City Council - which claims the dolls are effective at "challenging the values, stereotypes and prejudices that underpin racism and other social inequalities."

Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, raised serious concerns about the "very disturbing" project.

He said: "This is precisely the sort of pro-homosexual brain-washing that Section 28 would have prevented. It seems to confirm all the fears we had about young children being exposed to inappropriate material if Section 28 was repealed."

Ann Allen, of Family and Youth Concern, added: "It is a great pity money is being spent on this kind of project, which is all about bringing sex into the classroom and corrupting young children’s minds.

A senior council source defended the dolls as a "well-respected educational tool.

"There is absolutely no intention to use them to teach children about lesbian sex at all."

An Edinburgh City Council spokesman defended the scheme.

She said: "Persona Dolls are used in primary schools for equality education. They are not used for sex education or to promote gay relationships. Many schools across the UK are using Persona Dolls which are designed to focus on different cultures. The dolls recognise the range of issues facing children today. We recently had a training day for teachers which was organised by the Centre for Race Equality in Scotland. The final decision on whether they’re appropriate to use will be taken by headteacher and staff."

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive added: "It is up to headteachers to decide whether or not they think this kind of scheme is appropriate."

Three years ago , campaigners attacked a sex guide for seven-year-olds that was made available to schools in Edinburgh. The Primary School Workbook, produced by the Family Planning Association, encourages youngsters to talk about masturbation.

The explicit guide, which instructs teachers to encourage children to use crude slang when talking about sexual matters, is being aimed at seven to 11 -year-olds.