I wouldn’t want any parent to go through this, says sacked anti-LGBT Christian teacher
by Jenny Medlicott, Telegraph:
Kristie Higgs, 47, was dismissed for gross misconduct after sharing Facebook posts.
A teacher who claims she was sacked over her Christian beliefs has said she “wouldn’t want any parent to go through” what she has over the past five years.
Kristie Higgs, 47, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach LGBT+ relationships in primary schools.
Following her dismissal, Mrs Higgs took the school to an employment tribunal, arguing she had been unlawfully discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs.
In its ruling in 2020, the tribunal concluded her religion is a “protected characteristic” as defined by the Equality Act, but the school lawfully dismissed her.
Her lawyers have since successfully won the right to have her case heard by Court of Appeal judges.
‘My posts were a warning’
Ahead of the hearing, which is due to begin at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, Mrs Higgs said: “I wouldn’t want any parent to go through what I have over the past five years. Nobody should be sacked for raising the concerns that I did in the way that I did.
“My posts were a warning and so much of what has happened in the debate over the past five years has vindicated me.
“I pray now that the Court of Appeal will make the right judgment and will make a ruling that protects Christian employees and parents’ freedom to express their beliefs without fear of being silenced.”
Mrs Higgs had raised concerns about relationship education at her son’s Church of England primary school. Pupils were to learn about the No Outsiders In Our School programme, which is a series of books teaching the Equality Act in primary schools.
Mrs Higgs, who was posting on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 to about 100 friends.
One of the posts referred to “brainwashing our children”, adding: “Children will be taught that all relationships are equally valid and ‘normal’, so that same-sex marriage is exactly the same as traditional marriage, and gender is a matter of choice, not biology, so that it’s up to them what sex they are.
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