Christian school worker sacked for criticising plans to teach trans issues to primary school kids WINS appeal after judge rules ‘freedom of religious belief is essential in a democracy’
- Kristie Higgs was dismissed after sharing Facebook posts about LGBT lessons
- Mother-of-two lost case at an employment tribunal but has now won an appeal
A Christian teaching assistant found to be fairly sacked after raising concerns about LGBT lessons taught in her son’s school has won an appeal.
Kristie Higgs, 46, was dismissed after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach primary school children about gay relationships and gender identity issues.
She claimed she was unfairly let go after she was sacked for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019. She accused the school of discrimination and harassment, but lost her case at an employment tribunal.
But the mother-of-two has now won an appeal against the decision after a judge ruled ‘the freedom to manifest belief (religious or otherwise)…are essential rights in any democracy’.
Mrs Higgs said she is still ‘appalled by the sexual ideology that was being introduced to my son’s Church of England primary school’.
Christian teaching assistant Kristie Higgs has won an appeal after being sacked from a school
Mrs Higgs was sacked for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire
Posting on Facebook under her maiden name (which has been obscured above by the Christian Legal Centre), Mrs Higgs shared two posts in October 2018 to around 100 friends – one of which is pictured above
This is the other post shared by Mrs Higgs in October 2018. An anonymous complaint about the posts was made to the school and Mrs Higgs was later suspended and sacked
And she feels ‘so justified and vindicated for sharing and expressing the concerns’.
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She added: ‘I am pleased that the courts have overturned the previous judgment, but I am frustrated by the further delays to receiving justice.
‘From the beginning, despite the many attempts by the school to suggest otherwise, this has always been about my Christian beliefs and me being discriminated against for expressing them in my own time.
‘I was, and still am, appalled by the sexual ideology that was being introduced to my son’s Church of England primary school.
‘I will never forget the moment, shaking and tearful, that I was ordered to leave the school premises after my Christian beliefs were aligned with Nazism.’
Mrs Higgs, from Fairford, shared and commented on posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son’s Church of England primary school.
Students were to learn about the No Outsiders In Our School programme, which is a series of books teaching the Equality Act in primary schools.
Posting on Facebook under her maiden name, she shared two posts in October 2018 to around 100 friends.
An anonymous complaint about the posts was made to the school and Mrs Higgs was later suspended and sacked.
The school had denied dismissing Mrs Higgs because of her religious beliefs and said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts.
In response, she launched legal action for discrimination and harassment on the grounds of her Christian beliefs.
In a judgment released last Friday, Mrs Justice Eady overturned a ruling in October 2020 which had upheld the sacking.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: ‘This is a win for Kristie, but Mrs Justice Eady should have had the courage to exonerate her.
Mrs Higgs said she feels ‘so justified and vindicated for sharing and expressing the concerns’
‘Instead, she is suggesting a rehearing before the same Tribunal that heard the case in the first place.’
READ MORE Children must not be allowed to switch identities in schools without telling their parents, Rishi Sunak says
Mrs Higgs’ case has seen a series of unusual and, at times, unprecedented moments.
In July 2022, Mrs Higgs’ appeal was postponed after Mrs Justice Eady was forced to recuse trans activist, Edward Lord, from sitting as a lay magistrate on the presiding panel.
A year later in the lead-up to the rescheduled appeal hearing, it was discovered that Andrew Morris would be presiding as a lay magistrate.
Mr Morris had been a senior official with the National Education Union (NEU), which has supported the teaching of relationships, sex and health education in schools.
The case will now be sent back for rehearing.
Mrs Higgs said: ‘Since I lost the job I loved, there has been so many disturbing revelations about transgender ideology in schools and children being taught inappropriate sex education.
‘I feel so justified and vindicated for sharing and expressing the concerns that I did.’
Meanwhile the Daily Mail also reported today that Rishi Sunak has said pupils must not be allowed to change gender in schools without telling their parents.
Kristie Higgs outside the Civil Justice Centre in Bristol on September 21, 2020
The Prime Minister told teachers that letting boys identify as girls was ‘not a neutral act’ and could have a ‘significant impact’ on children.
He also said school staff must alert parents if their children want to be referred to by different pronouns.
His comments give the strongest indication yet of the likely contents of long-awaited guidance for head teachers on how to handle transgender rights.
It was reported last night that the guidance will finally be published this week, banning schools from letting pupils ‘socially transition’ by changing their names, pronouns or uniform if their parents do not consent.
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