School employee sacked after sharing petition about LGBT lessons says it was 'morally necessary' to speak out

A school administrator who was sacked after sharing a petition on Facebook objecting to lessons about same sex relationships, has told a tribunal that she was concerned parents “did not know what was going on.”

Kristie Higgs, 44, described her shock after being sent home from Farmor's School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, after a parent who saw her post complained.

She said she was left “shaken” and scared to go out after being summoned to a meeting with the headmaster, Matthew Evans, and suspended.

“I was concerned that a lot of parents all over the country and the world simply did not know what was going on,” Mrs Higgs said in a statement submitted to an employment tribunal in Bristol.

“I remember saying to them: sorry to put you through this extra work, but what I posted is true – this is happening all over the world.”

Mrs Higgs, who had worked at the secondary school for seven years without incident, was suspended and then dismissed for gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing.

The mother-of-two, from Fairford, had shared and commented on Facebook posts that raised concerns about relationship education at her son’s Church of England primary school.

The school had informed parents that pupils would learn about the No Outsiders programme,  which teaches children about same sex couples and gender identity.

Posting under her maiden name, she shared two posts in October 2018, visible only to around 100 friends.

In one post, Mrs Higgs urged people to sign an online petition against making relationships education mandatory.

In another, she shared an article about the rise of transgender ideology in children’s books in American schools by JudyBeth Wagoner, an American conservative Christian commentator.

Explaining her religious beliefs in a statement to the tribunal, Mrs Higgs said: “As a Christian, I believe it is morally necessary to speak out in defence of the Bible truth when false and harmful doctrines are being promoted.

“I believe that God created mankind as ‘male and female’ and what he has created is good. He does not make mistakes.

“I therefore do not believe in the modern ideas of gender fluidity and transgenderism.”

Mrs Higgs said she had not thought too much about the subject until she got a letter about the No Outside programme from her son’s Church of England primary school.

“I knew that there were cross-dressers and that the practice of cross-dressing had been expressly condemned in the Bible,” she said.

“People cannot change something that has been established by God, such as their identity as a man or a woman.

“I am aware that same-sex marriages are now recognised under UK law, but I believe that is contrary to God’s law – which only recognises marriages between one man and one woman.”

Mrs Higgs told the tribunal that she was simply sharing information that she thought her friends and family would be interested in.

“I just don’t think what I did was wrong on social media,” she said. “This is what I thought – they are brainwashing our children."

Debbie Grennan, representing the school, suggested some of the language used in the posts shared by Mrs Higgs was “extreme”.

“Do you believe that because of your religious views you can post anything you like, no matter how reactionary,” the barrister asked.

Mrs Higgs replied: “I believe that if it goes against the word of God people need to know about it.

“I love God but I also have to follow the law of the land, but it doesn’t mean I can’t disagree.”

Mrs Higgs has told Christian Concern, which is backing her unfair dismissal claim, that nobody was being forced to sign the petition she had shared.

“It’s shocking to think that I’ve lost my job because one parent has complained to the school because they didn’t agree with what I’d shared on my Facebook page," she said.

“For the school to take sides with one parent who has complained is hard to believe.”

Her lawyers will argue that her sacking breached her freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

The hearing, which is expected to last a week, continues.