A Christian teacher faces a fitness practice hearing and is at risk of losing her career for refusing to teach “extreme LGBTQI ideology” at a Church of England (CofE) secondary school.
Glawdys Leger, 43, had been a specialist Modern Foreign Languages teacher for 12 years before she was sacked by Bishop Justus CofE School in Bromley, Kent, in May 2022.
Ms. Leger, who is supported by the Christian Legal Centre, said she was “treated like a dangerous criminal” for refusing to teach LGBTQI lessons, which had been incorporated into Religious Education (RE) lessons, to year 7 pupils at the school.
On Monday, Ms. Leger started a fitness practice hearing at the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) headquarters in Coventry, the outcome of which could see her barred from the profession.
The hearing lasts until Friday.
LBGT
The Christian Legal Centre said that they also believe it is the first time that the TRA has taken a case to a full hearing on these issues against a teacher at a Church of England school.
Christian Legal Centre said that materials for RE entitled “Who Am I” included introducing children in Year 7 to gender identities such as pansexual, asexual, intersex and transgender.
The lessons were also designed to encourage “allyship,” which the materials described as, “Typically a non-queer person who supports and advocates for the queer community.”
Ms. Leger alleged that in Feb. 2022, the head of RE sat in on one of her lessons and asked, “Where is the LGBT lesson?”
She was fired after one complaint from a parent via their child who alleged she said in RE lessons: “All LGBTQ+ are ‘not fine,‘” ... “people will always be seen by God as having their birth gender” and that “transgender people are ‘just confused.’”
Ms. Leger denied that she has ever said anything similar to, “God will love you if you are not LGBTQ+.”
The Christian Legal Centre said that Ms. Leger had expressed her beliefs to students during a discussion on LGBT issues that “God believes humans are born male and female and that LGBTQI practice is sinful.”
Silenced
“With Bishop Justus being a Christian school, I really believed that Christian pupils, their parents and any Christian member of staff, were being deceived,” said Ms. Leger.“Anyone who dared to suggest that religion is a reason to not agree with that ideology was silenced and in my case, sacked. We were not even asked how we felt about it, and when I raised concern, I was given no support,” she added.
She added that “increasingly, it became obvious that all the Christian aspects of the school were just for show.”
“Beneath the mask, being promoted in assemblies and in the classroom without parents’ knowledge, were political and ethical beliefs completely contrary to Christian beliefs on these issues,” she said.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “Glawdys’s case is part of a growing trend of the TRA targeting Christian teachers for expressing their faith in schools.
“Glawdys was hounded out of the job she loved because she wanted children to understand in an RE lesson in a Christian school that Christian teaching does not align with LGBTQI ideology,” she said.
“She did not want impressionable children heading into their teenage years to be force-fed teaching that endorsed and celebrated gender confusion without question,” she added.
‘Hellish Indoctrination’
Last year, Reverend Calvin Robinson joined the breakaway conservative Global Anglican Future Conference after he was cancelled by the CofE because white senior clergy were fearful that he refuted claims that Britain is “institutionally racist” even though he is black.
Commenting on the case, Mr. Robinson told The Epoch Times that “we have known for some time that many Church of England schools have lost the faith, no longer proclaiming Christ as King.”
“With this case, we see things have got worse. Now, Christians are being actively persecuted in CofE schools. There will come a time, very soon, when Christians will have to homeschool their children to avoid hellish indoctrination,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Church of England told The Epoch Times by email that it “would not be appropriate to comment on the complex particulars of any case to which we are not party, and which is under consideration.”
“Schools are bound by the Equalities Act, which assures that all children and adults are treated with respect, regardless of their faith, gender or sexuality.
“Everyone is made in God’s image and loved by God - no matter what their background, identity, abilities or anything else.”
A spokesperson for the Aquinas Church of England Education Trust told The Epoch Times by email that “Given the ongoing investigation and sensitivities involved, it would not be appropriate to comment any further.”
It said that “delivering a high-quality education and supporting the wellbeing of students is our top priority.”
“To ensure this is achieved, we promote fundamental British values, including mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. The school teaches in line with statutory requirements to promote British Values and follows relevant guidance outlined by the Department for Education,” she said.
The Epoch Times contacted the TRA and the Department of Education.
