A Christian teacher was fired after telling pupils that being LBGT+ is a sin, the High Court has heard.
Glawdys Leger was employed as a teacher at Bishop Justus Church of England School, in the south London suburb of Bromley.
The 45-year-old made the comments to her year 7 pupils during a religious studies lesson in February 2022.
The lesson involved Ms Leger showing her class a series of slides on human rights, followed by a discussion on “allyship”.
She then told the children that being LGBT+ is “not fine” and “you should put God before the LGBTQ ideology”, the court heard.
Following the class, one of the pupils complained to her mother about the comments.
Ms Leger was suspended the following month and sacked in April 2022.
In December 2023, a professional conduct panel found the teacher’s actions amounted to unprofessional conduct.
The finding was then published on the Teaching Regulation Agency’s website.
Ms Leger is now bringing legal action at the High Court in London against the Department for Education (DfE), saying the decision to publish the findings was unlawful as it infringed on her privacy.
She has asked the court to quash the panel’s finding or to order for it to be reconsidered.
Michael Phillips, for Ms Leger, said in written submissions for a hearing on Wednesday that her comments were taken out of context and recorded by an 11-year-old who “did not endeavour to produce anything like a full note”.
He added: “Rather, pupil A had been previously advised by her mother to write down any ‘transphobic’ comments by the claimant and endeavoured to do so on the day, and were contained in her mother’s email and subsequent ‘witness statement’.
“The comments therefore do not represent a full picture of what the claimant said, nor the nature of the discussion in which the comments were made.”
Mr Phillips also said that the panel’s decision was unfair because Ms Leger was alleged to have presented “her own personal beliefs as the truth” but was not offered a chance to respond to this.
He noted the only way to challenge the finding was through the courts, while the publication of the disciplinary outcome was “self-evidently a major blow to the teacher’s professional reputation and a significant sanction”.
Jack Anderson, for the DfE, told the court the claim should be dismissed.
He stated in written submissions that one of the students reported Ms Leger as “talking about how LGBTQ protests were brainwashing young people’s minds”.
Mr Anderson said: “The [panel] considered that those comments were inappropriate having regard to the duty on teachers and schools to provide a broad and balanced curriculum; the uniquely influential role teachers play in shaping views of the world and the risk of introducing bias; and not taking into account of other strands of Christian views or of those with no religious views.”
He also said that publication of the panel’s decision was prescribed by law and there was “no evidence” that Ms Leger had tried and failed to gain employment because of the decision.
Ms Leger also “actively participated” in media coverage about her sacking, which was published before the panel’s decision.
Mrs Justice Lang will hand down judgment in writing at a later date.
