A patron of Educate and Celebrate, the now defunct government-funded gender identity group allowed into thousands of schools across the UK, has been charged with multiple accounts of sex abuse against children.
Stephen Ireland, who is also the founder of gay pride in Surrey, is facing more than 30 charges, including rape of a child under 13, sexual assault, six counts of conspiracy to sexually assault a child, conspiracy to kidnap a child, voyeurism, making indecent photographs of children, arranging the commission of a child sex offence, and possession of an extreme pornographic image.
The development raises alarm over how Educate and Celebrate were, for example, given access to nursery age children across the country, while a Christian chaplain, Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, was reported to counter-terrorism, sacked and blacklisted as a safeguarding risk to children by the Church of England (CofE), after raising concern about the group.
The news of the charges against Mr Ireland also came after it was revealed that Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had been ‘plainly wrong’ to allow Dr Randall to be blacklisted as a safeguarding risk to children by the Bishop of Derby, the Rt. Rev Libby Lane.
Senior Lawyer, Gregory Jones KC, said that there was no evidence that Dr Randall was a safeguarding risk and that the case against him was ‘egregious’ and ‘flawed.’
In 2019, Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, gave a sermon on the Church of England’s (CofE) teaching on marriage and human sexuality in a CofE chapel in a school with a CofE ethos.
Dr Randall gave the sermon, which encouraged debate and critical thinking, after Educate and Celebrate had been allowed into Trent College in Derbyshire, to promote queer theory into the morale fabric of the school.
At a staff training day, the group’s leader, Elly Barnes, got staff to stand up and chant ‘smash heteronormativity.’
Dr Randall’s career has been torn apart since he gave the sermon, despite being vindicated by a string of secular agencies. Yet still the CofE refuse to give him his permission to officiate licence back.
In contrast, Educate and Celebrate have been plagued by scandal culminating with the group quietly folding in January following a low-key announcement by the Charity Commission.
£214,000 government grant
In 2015, E&C received a £214,000 grant from the Department of Education to implement their programme across the country.
In a promotional video, which was subsequently deleted when Dr Randall’s story appeared in the media, Elly Barnes outlined the approach of E&C in schools, saying:
“The whole concept of Educate and Celebrate is to treat everyone equally and fairly, and really the bottom line is to completely smash heteronormativity. That’s what we want to do, so that kids can grow up and be who they are. We are all more productive and so much happier when we can be ourselves. So we completely encourage intersectional ways of teaching, lots of pedagogies and usualising, so making LGBT+ people an everyday occurrence within the school. And that can come through simply teachers being ‘out’, it can come through the curriculum, it can come through what you are putting on the walls, and how you are engaging with your community, and that’s our goal.”
The media has since exposed that Miss Barnes advised teachers that it was permissible not to tell parents if a pupil declares themselves to be transgender, and also said that terms such as “boys”, “girls”, “son” and “mother” should be replaced with the gender-neutral words, such as “pupils”, “students”, “child” and “parent”.
For years, E&C has been featured on multiple primary school websites as an Ofsted-recognised “best practice” programme. However, in 2023, it was revealed that this was a lie. The school inspectorate ordered E&C to remove any reference to Ofsted from its website.
E&C was also forced to remove celebrity patron, transgender comic, Jordan Grey, for stripping naked on Channel Four and playing the piano with his genitalia. Grey had suggested that he went into schools to “talk about gender” on behalf of E&C, adding that “toddlers kind of get it straight away.”
Judge backed Educate and Celebrate
The news of E&C’s demise and the escalating scandal surrounding them is now also at odds with an employment tribunal ruling which upheld Dr Randall’s sacking last year.
Giving evidence at the hearing in Nottingham, Dr Randall said that: “We would not be sat here today if E&C had not been invited into the school.”
In her judgment, Employment Judge Victoria Butler, several times wrongly asserted that: “E&C is an Ofsted and DfE recognised best practice programme.” She added that E&C “is also approved by the Boarding Schools’ Association.”
Regarding Dr Randall’s concerns about E&C and his reaction to their involvement in the school, Judge Butler said Dr Randall had: “worked without complaint until the introduction of E&C. The School was keen to adopt a school-wide approach to addressing any homophobia and used an Ofsted approved and DfE recommended best practice programme to do so. We are satisfied that this was in accordance with its duties under the ISSR and its desire for inclusivity more generally.”
Judge Butler said in her judgment that she had found: “[Dr Randall] takes an extreme view of E&C which bears no resemblance to the reality of its purpose and implementation, which was aimed simply at creating an inclusive environment for all. We saw and heard no evidence that came anywhere close to supporting [Dr Randall’s] view that E&C would indoctrinate pupils in such a way.”
Dismissing any concerns about the phrase ‘smashing heteronormativity’ being brought into schools, Judge Butler described it as “an enthusiastic attempt by Ms Barnes to warm-up the teachers at the outset of the day.”
She described Dr Randall’s sermon as: “An act of retaliation against his misconceived view of E&C.”
Judge Butler, and a lay magistrate, Jed Purkis, who also sat on Dr Randall’s case, have since been forced to recuse themselves from a similar Christian freedoms case this year due to a ‘perception of bias’ after anti-Christian comments on social media were unearthed.
Dr. Randall is set to appeal the ruling made against him with a hearing scheduled for March 2025.
Vindicated
Responding to the news, Dr Randall said:
“I would not be where I am now if E&C had not been invited into Trent College, it is as simple as that. As an ordained CofE minister working as a chaplain in a school with a CofE ethos, it was my duty to encourage debate and help children who were confused by the LGBT+ teaching to know that there are alternative views and beliefs on these contentious issues.
“Mr Ireland has been charged with horrific crimes, and I am appalled, but sadly not surprised at his connection with a group like E&C. When I raised concerns as long ago as 2018, I knew that their Queer Theory ”smash heteronormativity” approach was harmful. Now this harm is becoming increasingly clear to the rest of the world.
“Queer Theory aims to “deconstruct [or smash] binaries” including the clear distinctions between adult and child, right and wrong. As such it leaves the door wide open for malignant persons to indulge some of the most wicked behaviour imaginable. It is, to say the least, wholly inappropriate in a school and in wider society.
“The injustice of how I have been treated because I opposed the introduction of this agenda in a school should now be obvious to all. I am only sorry it takes the disclosure of such heinous crimes to reveal the dangers of the “smash heteronormativity” agenda. It is time for the Church of England to recognise how badly they have got this wrong and give me my life back.
“It is also very concerning that a group like E&C has been funded by the government and given so much access and influence, for they are not the only ones who promote Queer Theory . I will keep pressing on for full justice.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said:
“With every new revelation, Bernard’s concerns about Educate and Celebrate are being vindicated.
“Throughout this long and sorry saga, Trent College, the Bishop of Derby, Rt. Rev Libby Lane and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, have backed the wrong side. They have bent over backwards to support Educate and Celebrate, unmoved by any scandal surrounding it and refused to support Dr Randall.
“They have upheld the teaching of an extreme LGBT+ group rather than the teaching of Jesus and have thrown Bernard under the bus.
“Educate and Celebrate were operating in plain sight in UK schools, backed by government funding and allowed to push a harmful and dangerous ideology.
“Instead of defending Bernard, who had simply upheld the Church’s own teaching, the church authorities have refused to clear his name. This must now change.”
