Andrea Williams

A Christian teacher has been dismissed from her job after discussing her faith with a mother and her sick child and offering to pray for them.

Olive Jones, a 54-year-old mother of two from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, taught maths to children who were too ill to attend school. She spoke to a female pupil about her belief in miracles and asked whether she could say a prayer.

Mrs Jones, who has more than 20 years' experience in teaching, said the girl was too poorly for a maths lesson, so she decided to speak to her, but when the girl's mother said they were not believers she did not go ahead.

During one of the visits the girl stayed in Mrs Jones' bedroom because she did not feel well enough for lessons, so Mrs Jones spoke to her mother and raised the subject of her faith, saying she believed God had saved her life.

Mrs Jones said when she was a teenager she had been driving a tractor on the family farm near Carmarthen in Wales when it slid down a slope but came to a halt just before tipping over. She said:

'I shut my eyes and thought I was going to die. Then there was a sound of a rushing wind, like that described in the Bible, and then total stillness.

'I was convinced it was a miracle. I shared my testimony to encourage the mother to believe that there is a God who answers prayer. I believe I have a personal relationship with God, who is a constant source of strength,' she added.

Unbeknown to the teacher, the pupil's mother made a complaint. The authorities did not inform Mrs Jones of any criticism.

Afterwards, when the teacher had another lesson with the pupil she once again referred to the incident involving the tractor and spoke about her belief in God.

'I told them there were people praying for them, and I asked the child if I could pray for her,' Mrs Jones said.

'She looked at her mother, who said, "We come from a family who do not believe", so I did not pray.

'I asked the mother if she wanted me to cancel the next lesson as her daughter had not been feeling up to maths, but she said no.'

Mrs Jones left the lesson on good terms with the girl's mother, but within a few hours she was asked by the head of the Oak Hill Short Stay School and Tuition Service in Nailsea, North Somerset, to go to her office. The head of the service told Mrs Jones that sharing her faith with a child could be considered as bullying. Shortly after the conversation at the office she was dismissed from the job.

Mrs Jones, who attends her local Church of England church, said she was 'devastated' by the decision to sack her and added that it was 'completely disproportionate'.