A Christian teacher has been blacklisted from the profession for “misgendering” a pupil in a landmark case thought to be the first of its kind in Britain. Former maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe was found by the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) to have failed to have treated a pupil with “dignity and respect”.
The 33-year-old was also found to have failed to protect the pupil’s wellbeing by not using the child’s preferred pronouns.
The teacher admitted that he had said “well done girls” to one of his classes, and therefore did not acknowledge that one of the children identified as a boy.
Mr Sutcliffe, who taught at The Cherwell School in Oxford, said this was unintentional and apologised immediately.
Mr Sutcliffe did not accept the findings of the TRA that it was “more probable than not” that he had publicly referred to the transgender pupil using female pronouns while working at the state school between 2015 and 2018.
Besides the allegations that Mr Sutcliffe misgendered a pupil, he was also found guilty of misconduct for expressing views opposing gay marriage.
A pupil was said to have asked the teacher about his views and Mr Sutcliffe’s answer was said to have failed to “consider the potential impact” on children who may be from the LGBT+ community.
In a separate complaint, the teacher was taken to task for “inappropriate comments” in which he said in a video that a growing issue in modern culture is that men were not masculine enough. The complaint was upheld.
The TRA found Mr Sutcliffe guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, stating: “The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Sutcliffe fell significantly short of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher”.
TRA decision-maker Alan Meyrick, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, said: “In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.”
Mr Meyrick’s statement added: “A published decision, in light of the circumstances in this case, that is not backed up by full remorse or insight, does not in my view satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.”
Mr Sutcliffe was subject to a disciplinary hearing at The Cherwell School in 2017, after a parent of a transgender pupil complained when he appeared on This Morning to discuss the issue of transgenderism.
Following his appearance he was suspended and then dismissed.
Mr Sutcliffe said on Monday that he was “devastated” by the ruling. He plans to appeal and is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
He said: “I believe affirming children in gender confusion in the classroom is psychologically damaging for them. I refuse to go against my conscience and cause a child harm and refuse to apologise for that.”
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We do not comment on specific cases or individuals.
“More broadly, the Education Secretary is working closely with the minister for women and equalities to support schools in relation to children who are questioning their gender, following calls from schools, teachers, and parents.
“This guidance will clarify schools’ legal position and the importance of involving parents when making any decisions relating to their child.”
