Maths teacher accused of misgendering pupil on religious grounds

A maths teacher “failed to separate the teacher from the preacher” when he allegedly misgendered a transgender pupil repeatedly and inappropriately shared his religious beliefs in the classroom, a misconduct panel heard.

Joshua Sutcliffe, 32, was accused by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) of “conduct that negatively affected pupils” on multiple occasions during his time at schools in Oxford and London. He denies the charges of professional misconduct.

In 2017, Sutcliffe took legal action against the Cherwell school in Oxford after he was disciplined and eventually dismissed for allegedly failing to use a pupil’s preferred pronoun on multiple occasions due to his religious conviction.

He went on to give an interview on television breakfast show This Morning about the issue, which “made it likely” the pupil, referred to only as Pupil A, would be identified, said Andrew Cullen, for the TRA.

At a teacher misconduct hearing in Coventry on Monday, Cullen said Sutcliffe “prioritised his own interests above that of Pupil A”.

Sutcliffe, who regularly preaches on the street and says he has given out more than 2,000 Bibles to members of the public, denies all the charges of professional misconduct, and is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.

Michael Phillips, representing Sutcliffe, said the teacher was entitled to freedom of speech, and to not be compelled to say something he did not agree with.

He added: “There is no evidence it was in Pupil A’s best interest to have preferred pronouns used. It was their wish but it doesn’t follow there was ethical justification for this.”

He added there was no evidence Sutcliffe had denied Pupil A their education or harassed them, and that he disputed some of the allegations. Sutcliffe claimed he misgendered the pupil in their presence on only one occasion, and apologised.

The hearing heard Sutcliffe was also alleged to have shared his views that same-sex marriage was wrong during a maths lesson, although he claimed it was during a Bible group he had set up at the school.

He also allegedly showed pupils a video about masculinity, which stated: “Passive men don’t protect, defend or provide.”

In November 2019, Sutcliffe was dismissed from another school, St Aloysius’ in north London, over a video uploaded to his YouTube channel in which he stated Muslims had a “false understanding of God” and that “the fruit of Islam is not peace, it’s division”.

The hearing heard a number of Sutcliffe’s students followed and interacted with the channel, and Sutcliffe had told students to “look out for the next video”.

Phillips said: “Pupils would often ask Sutcliffe questions [about his views] and maybe go as far as to goad him.”

Maya Forstater, who last year won a legal claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs, gave evidence in support of Sutcliffe.

She argued schools should avoid implementing trans-affirming policies for students who identify as the opposite sex.

Giving evidence at the hearing, Forstater said: “If a child socially transitions in school, if they are accepted and treated as really the opposite sex, then that creates demand for that child to then have medical treatment.

“Schools with the best intentions can lock children into a pathway that is going to lead them doing harm to their bodies which can’t be undone.”

She also argued compelling students and teachers to use preferred pronouns for transgender pupils was asking them to “take part in a belief system” they might not agree with.

The misconduct hearing continues.