A Christian teacher facing allegations ranging from ‘misgendering’ a pupil and calling Muhammad a ‘false prophet’ could lose his career.
In January, 32-year-old Joshua Sutcliffe, appeared before a teachers’ disciplinary panel and denied the charges. Sutcliffe, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was dismissed in 2017 from Cherwell school after refusing to use a pupil’s preferred pronoun in breach of its equality policy – despite having an exemplary teaching record.
Sutcliffe said he avoided using gender specific pronouns to accommodate the pupil’s needs and his own Bible-based beliefs that humans are born male or female. He denied misgendering anyone and his subsequent action for constructive dismissal and discrimination was settled out of court.
