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”.
