A Christian primary school teacher will go against Nottinghamshire County council at an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.
The teacher was sacked for refusing to use the preferred pronouns of an 8-year-old child, who had transitioned from a girl into a boy over two years from the age of 6. The teacher remains anonymous to protect the identity of the child.
The school, who had supported the transition of the child, had, according to the teacher, told staff that they must all use the male pronouns ‘he/him’ when addressing the child.
Through the school's whistleblowing procedure, the teacher raised concern over the well-being of the child, addressing the potential harm such a procedure could lead to. This included fears of the child being able to use male toilets while transitioning.
Her worry was belittled, with the school deciding that the best course of action to take to avoid harm to the child would be to reduce the contact between the child and the teacher by moving them to a different class.
Being Christian, the teacher was issued a warning by the school, an employment tribunal heard, for her “personal beliefs could be a direct breach of GDPR and an act of direct discrimination”.
Following this warning she was suspended, before being reinstated with the agreement that she would do everything in her power to avoid contact with the child, and when in contact with the child, avoid using names or specific gender pronouns.
Still concerned for the welfare of the child however, the teacher took to scientific explanations to speak about her worries for them, citing health risks as another major area of concern.
She claimed that she was sacked for ‘gross misconduct’ after divulging information about the child to a lawyer in preparation for a judicial review claim against the school and Nottinghamshire council.
The teacher may also face a permanent lifelong ban from teaching as she also claimed that the school reported her to the Teacher Regulation Agency for a ‘confidentiality breach’ through sharing information of the child to a lawyer.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the teacher made the following statement: “Teachers are being bullied not to question trans-affirming policies when evidence shows that the actual result of the approach is to put the welfare of children at serious risk.”
This is not the first incident of a teacher being suspended or dismissed around issues of gender pronouns, but the Department for Education has remained stubborn in its stance to refrain from “commenting on individual cases”, but did claim that they are “working with the Minister for Women and Equalities to provide guidance”, which would be “based on the principle of well-being and safeguarding of children”
The hearing is reportedly set to occur in August 2023.
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