Teacher dismissed for refusing to use pupil’s pronouns

A teacher has allegedly been sacked from her position for refusing to use ‘He/Him’ pronouns for a pupil (aged 8) who wanted to socially transition. Social transitioning refers to the non-medical aspects such as coming out, changing your name, using different pronouns, changing clothing and hairstyles etc., and can help reduce gender dysphoria, particularly for children and teenagers.  

The Christian teacher, who is referred to as ‘A’ was dismissed for gross misconduct after raising her ‘concerns’ regarding affirming the child’s gender, and breaching confidentially. She is now bringing a case against Nottinghamshire County Council – which runs the school – with the support of an advocacy group called Christian Concern. ‘A’ claims that she was victimised for whistleblowing, unfairly dismissed and discriminated against because of her beliefs, and the tribunal is expected to last until at least 14th March.

In her witness statement, the teacher reports that she was told by the school that a child would be joining her class in 2021. The pupil, referred to as Child X, was to be referred to by a ‘male’ name and pronouns as requested by his parents, and staff were providing with trans-affirming literature from the charity Stonewall.

Teacher ‘A’ reportedly spent the summer holiday ‘researching’, including watching YouTube videos of detransitioners; those who regret the decision to transition. According to a survey conducted in the UK of 3,398 attendees of a gender identity clinic only about 0.47% experienced transition-related regret. Comparatively, studies show that up to 20% of people regret their knee replacement surgery, up to 21% of people regret their corrective spinal surgery, and the regret rate average across surgeries is about 14%. It is also important to note that social transitioning is non-medical and completely reversible.

After teacher ‘A’ told her headteacher, that she refused to “go along with it”, Child X was moved to a different class, and ‘A’ was suspended while a disciplinary investigation was carried out. She was reinstated the next month after agreeing she would not breach confidentiality about the child's name or gender assigned at birth by telling anyone else about the issue. Her concerns however, were lodged again in a safeguarding letter to the school's governing body.

After pursuing legal action, ‘A’ said the school raised concerns that she had broken confidentiality by sharing information with a third party and she was suspended, before she was later dismissed and reported to the Teaching Regulation Agency, the Disclosure and Barring Service and the Information Commissioner's Office.

The tribunal was told that the teacher in question had accessed information about Child X on CPOMS, an online system used by schools to log and monitor child protection and other pupil welfare issues.

Acting on behalf of the county council, barrister Ed Beever said ‘A’ had "gone behind the back" of the school's designated safeguarding lead in doing so.

The tribunal continues.