A Christian teacher, Joshua Sutcliffe, has been banned from teaching after being suspended from a school for referring to a transgender boy as a girl.

The Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) determined that Sutcliffe failed to treat the student with dignity and respect by using the wrong pronouns.

Sutcliffe admitted to not using the student’s preferred pronouns when praising a group of students during a math lesson. In 2017, he was suspended and later left the school.

He claimed that his use of “well done girls” was unintentional and apologized immediately. Sutcliffe took legal action against the school for constructive dismissal and discrimination.

The TRA found it likely that Sutcliffe consistently used female pronouns when addressing the transgender student during his time at the school.

Sutcliffe denies this claim and is devastated by the ruling, planning to appeal the decision. The TRA also highlighted Sutcliffe’s expression of views against gay marriage when questioned by a student.

Moreover, he was found to have failed to consider the potential impact on his LGBT pupils of stating that being gay was wrong.

In 2018, Sutcliffe began teaching at St Aloysius’ College in London, where a complaint against him for showing students a video containing inappropriate comments was upheld.

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Complaints regarding his comments on masculinity were also upheld. Sutcliffe expressed his devastation at the ban, stating that he refuses to affirm children in gender confusion, believing it to be psychologically harmful.

The TRA ruling deemed Sutcliffe’s conduct significantly below the expected standard for a teacher.

The decision to ban him from teaching was made by the TRA’s decision maker, Alan Meyrick, on behalf of the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, due to concerns about public confidence in the profession.

This landmark ruling coincides with the pending release of detailed government guidance on how schools should address transgender pupils. It is expected to state that teachers can refuse to use pronouns demanded by students.

Sutcliffe’s appearance on TV, where he referred to the pupil with the wrong pronoun, was criticized for not safeguarding the pupil’s well-being. The ban prohibits Sutcliffe from working in teaching indefinitely, but he can apply to have the ban lifted from 2025.