Teacher Takes Legal Action After Being Sacked For Raising Safeguarding Alarm About 8-year-old’s’ Gender Transition’

A Christian primary schoolteacher has lost her job and is facing a raft of investigations from various regulatory bodies for questioning the advice from Stonewall and Mermaids to encourage a ‘gender transition’ of an 8-year-old pupil without any medical evidence.

The child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons and is known only as ‘Child X’, believed she was born in a wrong body and wanted to be treated as a boy.

Based on the advice from trans rights organisations, the council instructed all school staff always to refer to the child by male pronouns and name and that she should use boys’ toilets, dressing rooms and dormitories as requested.

Supported by Christian Legal Centre, the teacher known as ‘Hannah’ (not her real name) invoked the School’s and the Council’s whistleblowing procedure to argue that this approach was not based on medical evidence or compliance with the safeguarding procedures and was putting the child’s health and welfare at risk.

Hannah relied on several expert reports from scientists and doctors highlighting the dangers of encouraging ‘gender transition’ in young children.

After her concern was brushed aside, Hannah brought a claim for judicial review against the School and the Council.

Pursuant to an order made by the Court, the local council, the school and all its staff must remain anonymous to ensure this does not lead to a jigsaw identification of the child.

In response to Hannah’s legal action, the school summarily dismissed Hannah for divulging confidential information to her lawyers and to the Court.

The school reported Hannah to the Information Commissioner for a criminal offence under the Data Protection Act. The Information Commissioner has concluded there was no evidence of a criminal offence and decided to take no further action.

The school also reported Hannah to the professional regulator, Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), for an alleged confidentiality breach. The TRA is currently investigating the case. If found guilty of professional misconduct, Hannah may face a lifelong ban from the profession.

Reporting Hannah to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), the school sought to bar her from teaching. The DBS, however, has declined to impose a ban pending further enquiries following an investigation. 

After a life-long career as a professional teacher, Hannah has been forced to find a job in a sandwich bar.

Legal claim

She has now brought a claim in Employment Tribunal against the school for victimising her for whistleblowing, unfair dismissal, and religious discrimination.

She has alleged that the school dismissed her, and reported her to a raft of regulators, for blowing the whistle on the school’s practice which endangered the child’s safety, health and welfare.

The Employment Tribunal is expected to hear the claim in August 2024.

Hannah has also written to Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, requesting a meeting to discuss her case. 

Written by: Marcia Dixon