Teacher banned from working with children after telling Muslim pupil “Britain is a Christian state”

A primary school teacher in London has been banned from working with children after telling a Muslim pupil that “Britain is still a Christian state” during an incident that later escalated into a police investigation and a safeguarding referral.

The teacher – who has not been named – was suspended and dismissed after reprimanding pupils for washing their feet in the boys’ toilets, which was linked to their religious practice. What began as a classroom dispute later grew into a formal hate-crime inquiry, an emotional harm assessment, and a temporary prohibition from working with children.

🔷 🇬🇧 The Incident: Foot Washing, Faith, and a Heated Exchange

According to written complaints submitted by pupils, the situation unfolded when several boys used sinks in the toilets to wash their feet – a practice associated with Islamic prayer preparation.

The teacher reportedly told the pupils that the school was “not a religious institution” and suggested that the child could attend a nearby Islamic school if he wished to practice his faith more openly. He also reminded the class that King Charles is head of the Church of England and said that Islam was a minority religion in the UK.

Following the exchange, he taught a lesson on British values, including tolerance.

Legal representatives later noted that the school is a non-faith institution where informal restrictions already existed on prayer in the playground and foot-washing in standard facilities.

🔷 🚨 Police & Safeguarding Investigation

After the complaints were filed, the teacher was reported to the local safeguarding board. This triggered involvement from a senior detective in the Metropolitan Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Team.

Although police ultimately dropped the hate-crime investigation, the safeguarding panel – consisting of nine reviewers including social workers, a detective sergeant, the headteacher, and safeguarding officers – concluded that the teacher’s comments caused emotional harm to the child.

As a result, he was barred from working with children.

Three pupils submitted written statements describing the teacher’s tone as shouting and saying they felt “upset and frightened.”

🔷 ⚖️ Appeal & Partial Vindication

The teacher appealed the ban and succeeded. He is now understood to be working part-time at another school outside London.

The Free Speech Union, which is backing his legal case, argues the teacher was punished for stating “an incontestable fact” – that Anglicanism is the established religion of England.

Lord Young, director of the organisation, said:

“Things have reached a pretty pass in this country if a teacher can be branded a safeguarding risk because he says something that’s factually true.”

He also questioned whether the outcome would have been the same had the teacher incorrectly stated that Islam was England’s official religion.

The case now forms part of a broader dossier detailing more than a dozen instances where professionals were referred to safeguarding panels over views described as “right-wing.”