Mr Angus Blackmore

The Secretary of State does not make these decisions themselves. They are made by a senior official on the recommendation of an independent panel.

Teacher's name: Mr Angus Blackmore

Teacher reference number: 622273

Teacher's date of birth: 13 November 1963

Location teacher worked: Buckinghamshire, South West England

Date of professional conduct panel: 07 January 2025

Outcome type: Prohibition order

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with The Teacher's’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012, a professional conduct panel was convened to consider the case of Mr Angus Blackmore, formerly employed in Buckinghamshire, South West England.

Teacher misconduct

Ground Floor, South

Cheylesmore House

5 Quinton RoadCoventryCV1 2WT

Email TRA.Casework@education.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7593 5393

Information about regulating the teaching profession and the process for dealing with serious teacher misconduct.

Mr Angus Blackmore: Professional conduct panel meeting outcome Panel decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education January 2025 2 Contents Introduction 3 Allegations 3 Preliminary applications 4 Summary of evidence 4 Documents 4 Statement of agreed facts 5 Decision and reasons 5 Findings of fact 5 Panel’s recommendation to the Secretary of State 8 Decision and reasons on behalf of the Secretary of State 12 3 Professional conduct panel decision and recommendations, and decision on behalf of the Secretary of State Teacher: Mr Angus Blackmore Teacher ref number: 0622273 Teacher date of birth: 13 November 1963 TRA reference: 17320 Date of determination: 7 January 2025 Former employer: Beechview Academy, High Wycombe Introduction A professional conduct panel (‘the panel’) of the Teaching Regulation Agency (‘the TRA’) convened on 7 January 2025 by way of a virtual meeting, to consider the case of Mr Angus Blackmore (17320). The panel members were Mr Paul Millett (lay panellist), Ms Jane Gotschel (teacher panellist – in the chair) and Ms Sarah Daniel (lay panellist). The legal adviser to the panel was Ms Rebecca Utton of Birketts LLP solicitors. In advance of the meeting, after taking into consideration the public interest and the interests of justice, the TRA agreed to a request from Mr Blackmore that the allegations be considered without a hearing. Mr Blackmore provided a signed statement of agreed facts and admitted conviction of a relevant offence. The panel considered the case at a meeting without the attendance of the presenting officer, Mr Callum Heywood of Browne Jacobson, Mr Blackmore or any representative for Mr Blackmore. The meeting took place in private by way of a virtual meeting. Allegations The panel considered the allegations set out in the notice of meeting dated 21 October 2024. It was alleged that Mr Blackmore was guilty of having been convicted of a relevant offence, in that he was convicted at Aylesbury Crown Court, on 31 July 2023 of one or more counts of: 4 1. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 2. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 3. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 4. Sexual assault of female child under 13 on 14 June 2018 5. Engage in sexual communication with a child on 14 June 2018 Mr Blackmore admitted the facts of allegations 1 to 5 and that his behaviour amounted to a conviction of a relevant offence, as set out in the statement of agreed facts signed by Mr Blackmore on 1 September 2024. Preliminary applications Whilst there were no preliminary applications, ahead of the meeting, the panel had been provided with further documentation namely: a full certificate of conviction as the one provided in the bundle was incomplete; a signed letter from Mr Blackmore confirming receipt of Notice of Meeting and agreeing to waive the relevant notice period; and an email from HMP Leyhill, dated 2 January 2025, enclosing the signed letters from Mr Blackmore. The documents subject to the application had not been served in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 4.20 of the 2018 Procedures. Therefore, the panel was required to decide whether the documents should be admitted under paragraph 4.25 of the 2018 Procedures. The panel considered the additional documents were relevant as they would assist the panel in determining the issues at the meeting. Accordingly, the documents were added to the bundle. The panel also determined it was in the interests of justice to proceed, notwithstanding the shorter than required period of notice for the meeting. Summary of evidence Documents In advance of the meeting, the panel received a bundle of documents which included: • Section 1: Notice of referral and response – pages 4 to 21 5 • Section 2: Statement of agreed facts and presenting officer submissions – pages 23 to 28 • Section 3: TRA documents – pages 30 to 70 • Section 4: Teacher documents – pages 73 to 74 In addition, the panel agreed to accept the following: a full certificate of conviction; a signed letter from Mr Blackmore confirming receipt of Notice of Meeting and agreeing to waive the relevant notice period; and an email from HMP Leyhill, dated 2 January 2025, enclosing the signed letters from Mr Blackmore, at pages 75 to 93 of the bundle. The panel members confirmed that they had read all of the documents within the bundle, in advance of the meeting and the additional documents admitted by the panel. Statement of agreed facts The panel considered a statement of agreed facts which was signed by Mr Blackmore on 1 September 2024, and subsequently signed by the presenting officer on 18 September 2024. Decision and reasons The panel carefully considered the case and reached the following decision and reasons: In advance of the meeting, the TRA agreed to a request from Mr Blackmore for the allegations to be considered without a hearing. The panel had the ability to direct that the case be considered at a hearing if required in the interests of justice or in the public interest. The panel determined that such a direction was not necessary or appropriate in this case. Mr Blackmore was employed as a headteacher at Beechview School from April 2016 to June 2019. Prior to that he was deputy head teacher at Hamilton Academy (together ‘the Schools’). Mr Blackmore was charged with the offences as set out above in June 2020, and was convicted of the offences in Aylesbury Crown Court on the 31 July 2023. Mr Blackmore was sentenced in respect of the offences on the 8 September 2023. Findings of fact The findings of fact are as follows: 6 The panel found the following particulars of the allegations against you proved, for these reasons: 1. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 2. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 3. Sexual assault of female child under 13 between 01 September 2015 – 18 July 2017 4. Sexual assault of female child under 13 on 14 June 2018 5. Engage in sexual communication with a child on 14 June 2018 The panel considered the statement of agreed facts, signed by Mr Blackmore on the 1 September 2024. In that statement of agreed facts, Mr Blackmore admitted allegations 1 to 5 and further admitted that the facts of the allegations amounted to conviction of a relevant offence. Notwithstanding this, the panel made a determination based on the facts available to it. The panel noted page 8 of the Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers (‘the Advice’) which states that where there has been a conviction at any time, of a criminal offence, the panel will accept the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof of both the conviction and the facts necessarily implied by the conviction, unless exceptional circumstances apply. The panel did not find that any exceptional circumstances applied in this case. The panel had been provided with a copy of the certificate of conviction from Aylesbury Crown Court, dated 30 October 2024, which detailed that Mr Blackmore had been convicted on 31 July 2023 of 4 counts of assault on a girl under 13 by touching and 1 count of engaging in sexual communication with a child. In respect of the convictions, Mr Blackmore was sentenced to a total period of imprisonment of 54 months. In addition, he was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period, made subject to notification requirements for the rest of his life and ordered to pay a victim surcharge in the sum of £120. On examination of the documents before the panel and the admissions in the signed statement of agreed facts, the panel was satisfied that the facts of allegations were proven. 7 Findings as to conviction of a relevant offence Having found the allegation proved, the panel went on to consider whether the facts of those proved allegations amounted to conviction of a relevant offence. In doing so, the panel had regard to the document Teacher Misconduct: The Prohibition of Teachers, which is referred to as ‘the Advice’. The panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Blackmore in relation to the facts it found proved involved breaches of the Teachers’ Standards. The panel considered that by reference to Part 2, Mr Blackmore was in breach of the following standards: • Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by o Treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position o having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions o showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others • Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach. • Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities. The panel noted that the Mr Blackmore’s actions were relevant to teaching, working with children and/or working in an education setting, as he had regularly and repeatedly sexually assaulted two vulnerable pupils at the Schools in which he had taught and/or been a deputy headteacher and then a headteacher. The panel noted that the behaviour involved in committing the offence could have had an impact on the safety or security of pupils and/or members of the public. The panel also took account of the way the teaching profession is viewed by others. The panel considered that Mr Blackmore’s behaviour in committing th