Mr Mark Blackie

Introduction

Mark Blackie is a former teacher at Graham School in Scarborough who is now banned from teaching for life. On 31 January 2022 he was convicted at York Crown Court of ten counts of sexual offences, including seven counts of sexual assault on a female, and on 9 February 2022 he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment with a ten-year sexual harm prevention order. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the convictions proved as a relevant offence, and on 15 March 2024 Sarah Buxcey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Background Information

Blackie was employed at Graham School in Scarborough, which was his former employer at the time of the TRA proceedings. On 13 April 2021 the TRA received a referral from North Yorkshire Police in relation to him. Nearly a year later, on 31 January 2022, he was convicted at York Crown Court of ten counts of sexual offences, and on 9 February 2022 he was sentenced there to ten years’ imprisonment, a sexual harm prevention order for a period of ten years, and a victim surcharge of £170.

The regulatory machinery moved slowly around the criminal case: on 8 June 2023 a decision maker considered the allegation that Blackie had been convicted of a relevant offence and referred the case to a professional conduct panel, a notice of referral was sent to him on 21 June 2023, and the TRA’s case was disclosed to him on 15 November 2023. In his written responses to the notices, signed in August and December 2023, he denied the allegations.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations and findings. The findings in this section are those of a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel, which reported proving them on the balance of probabilities. The conviction is a court-record fact: on 31 January 2022 York Crown Court convicted Mr Blackie of seven counts of sexual assault on a female; one count of sexual assault on a female aged 13 or over by penetration with part of body or a thing; one count of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, offender aged 18 or over, by penetration; and one count of attempted rape of a girl aged 13, 14 or 15. Mr Blackie denied the allegations, did not attend the hearing and was not represented.

The panel treated the certificate of conviction from York Crown Court as conclusive proof of the convictions and the facts necessarily implied by them, finding no exceptional circumstances that would displace that rule. It found allegations 1(a) to 1(d) — the full schedule of ten counts — proven. The panel noted Blackie’s written representations stating that he was appealing his convictions, but had no evidence relating to the appeal before it.

Having found the allegations proved, the panel held that the facts amounted to a conviction of a relevant offence and that his conduct involved breaches of the Teachers’ Standards. It described this as a case concerning offences involving sexual activity or sexual communication with a child and controlling and coercive behaviour, noted that the behaviour led to imprisonment, and found that some of the victims were children. The panel also noted the sentencing remarks and considered that the offending involved the coercion of another person to act in a way contrary to their own interests, which increased its seriousness.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found an extremely strong public interest in the protection of pupils and other members of the public, saying Blackie’s actions raised obvious and significant public and child protection concerns clearly recognised by the court when imposing sentence. It found his actions were deliberate, that no mitigating circumstances applied, that he had shown very limited insight and no remorse, and that there was no evidence of exceptionally high standards of conduct or significant contribution to education. His own written representations stated: “I would like to be struck off from the profession. I have no desire to ever return to such an unsafe career for the rest of my natural life. I will never teach again.” The panel nonetheless recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period.

Current Status

On 15 March 2024 Sarah Buxcey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, made a prohibition order taking effect from the date it was served on Blackie, following the panel’s determination of 7 March 2024. He endorsed the panel’s view that the very serious nature of the offences involving children and the lack of full insight and remorse meant no review period could maintain public confidence. Blackie is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England; in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved, the decision maker also decided he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. He had a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Blackie’s teaching career is over without any route back: the prohibition is indefinite, carries no review period, and closes even the application for restoration that most prohibited teachers can at least attempt. The criminal consequences stand alongside the regulatory ban — a ten-year prison sentence, a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and a victim surcharge — and his stated intention never to teach again did not alter the outcome, since the order exists to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession rather than to reflect the teacher’s preferences. The published material records his appeal against the convictions as pending at the time of the TRA decision, with no evidence of its outcome before the panel.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Mark Blackie” — source