A former head of department at a Somerset secondary school has been banned indefinitely from teaching after a professional conduct panel found that she had seriously breached the boundaries expected of her role.
Natasha Blackmore, 36, formerly head of design technology at Westfield Academy in Yeovil, in Yeovil, was struck off by the Teaching Regulation Agency after admitting unacceptable professional conduct and behaviour liable to bring the profession into disrepute. The ruling followed disturbing findings that she had developed an inappropriate relationship with several pupils, sharing deeply personal details about her private life and social activities.
According to the panel’s report, Blackmore disclosed what were described as “significant inappropriate details” about her relationships, break-ups and nights out, including an occasion when she became drunk at a hen party and had been smoking and vaping. She also showed pupils text messages in which she referred to another individual in derogatory terms.
While no suggestion of criminal or sexual misconduct was made, the panel concluded that Blackmore had failed to maintain the professional distance essential in safeguarding children and preserving the integrity of the teaching profession.
Evidence presented during the hearing revealed that as many as five pupils would spend every break and lunchtime in her classroom, where conversations frequently moved beyond normal pastoral support. Pupils reportedly discussed their home lives, friendships, arguments and daily struggles, with one student saying the relationship had evolved into “some kind of weird relationship” in which they told each other “everything”.
Most strikingly, one pupil stated that Blackmore saw them “as friends, not students” — a remark that encapsulates the core concern at the heart of the case.
The panel also heard that Blackmore joined a pupil group chat on Instagram and later arranged to meet pupils during the school holidays at Yeovil Recreational Centre so they could meet her dog. This was found to be a direct breach of the school’s staff code of conduct and a serious failure in professional judgement.
Blackmore told the hearing that the pupils had been a major source of emotional support following the death of her dog, even stating that without them she did not believe she would have returned to work properly. It was this reliance on pupils for her own emotional wellbeing that the panel found especially troubling, concluding that she had failed to provide a safe and appropriate educational environment.
Teaching is built upon trust, authority and carefully maintained boundaries. While compassion and rapport are essential qualities in education, this case highlights the dangers that arise when those boundaries collapse and pupils are drawn into an adult’s personal life.
One parent defended Blackmore as “a really good teacher” and said they had never suspected anything underhand. Nevertheless, the Teaching Regulation Agency concluded that the conduct “fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession”.
Blackmore has been banned indefinitely, although she may apply for the order to be reviewed after two years.
