Hero headteacher and Educating Manchester's Drew and Ross Povey banned from teaching

Drew Povey, the former headteacher at Harrop Fold in Salford, was a star of the hit Channel 4 series Educating Greater Manchester, but has now been banned from teaching

An Educating Greater Manchester star has been struck off from teaching.

Drew Povey, the former headteacher of Harrop Fold in Salford, along with his brother Ross, who was the assistant head, have been indefinitely banned from teaching. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) accused the brothers of 'unacceptable professional conduct' after allegations surfaced that pupils were being removed from the school register in a practice known as 'off-rolling'.

A panel found that this removal of students likely improved the school's performance data, including GCSE results. Despite denying all allegations, Mr Povey, who resigned in 2018 following his suspension, has now had all charges against him proven by the TRA. This includes failing to maintain accurate records and thereby potentially putting pupils at risk. His actions were deemed 'deliberate'.

Ross Povey was accused of failing to maintain and/or that staff maintained accurate records in respect of pupil attendance on one or more occasions, in that he: A- caused and/or permitted and/or failed to prevent the ‘off rolling’ of one or more pupils, B - caused and/or permitted and/or failed to prevent the amendment of one or more sets of pupil attendance data on SIMS to represent that one or more pupils attended School when he knew or ought to have known that in fact they had not and C – failed to ensure that one or more pupils were recorded as having been sent home before the end of the School day.

After Drew's resignation, parents at the now renamed Lowry Academy pledged to fight for Drew's reinstatement. At the time, the ex-head admitted to 'administrative errors' involving a few students but claimed he was the victim of a 'personal vendetta'.

The former assistant headteacher's brother was cleared of the charge of amending pupil attendance data, but every other serious allegation against him was upheld. Two TRA prohibition order reports concerning Drew and Ross Povey unequivocally stated: "The panel was satisfied that the conduct of [Mr Povey] amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. Accordingly, the panel was satisfied that [Mr Povey] was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct," reports the Manchester Evening News.

Despite numerous character references praising Drew as 'kind', a 'breath of fresh air', and an 'exceptional charismatic leader', it emerged at an October hearing that his counsel conceded Drew was a 'poor school manager' with 'very limited knowledge' of necessary administrative rigour, raising concerns about a potential repeat of his actions.

The panel concluded that both brothers' actions had undermined the integrity of their profession. The pair have been indefinitely banned from teaching, meaning they're not allowed to work in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England. They can apply to have this ban lifted, but not until October 30, 2026.

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