Educating Manchester star headteacher once called a 'breath of fresh air' struck off following Ofsted investigation

7 November 2024, 09:06

A respected teacher once described as a 'breath of fresh air' in hit television series Educating Greater Manchester has been struck off after being exposed for manipulating results.

Drew Povey, 47, was found to have manipulated GCSE results in a bid to boost his school's ranking using a method known as 'off-rolling', an Ofsted investigation has found.

The former executive head of Harrop Fold School, Worsley, now The Lowry Academy, resigned in 2018 following his suspension after concerns were raised over the accuracy of results.

The controversial method known as 'off-rolling' involved marking three students as having attended school when they were in fact absent, prior to the January 2018 census.

The move came in a bid to boost his school's performance data.

Phil Ince, a senior staff member at the school, explained to the panel that Mr Povey made teachers use walkie-talkies to communicate order that "kids be sent home".

Despite continuing to deny the allegations, the accusations against the head have now been proven by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

It's an investigation that has now led to Mr Povey being banned from the profession for life.

Povey's deputy, his elder brother Ross, was also found guilty of the same allegations and subsequently banned from teaching indefinitely.

The allegations against the teacher involve his failure to maintain accurate records and therefore potentially putting pupils at risk.

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Off-rolling sometimes sees pupils - who may be from a disadvantaged background or struggling academically - removed from the school register.

The move benefits the school rather than the student, ultimately putting the child at risk.

The TRA accused him of "unacceptable professional conduct".

It was said that towards the end of his tenure, the school became "a zoo".

Andrew Faux, the barrister representing Povey, said that occasionally, when a pupil was "having a meltdown, in mental distress, parents would be called and with their agreement the child would go home before the end of the school day'.

Following the ban, Mr Povey can now apply to have it lifted, but not until October 30, 2026.

The teacher's actions were deemed "deliberate" by the panel, with Mr Povey being found to have "caused or failed to stop data being amended to record that two of the pupils had attended when they hadn't."

Mr Faux said: “The panel’s decision was very disappointing and relied to a troubling extent on hearsay evidence. We are considering carefully the right of appeal to the High Court.”