Ex-headteacher from Educating Greater Manchester Drew Povey speaks out after teaching ban
by Joseph Timan · Manchester Evening NewsThe former headteacher from Educating Greater Manchester has spoken out after he and his brother were banned from teaching.
Drew Povey, who featured in the TV series as the headteacher of Harrop Fold in Salford, said he is 'deeply disappointed' by the decision to ban him from teaching for at least two years. It comes after the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found him and his brother Ross, who was his deputy, guilty of 'unacceptable professional conduct', prohibiting them from teaching indefinitely.
The pair were accused of removing three pupils from the school register in a practice called 'off-rolling'. After a hearing last month, a panel found the removal of these pupils was likely to have a positive effect on the school's performance data, including GCSE results.
After his resignation, parents at the school - now called The Lowry Academy - vowed to fight for Drew to be reinstated. At the time, the former head admitted to 'administrative errors' involving a few students, but claimed he was the victim of a 'personal vendetta'.
The TRA has now found all the allegations put to him, including that he failed to ensure accurate records were maintained and, in doing so, failed to protect pupils from the risk of potential harm, to be 'proven'. A panel also concluded his actions were 'deliberate'.
Responding to the ruling by the TRA, Mr Povey said: “I am deeply saddened by this decision and the TRA panel’s conclusion.
“As I’ve said countless times, where administrative mistakes were made on my watch, I take full responsibility. But I will never accept that I was involved in any deliberate plan to off-roll or to change attendance data.
“My whole career in education was about supporting kids from tough backgrounds and helping them develop their self-belief and resilience – it was never about results or how data looked. Nor should it ever be and school leaders have a moral responsibility to guard against being drawn down that path.
“Every leader, every teacher, every single person who works in schools has a duty of care to every child, with all their brilliance and all their complexities – and whilst this has been a painful and drawn out process for me personally - they are the only ones who matter in all of this.”
Ross Povey, who was the assistant headteacher at the school, was not found to have caused, permitted or failed to prevent the amendment of pupil attendance data. However, the panel found that all of the other allegations made against him were 'proven'.
'Numerous' character references and testimonials, describing Drew as 'kind', a 'breath of fresh air' and an 'exceptional charismatic leader', were considered by the panel. However, at a joint hearing in October, Andrew Faux, the barrister representing the former headteacher accepted that he was a 'poor school manager' with the panel finding he had 'very limited knowledge' of requirements.
Both Drew and Ross Povey have been prohibited from teaching indefinitely which means they cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England. They can apply for the prohibition order to be lifted in two years' time.
Mr Faux said that Mr Povey is now considering appealing the decision at the high court. He 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."