Headteacher and Educating Greater Manchester star Drew Povey & brother banned from teaching for 'off-rolling'

Drew Povey was banned after a panel ruled he failed to prevent off-rolling and allowed irregular attendance record-keeping practices at Harrop Fold School, now known as The Lowry Academy. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) concluded that Povey’s actions “constituted conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.”

The misconduct panel found that Povey allowed pupil data to be amended to reflect attendance records inaccurately, failing to safeguard students from “risk of potential harm.” His suspension and subsequent resignation in July 2018 followed findings that he altered data to show students were present when they had not attended and did not properly record students leaving school early.

Judge Joanne Dunlop’s panel found Povey culpable for off-rolling, a controversial practice of removing students from school rosters. Emails reviewed during the investigation revealed staff discussions about “removing some of our worst performing year 11s so that they don’t count on results,” ahead of the January 2018 school census. While the panel noted that Povey did not directly order the off-rolling, he acknowledged in a statement that he failed to prevent it.

The TRA panel also found Povey guilty of “causing the amendment of pupil attendance data,” determining that around 600 attendance entries were modified to appear as authorised absences just days before the census deadline in May 2018. Testimony revealed that staff were pressured to make attendance figures “look better,” with Povey reportedly pushing for an increase from 92% to 94%.

Additional findings revealed that Povey did not properly record students sent home during the school day. Although Harrop Fold School had a “no exclusions” policy, Povey admitted that students were occasionally sent home to “get themselves in a good place to return.” Government guidelines prohibit “informal” or “unofficial” exclusions, which are considered unlawful, even if parents or carers agree.

In issuing the teaching ban, the panel ruled that his actions “lacked integrity and/or were dishonest,” undermining public trust in the profession. The TRA found that Povey had a “limited knowledge of relevant statutory guidance and requirements” and had shown minimal evidence of efforts to improve in these areas, raising concerns that the behavior could be repeated.

Marc Carvey, deciding on behalf of the education secretary, concluded: “It was necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.” The TRA ruling highlighted the challenges of assessing evidence, noting that many incidents occurred seven years ago and involved “hearsay evidence.”

Povey described the decision as “painful and drawn out process.” He said: “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. Every leader, every teacher, every single person who works in schools has a duty of care to every child.”

Povey’s brother, Ross Povey, who served as deputy head at Harrop Fold, has also been banned from teaching for two years for failing to prevent off-rolling and improper attendance records. Both brothers may apply for their bans to be lifted after two years.

What is off-rolling?

According to the Government website, off-rolling is the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when the removal is primarily in the best interests of the school, rather than the the best interests of the pupil. This includes pressuring a parent to remove their child from the school roll. While it may not always be unlawful, Ofsted believes off-rolling is never acceptable.

Educating Greater Manchester is available to watch on YouTube. You can also watch episodes of the TV mini series on ITV Studios.