THE Warrington star of a TV documentary about a transforming school has now been banned from teaching.
Drew Povey was head teacher at Harrop Fold Secondary School in Salford, now called The Lowry Academy, when it featured on Educating Greater Manchester.
The documentary followed pupils and staff as the school went from being ranked as one of England's worst schools in 2004 to being graded ‘good’ by Ofsted inspectors.
Povey arrived at the school in 2006 and became head teacher in 2010, coinciding with the improvements, before leaving in 2018 and becoming a leadership consultant.
Before then however, he started his career in education at Beamont Collegiate Academy and was a special guest at previous Warrington Guardian Inspiration Awards.
The ex-Bridgewater High School pupil also worked in leadership development at Warrington Wolves.
However, 47-year-old and his brother Ross, now 49, a former arts teacher at Bridgewater High and former assistant head at Harrop Fold, have now been banned from teaching.
It comes after regulator the Teaching Regulation Agency found the pair guilty of ‘unacceptable professional conduct’.
The panel ruled, ratified by the secretary for state, that they should be barred from the profession indefinitely, meaning they cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England.
However, they may apply for the prohibition order to be lifted in October 2026.
The decision follows allegations of pupils being removed from the school register, a process referred to as 'off-rolling', which could suggest that the school is performing better than it actually is.
Drew, who was suspended, denied all the allegations against him, while Ross made no admissions.
The panel found that the pair ‘failed to maintain or ensure that staff maintained accurate records in respect of pupil attendance on one or more occasions, in that he caused, permitted or failed to prevent off-rolling.
Members also found that, in doing so, they ‘failed to protect pupils from the risk of potential harm’, and that his ‘conduct lacked integrity and was dishonest’.
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