'Educating Greater Manchester' head teacher resigns

The head teacher who shot to fame on Channel 4's "Educating Greater Manchester" has this morning resigned from his job at Harrop Fold School in Little Hulton.

There was shock when Drew Povey was suspended earlier this year, over what Salford Council described as issues with "school record keeping" and since then very little has been made public.

Mr Povey has received overwhelming support from parents and teachers from across the country - some of whom staged a demonstration outside the school in protest against the suspension.

Today, after months of silence, Drew posted his four page resignation letter to Twitter saying "#ItsTimeToStandUp"

Within the letter Mr Povey claims that the "heavy handed" way in which Salford Council has gone about the investigation has "completely ignored the best interests of staff, students and school" and that the process has caused "damage to the reputation of the school and to him personally."

Mr Povey goes on to say that he still hasn't been presented with the full details of the allegations that have been made but that he understands they "focus on administrative errors involving a very small number of pupils."

He continues by slating Salford Council for allowing the school to fall into £3m of debt before he joined and questions if the investigation is in the best interest of the school's finances.

Mr Povey's now offered to work for free on one or two days a week to see the school through the rocky patch and has pledged to continue with the investigation process.

Councillor Lisa Stone, lead member for children’s and young people’s services, said: “I am disappointed that Mr Povey has made public some details of a confidential governor’s investigation. The council completely refutes the allegation that this is a personal vendetta or that Mr Povey was ever offered money to ‘walk away.’ In my experience governors do not launch investigations and suspend senior members of staff for mere administrative errors. This is an in depth and wide-ranging investigation into many serious allegations and it will continue in the interests of the school, pupils, parents and the members of staff who remain suspended. The governing body is trying to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible. It is in no-one’s interests to rush through something so serious.

“The council has arranged temporary leadership support for the school during this difficult period."

Mr Povey's followers from across the country have been tweeting messages of support.

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• Greater Manchester
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• drew povey