Parents won’t give up fight for head’s return

CAMPAIGNERS WANT STAR OF CHANNEL 4 SHOW BACK AT SCHOOL DESPITE HIS RESIGNATION

PARENTS have vowed to continue their fight to get ex-Harrop Fold headteacher Drew Povey back at the school – despite him resigning.

Educating Greater Manchester star Mr Povey, 40, announced his decision to quit last week following his suspension in July.

Campaigners are set to hold a meeting on Thursday to thrash out an action plan. They say they will continue their efforts to get Mr Povey reinstated.

That is despite Salford council confirming school governors have ‘acknowledged’ his resignation.

Mr Povey, who said he was stepping down ‘with a heavy heart,’ believes he was the victim of a ‘personal vendetta.’

Town hall bosses in Salford refute that allegation.

Mr Povey has offered to work at Harrop Fold two days a week – for free.

He was the star of the Channel 4 flyon-the-wall documentary Educating Greater Manchester, set at the school.

The next series will feature the drama around Mr Povey’s suspension and resignation.

An investigation into allegations that children were removed from the school register – a practice known as ‘rolling off’ – in two cases is ongoing.

Mr Povey insists he has done nothing wrong, highlighting that Harrop Fold has a non-exclusion policy and often takes pupils expelled from other schools.

Three other senior members of staff remain suspended.

Paul Gill, leader of the parents group fighting for Mr Povey’s reinstatement, said: “We will stage a meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday.

“The core group of parents will meet earlier to discuss our next move. We will then invite the parents of children at Harrop Fold to tell us their views on how they want to proceed.

“That could be lobbying local politicians, MPs, and council meetings.

“We want Drew Povey to have some involvement in the school.”

Coun Lisa Stone, the town hall’s lead member for children’s and young people’s services, said: “In practice there is nothing to prevent any employee from resigning and leaving their post without working through their normal notice period.

“Whether the employer formally accepts the resignation or not is a technicality as the decision to resign has been made by the employee.

“This is the position the governors of Harrop Fold have been placed in by Mr Povey’s decision. Mr Povey’s resignation, which was given with immediate effect, has been formally acknowledged by the governing board. However, this has no bearing on the investigation which will continue.”

The council says an ‘in depth and wide-ranging investigation into many serious allegations’ concerning the school is continuing.