Drew Povey, a headteacher in Manchester, shares how his school has been supported by a neighbouring teaching school.
Drew has led Harrop Fold School from being referred to as ‘the worst school in the country’ to having an Ofsted rating of good, with congratulations from the prime minister on its rapid improvement along the way.
It’s a remarkable achievement and one supported by being part of a teaching school alliance. Drew and his staff have worked closely with Barbara Rogers, the head of St Patrick’s Teaching School. Her support, advice and influence have been really important on their journey. As Drew says in the interview below, school-to-school support is about challenge, conversation and making sure young people get the very best during difficult times.
Teaching school support
Drew talks about how Barbara Rogers supported him and how Harrop Fold came out of special measures into an Ofsted rating of good.
https://soundcloud.com/nctl/drew-pt1
The benefits of working together
Drew talks about the advice he would offer to a school in similar challenging circumstances and why it would be good to work with a teaching school, explaining the importance of reaching out to other organisations and working together to improve.
https://soundcloud.com/nctl/drew-pt2
About Drew Povey and Harrop Fold School
Harrop Fold came about through the amalgamation of two schools in 2001 and at that time was regarded as one of the worst performing schools in the UK. Drew was appointed to a senior role in 2005 and was instrumental in improving the attitudes and behaviour of students, which was key to the school’s improvement.
Drew and the other members of ‘Team Harrop’ have been successful in raising the results of Harrop Fold to the best in the school’s history, with an Ofsted rating of good - all achieved against the backdrop of what was the country’s largest deficit.
As executive headteacher, Drew works on a programme of school improvement and mentoring with other headteachers (both secondary and primary) and leaders from the business sector, sport and the NHS.
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