A school featured in the hit TV series Educating Greater Manchester was like a 鈥渮oo鈥 with 鈥渄angerous鈥 behaviour worsened by the head鈥檚 refusal to exclude pupils, a misconduct panel has heard. Drew Povey, the former executive head of Harrop Fold School, Worsley, is accused of off-rolling three pupils before the January 2018 census to boost performance data. But he denied 鈥渕assaging results鈥 as his case opened this week. It was one of the first off-rolling cases to emerge. It is alleged Povey caused or failed to stop data being amended to record that two of the pupils had attended when they hadn’t. Pupils regularly sent home before the end of the school day were also not logged properly, according to claims put to the TRA panel in Coventry. His then deputies, Ross Povey and Jennifer Benigno, face the same allegations, which relate to the 2017-18 academic year. Benigno denies wrongdoing. Ross Povey is not attending and is not represented. Jonathan Storey, representing Benigno, said proceedings had been 鈥渉anging over鈥 them for six years, a 鈥渧ery long time鈥 in a senior leader鈥檚 career. Off-rolling to 鈥榤ake school look better鈥 The hearing was told three pupils were off-rolled in an 鈥渋nappropriate way鈥 in a 鈥渃ertain window鈥 ahead of the statutory census in January 2018, and then put back on soon afterwards. Two were in alternative provision and the third was 鈥渕issing in education鈥. Andrew Cullen, for the TRA, asked the panel to consider whether there was 鈥渟ome calculation here鈥o make the school look better鈥. In a statement this week, Drew Povey said he held his hands up for 鈥渁dministrative mistakes that were made involving two children, and as the leader of that school, I take full responsibility鈥. But to conclude that there was a 鈥渄eliberate plan to off-roll to benefit the school鈥檚 performance as a whole is completely wide of the mark鈥. Povey, who featured in the Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall documentary in 2017, announced his resignation in a letter published on social media in September 2018. He alleged a 鈥渉eavy-handed鈥 approach from Salford City Council, which he claimed had 鈥渃ompletely ignored the best interests of the pupils, staff and school鈥. Attendance figures 鈥榠nflated鈥 Cullen claimed attendance data was 鈥渋nflated to create a distorted picture of attendance鈥. Gary Chambers was the school鈥檚 director of attitudes and learning in the 2017-18 year. He gave a statement to a Salford-backed investigation, saying he was 鈥渧aguely aware鈥 of some pupils being taken off roll around census time, the panel heard. Ofsted has defined off-rolling as removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when this is primarily in the best interests of the school, not the pupil. Chambers said in the statement this was done to 鈥渁rtificially amend the figures relating to school performance and I think that means artificially improve the figures鈥, said Andrew Faux, representing Drew Povey. If pupils were not recorded in the January census, their GCSE results would not have counted for the school鈥檚 performance that year, Faux said. However, he claimed Chambers was not being 鈥渨holly truthful鈥. Povey鈥檚 鈥渕antra鈥 was about being inclusive, not excluding pupils and taking on challenging children from other schools. Faux said Povey wasn鈥檛 鈥渂othered鈥 by taking on pupils who would 鈥渘ever鈥 get five A*s to C grades, and asked why he would then off-roll children to boost statistics. Pupil behaviour 鈥榣ike a zoo鈥 Phil Ince, a senior staff member, said in a statement to the investigation he鈥檇 heard Povey using walkie-talkies to order staff that 鈥渒ids be sent home鈥. Faux said that occasionally, when a pupil was 鈥渉aving a meltdown, in mental distress, parents would be called and with their agreement the child would go home before the end of the school day鈥. Ince told the hearing Povey鈥檚 refusal to exclude pupils and alleged withdrawal to focus on external projects led to a breakdown in pupil behaviour. 鈥淭owards the end it was a zoo,鈥 he said. He claimed the behaviour policy was not followed, and that staff had considered striking over safety concerns while Povey was in charge. These claims are disputed. 鈥淔rom around about 2015 it started to deteriorate fast and first it would be small things but then it became a snowball coming down a hill.鈥 Ofsted rated Harrop Fold 鈥榠nadequate鈥 after inspecting it in October 2018 and it reopened as the Lowry Academy in 2021. The hearing continues.