Educating Greater Manchester is a British documentary television series comprising two instalments of the Educating franchise, first broadcast on Channel 4 in September2017 and November 2020, that provides an observational account of daily life, educational challenges, and staff-pupil interactions at Harrop Fold Secondary School in Salford, Greater Manchester.[1][2] The series depicts efforts to transform a school previously criticised for poor performance and placed into special measures, under the leadership of executive headteacher Andrew "Drew" Povey, who implemented strict behavioural policies and community engagement initiatives.[1] In October 2024, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency found Povey guilty of unacceptable professional conduct for off-rolling three pupils prior to a 2018 pupil census to artificially improve the school's metrics, resulting in an indefinite prohibition order from teaching.[3] Harrop Fold closed in 2021 and reopened as The Lowry Academy, continuing operations amid ongoing scrutiny of such practices in UK secondary education.[4]
Overview
Premise and Format
Educating Greater Manchester constitutes the fifth entry in Channel 4's "Educating..." documentary franchise, which commenced with Educating Essex in 2011. The series centres on Harrop Fold High School, a secondary institution in Salford, Greater Manchester, documenting the operational realities of a school confronting persistent underachievement.[1] Its core premise involves an unvarnished examination of educational processes in a deprived urban setting, prioritising empirical observation of staff and pupil interactions over contrived storytelling.[1]The format adheres to a fly-on-the-wall approach, utilising non-intrusive cameras to record spontaneous events without directorial prompting or retrospective interviews, thereby facilitating authentic depictions of classroom management and interpersonal dynamics.[5] This methodology underscores the franchise's emphasis on revealing causal mechanisms behind behavioural and academic issues, including disruptions from pupil conduct and adaptations to demographic shifts such as the influx of refugee students from regions like Syria.[6] The programme aired in seven episodes from 31 August to 19 October 2017, presenting sequential footage that captures the school's term-time progression.[1]By eschewing narrative overlays, Educating Greater Manchester enables scrutiny of unmediated challenges, such as enforcing discipline amid diverse pupil needs and addressing low attainment rates, offering viewers unfiltered evidence of institutional responses to socioeconomic pressures.[2] This structure distinguishes it from dramatised educational portrayals, aligning with the series' commitment to observational integrity in highlighting factors impeding or advancing pupil outcomes.[5]
Broadcast History
Educating Greater Manchester first aired on Channel 4 on 31 August 2017, with its initial series comprising eight episodes of approximately 47 minutes each, broadcast weekly on Thursdays through to 19 October 2017.[1][7]A second series followed in 2020, consisting of four episodes aired from 3 November to 17 November, maintaining a similar runtime structure.[8][9]The total of 12 episodes across both series remains available for streaming on Channel 4's on-demand platform and via full-episode uploads on YouTube.[1][10]Production of further instalments ceased after 2020, coinciding with significant upheaval at Harrop Fold School, including the 2018 resignation of headteacher Drew Povey amid investigations into pupil off-rolling practices and the school's closure in 2021.[11][5][12]
Production
Development and Commissioning
The "Educating..." series, produced by Twofour Broadcast for Channel 4, originated with Educating Essex in 2011, which documented daily operations at a comprehensive school in Harlow, Essex, and achieved critical acclaim for its unfiltered portrayal of adolescent behavior and staff interventions.[13] Building on this format's success in exposing systemic pressures on state education, Channel 4 commissioned Educating Greater Manchester during 2016 as the next installment, targeting a school in Salford amid Greater Manchester's socioeconomic challenges.[14] The decision emphasized pre-production scouting for institutions emblematic of broader policy debates on comprehensive schooling, where high deprivation correlates with low attainment, as evidenced by national data linking pupil premium eligibility rates over 50% in such areas to below-average GCSE outcomes.Harrop Fold High School was selected in late 2016 for its documented history of underperformance prior to a leadership change in 2015, having been rated among the lowest-achieving secondaries in earlier inspections, with factors including a catchment encompassing some of the UK's most deprived wards where free school meal uptake exceeded 40%.[15] Producers aimed to capture causal elements of educational dysfunction, such as entrenched behavioral disruptions rooted in family instability and limited prior attainment, rather than idealized narratives, aligning with the franchise's empirical focus on frontline realities over abstracted reforms.[16] This pre-filming strategy, informed by consultations with school executives like incoming head Drew Povey, prioritized sites where recent interventions offered observable data on recovery trajectories, avoiding polished academies in favor of those reflecting raw, data-backed struggles in post-industrial regions.[17]Commissioning proceeded amid Channel 4's broader factual slate, with development wrapping by early 2017 to enable principal photography, underscoring an intent to illuminate policy shortfalls—like inconsistent discipline frameworks and over-reliance on socioeconomic excuses—through longitudinal observation rather than advocacy-driven editing.[14] Twofour's approach drew directly from Educating Essex's methodology, which had revealed correlations between lax enforcement and escalating incidents, prompting commissioners to seek analogous cases for causal analysis in Manchester's context of urban regeneration gaps.
Filming Process
The filming of Educating Greater Manchester employed a fly-on-the-wall documentary style, utilizing fixed rigs and roaming cameras to document unscripted school events with minimal crew interference. Producers installed 60 cameras across Harrop Fold High School, capturing 2,000 hours of footage over an academic year for the first series, supplemented by two remote cameras in select pupils' homes—a novel addition for the franchise.[16] Filming proceeded in three-month segments to limit disruption, with cameras selectively activated for significant moments like behavioral incidents rather than operating continuously, thereby prioritizing empirical recording of natural dynamics over exhaustive surveillance.[16]A compact crew of 10, based in an on-site shipping container serving as a control room, managed operations to reduce visibility and behavioral alteration; participants reportedly habituated to the CCTV-like setup within 48 hours. Roaming handheld units enabled close capture of mobile events, such as staff interventions, while fixed installations provided static oversight in classrooms and corridors. Twofour Productions oversaw logistics across the two series, with principal photography for the debut occurring from mid-2016 to early 2017 ahead of its August 2017 premiere, and the second series filmed primarily in 2018 for its 2020 airing.[16][18][5]Post-production editing condensed the voluminous material into eight 60-minute episodes per series, discarding most storylines to construct thematic narratives from verified sequences, with brief post-event interviews limited to five minutes each. Ethical safeguards addressed the involvement of minors: 890 students voted on participation, approving by over 80%, while more than 700 on-camera individuals, including staff and parents, executed release forms; a child psychologist was retained for welfare support, and opt-out rights extended until pre-broadcast review.[16]Critiques of authenticity in fly-on-the-wall formats have questioned potential staging due to awareness of cameras, yet the production's selective, non-intrusive methodology—eschewing prompts or retakes—facilitated documentation of spontaneous occurrences, such as pupil outbursts, aligning with causal observation of institutional realities over manufactured drama.[16]
Harrop Fold High School
Historical Context
Harrop Fold High School was established in September 2001 in Little Hulton, Salford, succeeding the closed Joseph Eastham High School on a site originally developed in the late 1950s for local secondary education serving areas including Walkden, Worsley, and Boothstown. Prior to significant interventions around 2013, the school consistently ranked among the lowest-performing comprehensives in the UK, with GCSE attainment levels far below national benchmarks; for example, its 2006 GCSE score stood at 15 points against a national average of 42.6, reflecting persistent underachievement in core subjects and high rates of pupil disengagement.[19][20]The school's challenges were compounded by its location in one of Salford's most deprived wards, where Little Hulton features prominently in indices of multiple deprivation, with elevated rates of income, employment, and health-related poverty affecting over 25% of households in some metrics. This socioeconomic context involved a concentration of low-income families, limited parental engagement, and resource strains from supporting pupils eligible for free school meals at rates substantially above national averages, contributing to elevated absenteeism and behavioral disruptions without adequate mitigation.[21][22]These institutional shortcomings aligned with broader failures in UK state education policy during the Labour governments of 1997–2010, which prioritized inclusive practices—such as sharp reductions in permanent exclusions (from approximately 12,000 annually in 1996–97 to fewer than 6,000 by 2010) and mainstream integration of pupils with special educational needs—over rigorous enforcement of academic and behavioral standards. Critics, drawing on empirical trends in school performance data, contend this approach fostered indiscipline in high-deprivation settings by constraining schools' capacity to remove persistently disruptive pupils, thereby allowing behavioral chaos to undermine learning environments and perpetuate low outcomes in comprehensives like Harrop Fold.[23][24]
Leadership and Turnaround Efforts
Drew Povey was appointed headteacher of Harrop Fold School in 2010 at the age of 32, inheriting an institution previously described in a 2004 Ofsted inspection as having "alarmingly poor" standards and significant financial deficits exceeding £3 million.[25][26] Under his leadership, Povey introduced rigorous discipline protocols, mandatory uniform enforcement, and initiatives to boost parental involvement, emphasizing personal accountability and rejecting systemic excuses for underperformance.[27][28] These measures included a zero-exclusions policy sustained for over a decade, alongside efforts to reduce the school's debt by £1.6 million through operational efficiencies.[29][30]Empirical results showed initial stabilization but limited academic gains. Fixed exclusions dropped to zero under the policy, contrasting with prior high rates, while GCSE attainment hovered at approximately 25% of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades (including English and mathematics) around the time of Povey's arrival, improving modestly to 28% by 2017—well below the national average of around 60%.[25][31] Ofsted inspections reflected partial progress from earlier "inadequate" ratings, though persistent weaknesses in pupil outcomes underscored the challenges of reforming a non-selective comprehensive serving a high-deprivation area without mechanisms like academic streaming or parental choice incentives.[32]Povey's approach demonstrated the impact of individual leadership in enforcing behavioral standards and fostering agency among staff and students, yet data revealed inherent constraints in a state comprehensive model reliant on comprehensive intake and limited autonomy. Attainment metrics failed to close the gap with regional or national benchmarks, highlighting causal barriers such as unaddressed pupil mobility, socioeconomic factors, and absence of competitive pressures like school choice or selective admissions, which empirical studies associate with sustained improvements in similar underperforming urban schools.[27][25][31]
Content and Themes
Student Profiles and Challenges
The series portrays disaffected teenagers prone to rage and behavioral outbursts, often rooted in unstable home lives and poor impulse control, as seen in episodes featuring students engaging in hormonal conflicts and self-harm tendencies that disrupt classroom focus.[33] Such profiles underscore causal links between early emotional dysregulation—frequently tied to family instability—and academic underachievement, with empirical patterns in UK disadvantaged schools showing that adolescents from single-parent or low-supervision households exhibit higher rates of exclusionary behaviors.[34]Teen pregnancies represent another archetype, exemplified by 15-year-old Mia in series 1, who at seven months pregnant in year 11 risked derailing her GCSE preparations due to the timing of her due date just months before exams, highlighting how personal reproductive choices intersect with educational timelines to compound opportunity costs.[35][36] This mirrors broader UK data where teenage motherhood correlates with elevated social exclusion risks, including reduced qualification attainment, primarily through mechanisms like disrupted attendance and family caregiving demands rather than inherent systemic barriers.[37]Students with dyslexia, such as year 7 pupil Jacob, grapple with reading and processing barriers that foster feelings of alienation, though reframing via targeted discussions reveals potential strengths in non-linear thinking over deficits.[38]Refugee integration challenges appear in cases like Syrian arrival Rani, a year 7 student facing acute language deficiencies and social isolation upon entry, necessitating peer bonds for acclimation amid post-2010 migration surges that strained urban state school resources in areas like Greater Manchester.[39][6] These barriers stem causally from abrupt environmental shifts and prior educational discontinuities, with UK net migration exceeding 2.5 million from non-English-speaking origins between 1991 and 2008—intensifying post-2010—correlating to elevated integration hurdles in high-immigration locales without proportional support scaling.[40]Recurring challenges include chronic absenteeism, as depicted with student Katelyn's persistent truancy, which aligns with national trends in disrupted state schools where persistent absence hovered around 11-16% in the 2010s, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged regions and linking to familial neglect over external excuses.[41][42]Family breakdowns exacerbate these, fostering environments where parental oversight lapses enable conflicts amplified by social media, though the series emphasizes pupil agency in navigating such contexts, contrasting victim-oriented narratives with evidence of self-perpetuated cycles in underachieving cohorts.[43]
Discipline and Behavioral Interventions
In the series, Harrop Fold High School employed threats of exclusion as a primary deterrent against persistent misbehavior, with headteacher Drew Povey emphasizing immediate consequences for disruptions to maintain classroom order.[44] Fixed-term exclusions were issued frequently, contributing to elevated rates documented in school records, while permanent exclusions were avoided to align with inclusion mandates, though off-rolling practices later drew scrutiny for skirting formal processes.[45] Complementary support included counseling teams addressing underlying issues, such as family stressors or emotional dysregulation, often through one-on-one sessions depicted as pivotal in de-escalating conflicts.[44]Technological restrictions formed a core intervention, exemplified by Povey's on-camera act of cutting a student's headphone wires with scissors to enforce a ban on in-ear distractions during school hours, framing devices as enablers of disengagement.[44] This approach extended to confiscating phones amid incidents like Snapchat-fueled disputes, where anonymous messaging incited verbal altercations, or FaceTime calls escalating into physical confrontations captured in episodes. Rage episodes, triggered by peer provocations or authority challenges, prompted swift isolation and counseling, highlighting reactive measures over preventive progressive ideals like unchecked self-expression.[44]These strategies contrasted sharply with broader UK inclusion policies prioritizing retention over expulsion, which empirical studies link to heightened indiscipline in non-selective comprehensives, where poor behavior correlates inversely with academic attainment—pupils in disordered environments score lower on metrics like GCSE pass rates.[46] Data from UK secondary schools indicate that unchecked disruptions erode instructional time, with indiscipline accounting for up to 20% lost learning in affected cohorts, underscoring causal links between lax enforcement and suboptimal outcomes absent selective intake buffers.[47]While the series portrayed short-term gains in behavioral compliance—such as reduced hallway chaos post-interventions—critics labeled tactics like headphone severance as performative "theatre" failing to resolve deeper cultural indiscipline rooted in home and community norms.[44] Yet, evidence from structured environments favors strict protocols for establishing preconditions for learning, as permissive models exacerbate cycles of disruption without addressing causality; non-selective schools with firm boundaries report 15-25% improvements in attendance and focus when prioritizing order over indefinite inclusion.[46] This tension reflects institutional trade-offs, where empirical realism prioritizes enforceable boundaries to mitigate chaos enabling substantive education.[47]
Reception
Critical Reviews
Critics praised Educating Greater Manchester for its unflinching portrayal of daily challenges at Harrop Fold High School, highlighting the dedication of staff amid behavioral disruptions and personal hardships faced by pupils. The series, part of the BAFTA-winning Educating franchise, was lauded for exposing the "chalkface" realities of inner-city education without overt editorializing, as noted in a 2017 Guardian review that described it as an "honest, objective portrait of a real school" featuring inspiring stories of resilience, such as friendships formed between local pupils and refugees in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing.[48] Similarly, The Telegraph commended the programme's depiction of "wise and warm pupils" and teachers exerting positive, lasting influences through firm guidance, awarding early episodes four stars for their inspirational quality.[49][50]However, some reviewers scrutinized the series for potential sensationalism in amplifying disruptive incidents, arguing it risked exploiting vulnerable pupils' struggles for dramatic effect rather than delving into root causes like eroded disciplinary norms in state schools. A Daily Mail critique expressed sadness over the "sheer scale of the problems," particularly language barriers hindering integration, but faulted the format for evoking pity without advocating structural reforms such as stricter authority enforcement.[51] Right-leaning commentary, including in The Telegraph, implicitly endorsed the headteacher's authoritative style as a counter to permissive trends, emphasizing personal accountability over systemic excuses.[50]Left-leaning outlets occasionally framed school failings as underfunding-driven, yet data counters this by showing real-terms per-pupil spending in England rose 11% from 2010 levels by 2024–25, reversing prior cuts without commensurate gains in outcomes like GCSE attainment or pupil behavior metrics.[52] Critics from outlets like The Guardian acknowledged the series' humanity but noted its occasional tiresome motivational rhetoric, potentially glossing over deeper policy failures in discipline and integration.[48] Overall, while celebrated for raw authenticity—earning descriptors like a "study of hope, humanity and heart" from The Arts Desk—the programme drew fire for prioritizing emotional arcs over rigorous analysis of causal factors like family breakdown or anti-authority cultural shifts.[53]
Viewership and Public Response
The first series of Educating Greater Manchester, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2017, drew over two million viewers per episode, reflecting strong initial engagement with its portrayal of school challenges.[54] Subsequent episodes and returns maintained audiences around 1.2 to 1.7 million, outperforming slot averages by up to 27%.[55] Interest persisted post-broadcast, with full episode playlists on YouTube accumulating nearly two million views across 12 installments, indicating enduring online demand for the content.[10]Public reaction emphasized recognition of behavioral disruptions and the need for firm interventions, with social media users frequently lauding featured students like Jack for exemplifying discipline and maturity amid chaos.[56] Viewers expressed widespread support for the headteacher's resilience-focused strategies, describing them as inspirational in comments across platforms.[57] Emotional responses were common, including tears over narratives of friendship and personal triumphs despite ongoing conduct issues, underscoring audience empathy for the depicted crises.[58]The series sparked discourse among parents from similar socio-economic areas, highlighting contrasts in state school realities and amplifying calls for prioritizing behavioral accountability over less structured approaches.[59] Anecdotal feedback from regional outlets revealed approval for the program's unvarnished exposure of discipline failures, with many crediting it for validating stricter enforcement as essential for student welfare.[60]
Controversies
Ofsted Inspection and Special Measures
In November 2018, Ofsted inspectors visited Harrop Fold School on 31 October and 1 November, rating the school inadequate overall and in every inspected category, including the effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, and outcomes for pupils.[32] This judgment placed the school into special measures, requiring an action plan to address systemic failures and external monitoring.[15] Inspectors found unacceptably poor pupil behaviour that frequently disrupted learning, with reports of bullying going unchecked and attendance rates declining sharply by year group, particularly in the afternoons.[32]Teaching was deemed inadequate due to inconsistent lesson planning, low teacher expectations, and insufficient staff training, resulting in weak pupil progress across subjects and GCSE outcomes far below national averages, with a noted decline over time.[32] Safeguarding arrangements were ineffective, evidenced by an insecure site perimeter, incomplete record-keeping, and weak policies that failed to protect vulnerable pupils adequately.[32] Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils worsened despite additional funding, including pupil premium, which was not deployed effectively to support progress or close attainment gaps.[32]These inadequacies stemmed from persistent behavioural disruptions and long-standing leadership shortcomings, rather than resource shortages, as per-pupil grant funding reached £7,695—exceeding contemporary national averages—and yet yielded diminishing returns through poor resource allocation.[61] The inspection occurred over a year after the Channel 4 series Educating Greater Manchester aired its first season in 2017, highlighting a post-filming deterioration that contradicted on-screen portrayals of improvement.[62] In response, the school transitioned from local authority control to academy status under a multi-academy trust, culminating in its conversion to The Lowry Academy sponsored by United Learning by September 2021.[63]
Headteacher Conduct and Allegations
In October 2024, a Professional Conduct Panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) investigated allegations against Andrew "Drew" Povey, former executive headteacher of Harrop Fold School featured in Educating Greater Manchester, finding him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct that brought the profession into disrepute.[26] The panel determined that Povey failed to prevent the off-rolling of three pupils (Pupils A, B, and C) from the school roll in late 2017, ahead of the January 2018 Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), a practice aimed at excluding challenging students to artificially improve attendance and attainment metrics.[26][64] Off-rolling involved directing or allowing these pupils to be sent to alternative provisions without proper safeguarding or re-enrollment plans, exposing them to potential harm, though the panel noted no direct evidence of Povey's personal initiation of the removals.[26][65]Further findings included Povey's role in amending approximately 600 inaccurate attendance records in the school's SIMS system on 18 May 2018, inflating figures for the spring census to misrepresent pupil attendance and evade scrutiny over chronic absenteeism.[26] The panel also upheld that Povey tolerated irregular, undocumented exclusions—pupils being sent home without formal recording as exclusions—which breached statutory duties and risked unmonitored pupil welfare.[26] These actions, while defended by Povey as prioritizing mental health support and school stability, were deemed a significant departure from expected professional standards, leading to an indefinite prohibition order from teaching, effective 23 October 2024, with eligibility for review after two years.[26][3]Povey denied all allegations during the hearings held 7–11 and 14–18 October 2024, asserting that data adjustments corrected administrative errors rather than manipulated outcomes, and that off-rolling decisions were made by deputies without his explicit endorsement.[26] His barrister, Andrew Faux, described the panel's reliance on hearsay evidence as troubling and indicated plans to appeal to the High Court, framing the probe as protracted and disruptive.[66] Supporters, including some former staff and community members, argued that Povey's interventions aimed to restore order in a failing school, crediting his leadership for prior improvements despite systemic challenges.[67]Critics, however, highlighted instances of performative or disproportionate interventions as symptomatic of ego-driven management over evidence-based discipline, such as a 2017 incident where Povey cut the cables of a disruptive student's headphones during a classroomconfrontation, later condemned by behaviour expert Tom Bennett as "wacky theatre" undermining genuine authority.[44] While not central to the TRA findings, such actions were cited in broader scrutiny as prioritizing spectacle over causal mechanisms for behavioral reform, contributing to unchecked data irregularities and pupil risks.[68] The panel's verdict emphasized accountability for leadership failures in data integrity and safeguarding, irrespective of turnaround intentions.[26]
Critiques of Educational Approaches
Critics of the strict disciplinary methods highlighted in Educating Greater Manchester argue they prioritize short-term compliance over holistic development, potentially alienating pupils through confrontational tactics. UK behavior tsar Tom Bennett specifically critiqued headteacher Drew Povey's use of dramatic interventions, such as publicly severing headphone cables from disruptive students, labeling them "wacky, one-off pieces of theatre" that risk eroding trust and implying inappropriate property damage rather than fostering respect.[44] Bennett advocated structured alternatives, including clear policy rollout, staff-wide enforcement, and routine confiscation, to sustain authority without theatrics.[44]Empirical evidence, however, supports the efficacy of firm, consistent regimes in achieving behavioral improvements, as seen in schools like Michaela Community School, where zero-tolerance policies correlate with England's highest pupil progression rates and a disciplined learning environment that minimizes disruptions.[69] Such approaches contrast with UK comprehensive system norms, which emphasize inclusivity and equality, often critiqued for subordinating excellence to retention and reluctance to exclude persistent disruptors despite data linking higher exclusion rates to stabilized school climates benefiting the majority.[70] Bennett has warned that permissive policies perpetuate cycles of low-level indiscipline, likening repeated leniency to a "snooze alarm" that fails to address willful misbehavior, and cautioned against over-attributing disruptions solely to socioeconomic factors while overlooking causal roles of family dynamics and cultural norms in eroding pupil self-control.[71]Parental responses underscore backlash against undue leniency, with surveys indicating nearly half of UK secondary parents favor reintroducing corporal elements or stricter measures to curb disruptions ignored in inclusive frameworks.[72] These debates reflect tensions between traditional authority, backed by behavior data favoring clear hierarchies, and relativist policies that risk normalizing indiscipline under equality guises, potentially undermining causal links between order and attainment in policy design.[73]
Legacy and Impact
Influence on Education Policy Debates
The Educating Greater Manchester series, aired in 2017, contributed to public discourse on reinstating robust discipline in UK secondary schools, particularly amid post-2010 relaxations in behavior management guidelines that had emphasized de-escalation over exclusion. By depicting Harrop Fold Academy's zero-tolerance approach—implemented after its 2012 conversion to academy status, which granted operational autonomy from local authority constraints—the program illustrated practical interventions like immediate sanctions for disruptions, contrasting with prior "no-touch" interpretations that limited physical restraint or assertive handling. This aligned with the 2010 coalition government's policy shifts, which empowered teachers to search pupils and use reasonable force, responding to rising exclusions for violence (2,230 permanent exclusions in 2009-10 alone).[74][75] The footage of confrontational classroom dynamics prompted media analyses questioning progressive policies' efficacy, with empirical data from Ofsted indicating 92% of schools rated "good" or better for behavior by 2010 yet persistent underperformance in high-deprivation areas.[76]Episodes featuring refugee pupils, such as Syrian siblings Rani and Murad, highlighted integration strains in diverse, low-attainment schools, fueling debates on resource allocation amid migration pressures. These narratives underscored causal links between unresolved behavioral issues and academic stagnation, rather than attributing failures solely to socioeconomic inequities—a view critiqued in left-leaning outlets but supported by data showing academies' flexibility in addressing such cohorts outperformed maintained schools. The series amplified advocacy for expanding free schools and academies, models that by 2017 encompassed over 70% of secondary pupils, enabling tailored discipline without bureaucratic hurdles from union-influenced local authorities.[77][78]In the 2017-2020 period, coinciding with GCSE reforms introducing linear exams and reduced coursework (phased from 2017), the program countered narratives of systemic underfunding by evidencing real-terms spending declines (9% per pupil from 2009-10 to 2019-20) alongside stagnant outcomes, such as PISA reading scores flatlining from 2009-2018 despite prior funding rises.[79][80] Harrop Fold's pre-filming turnaround—from special measures in 2009 to improved attendance and attainment—exemplified how autonomy disrupted state monopoly inefficiencies, influencing think-tank reports prioritizing behavioral causal factors over equity-focused inputs alone. Mainstream coverage, often biased toward funding pleas from teacher unions, overlooked such cases, yet the series' visibility bolstered empirical arguments for policy emphasizing accountability over expenditure myths.[30]
Post-Series Developments at the School
Following the conclusion of the Educating Greater Manchester series in 2020, Harrop Fold School underwent conversion to academy status in late 2020, exiting local authority control and joining the Bridge Learning Trust as part of efforts to address longstanding performance issues.[81] In September 2021, the institution rebranded as The Lowry Academy, with the trust introducing measures such as free uniforms for pupils to support attendance and equity in a high-deprivation area.[63] This transition coincided with new leadership, as Drew Povey, the executive head featured in the series, had resigned in 2018 amid investigations into pupil exclusions.[66]The original Harrop Fold site in Little Hulton, derelict since the school's relocation in 2008 to a nearby facility, saw renewed development proposals in 2024 for 177 homes, including revisions to increase affordable housing provision on the 11-acre plot.[12][82] Planning permission, initially granted in 2021, was adjusted in June 2024 to prioritize 60 affordable units amid local housing needs, reflecting the site's shift from educational to residential use without direct ties to the academy's operations.[83]In October 2024, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel imposed a lifetime ban on Povey from teaching, citing his role in "off-rolling" three pupils—temporarily excluding them before the January 2018 pupil census to inflate performance metrics—a practice deemed dishonest and unprofessional.[64][26] His brother, Ross Povey, the former assistant head, received an identical prohibition for complicity.[66] These rulings, based on evidence from the school's era under Povey's leadership, underscored persistent governance vulnerabilities despite the academy shift, with no evidence of sustained academic turnaround in public attainment data for the renamed institution amid ongoing socioeconomic challenges in Salford.[65]