Hundreds of English academy heads paid over £150k, as number ‘on gravy train’ doubles in five years

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A record 775 heads of school academies in England were given pay packages worth more than £150,000 in 2022-23, sparking allegations of an unaccountable “gravy train”.

Figures published last week by the Department for Education (DfE) reveal that nearly a third of academy trusts (30.8%) rewarded at least one staff member with a pay deal worth in excess of £150,000, including pension payments and benefits. This compares with just 12% in 2018-19.

The DfE report also revealed 75% of trusts paid at least one staff member between £100,000 and £150,000.

The rising pay packets are a blow to the government, which has been urging academies to ensure pay for senior leaders is “proportionate and justifiable”. Although DfE officials wrote to 37 trusts in 2023 to warn about high salaries, some have nonetheless since increased the pay for heads.

Academies receive grant funding from central government. They do not charge fees, and are run by not-for-profit trusts that may be supported by businesses or other sponsors.

Martin Haworth, the head of the Flagship Learning Trust and executive headteacher at Wright Robinson college, a secondary school in Manchester, is one of the best paid teachers in England, with a salary, including pension payments, of at least £345,000. His earnings rose by more than 30% in two years, with the trust saying this partly reflects his new role as head of the trust, which operates only one school.

Justin James, chief executive and executive headteacher at the Lion Academy Trust, which runs schools in Northamptonshire, Essex and east London, was given a pay package of £226,420 in 2021-22, rising to £267,533 in 2023-24, an increase of 18% over two years. Carl Ward, chief executive of the City Learning Trust, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent and runs four schools and a college, saw his pay rise from up to £265,000 in 2021-22 to more than £300,000 in 2023-24, an increase of at least 13%.

Alasdair Smith, of the Anti Academies Alliance, which wants greater democratic accountability in schools, said the pay deals were “completely unjustified”. He said: “This is a gravy train for a small number of academy chief executives who cannot be brought to account over excessive pay. It’s a self-serving elite.

“We know that what improves schools is the quality of teaching, not just the quality of leadership. How can academy heads justify these increases when most teachers have for years got below-inflation pay increases?”

While there has been support for high salaries to attract and reward the best talent to run some of the country’s top schools, education officials have challenged academy trusts over whether they always comply with their obligations on pay.

An analysis commissioned by the Local Government Association in 2023 found that 93% of maintained schools were rated good or outstanding in Ofsted inspections, compared with 87% of academies. The academy sector says such results are skewed because it takes failing schools away from council oversight, helping to turn them around and deliver improved results.

An analysis last week by Schools Week found more than 60 trusts had paid their leaders at least £200,000 last year, with 95% awarded rises.

The best paid academy chief executive in England is Sir Dan Moynihan, head of the Harris Federation, which has 55 academies in London and Essex and has been recognised for consistently high standards of performance. Moynihan was paid between £515,000 and £520,000 in the year to 31 August 2024, with employer pension contributions of up to £85,000.

The children’s wellbeing and schools bill that is going through parliament contains a provision to bring academy teachers on to the same pay and conditions framework as teachers in maintained schools. Academy trust leaders warned the laws as originally drafted could undermine their ability to recruit the best teachers. Ministers said the intention for teacher salaries in academy schools was to “create a floor with no ceiling”. The government tabled an amendment to the bill in January to allow the education secretary to require academy schools to pay teachers at least a minimum level of remuneration set out in secondary legislation.

A DfE spokesperson said: “High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best life chances.

“The overwhelming majority of academy trusts deliver a high standard of financial management and governance, but we are clear that strong accountability is non-negotiable.

“We will continue to challenge executive pay where it is neither proportionate nor directly linked to improving pupil outcomes.”

The Flagship Learning Trust said in response to questions about Haworth’s remuneration that the school he headed was graded “outstanding in every area” by its most recent Ofsted report in 2021.

Joe Larrigan, chair of trustees for Wright Robinson college, said: “Following the retirement of our long-standing chief executive, we have brought together the roles of chief executive, executive headteacher and accountability for our community trading arm.

“This restructure has delivered an overall cost saving on senior salaries. It has also given us the platform to make a projected six-figure profit on the trading arm for the first time.”

The Lion Academy Trust and City Learning Trust have been contacted for comment.