Twenty eight academy trusts have been ordered to justify salaries
over £100,000, as the Government continues its drive to ensure
pay in schools matches individual responsibilities and the
standard of education on offer.
Academies Minister has written to 28 chairs
of trustees today (Tuesday 05 February) as part of the
Government’s commitment to curb ‘excessive’ salaries based on the
size, standards, and financial health of trusts. The academies
have been asked to provide more details on the pay of executives
who earn more than £150,000 - and those earning £100,000 if two
or more people in a school earn a six-figure salary.
’s request forms part of
the Government’s requirement for academy trusts to publish high
salaries in their accounts, providing a far higher level of
public scrutiny than local authority schools, who are not
required to prepare individual statutory accounts.
In the letter, which has been sent to fewer than 1% of academy
trusts nationwide, calls on the chairs to
work with the Government on the “divisive issue” of high pay,
asking them to justify salaries and reassure ministers that that
they are not “diverting financial resources that could be more
effectively deployed on the front line of education”.
This is the latest step taken by the Department for Education to
bear down on academy trusts that pay excessive salaries and
ensure they are more accountable for the money they spend,
bringing them in line with the overwhelming majority of academy
trusts – fewer than 4% of trusts pay two or more salaries between
£100k-£150k.
It follows the news that more than 50% of pupils in state-funded
schools in England are now studying in an academy or free school,
and new research which shows that, in the majority of cases,
standards have risen more quickly in sponsored academies than
similar council-run schools.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Schools System
, said:
Academies are raising standards in schools across the country –
replacing underperforming council-run schools in some of the
most disadvantaged areas and helping young people to raise
their aspirations through a better standard of education.
The best academies place freedom in the hands of school leaders
but with that autonomy comes greater accountability and
transparency, which is exactly why I am insistent that the
salaries of their executives are justifiable. And just because
we are advocates of the academies programme, doesn’t mean we
won’t call a trust out where we believe they are not acting
responsibly.
The overwhelming majority of academies are behaving responsibly
and by publicly challenging the minority of trusts that are not
complying with this request, we will ensure that every pound of
public money is spent as effectively as possible to continue
improving the standard of education in our schools.
Today’s letter follows a successful drive to ensure pay is
justifiable and proportionate in England’s schools. To date,
Eileen Milner, CEO of the Education and Skills Funding Agency
(ESFA) has written to the chair of trustees at 213 academy
trusts, 45 of which have reduced salaries.
Last week – to mark the milestone of 50% of children in
state-funded schools in England now being taught in an academy or
free school – Education Secretary called for more schools to
consider the freedom and opportunities offered by becoming an
academy, urging them to join more than 8,300 schools in the
country that have become an academy or opened as a free school,
with hundreds of schools making the positive choice to convert to
become an academy in the last 12 months alone.
