A record-breaking 775 heads of school academies in England were awarded pay packages exceeding £150,000 in the 2022-23 academic year, sparking claims of an unjustified and unaccounted “gravy train.” According to the Department for Education (DfE), nearly a third of academy trusts (30.8%) provided at least one staff member with compensation worth over £150,000, including pension payments and benefits, a significant jump from the 12% in 2018-19. Furthermore, the DfE also disclosed that 75% of these trusts paid at least one staff member a salary between £100,000 and £150,000.

This surge in executive pay is a setback for the government, which has been urging academies to keep the compensation for senior officials “proportionate and justifiable.” Despite DfE officials cautioning 37 trusts in 2023 over high salaries, several have since increased the pay for their heads. Academies receive financial support from the central government, operate without charging fees, and are managed by non-profit trusts that may receive backing from businesses or other sponsors.

Notable figures such as Martin Haworth, the Flagship Learning Trust’s head and executive headteacher at Wright Robinson College in Manchester, stand out with their significant earnings. His salary, inclusive of pension contributions, amounts to at least £345,000, showing a rise of over 30% in two years. Similarly, Justin James, the CEO and executive headteacher of the Lion Academy Trust, experienced an 18% increase in his salary over two years, reaching £267,533 in 2023-24.

Alasdair Smith of the Anti Academies Alliance criticizes these high pay deals as “completely unjustified,” labeling it as a “gravy train” for a select group of academy CEOs who face no accountability over their exorbitant salaries. He emphasizes that the quality of teaching, not just leadership, drives school improvement and questions the justification for these salary increments when many teachers have faced below-inflation pay rises for years.

While there is support for high salaries to attract and reward top-tier talent to lead some of the nation’s best schools, education officials have questioned whether academies consistently adhere to their obligations regarding pay. The Local Government Association’s commissioned analysis in 2023 noted that 93% of maintained schools were rated good or outstanding in Ofsted inspections, versus 87% of academies, suggesting that the academy sector’s results are skewed since they often take failing schools from council oversight, enhancing their performance.

Schools Week’s analysis last week uncovered that over 60 trusts had paid their leaders at least £200,000 in the previous year, with 95% receiving salary increases. The highest-paid academy chief executive in England is Sir Dan Moynihan, head of the Harris Federation, which operates 55 academies in London and Essex, renowned for its high performance standards. Moynihan’s compensation, including employer pension contributions, ranged between £515,000 and £520,000 for the year ending August 31, 2024.

The children’s wellbeing and schools bill under parliamentary consideration proposes to align the pay and conditions for academy teachers with those in maintained schools. Academy trust leaders have voiced concerns that the initial draft of these laws could impede their ability to recruit the best teachers, expressing the government’s intention to create a minimum salary floor with no ceiling. The government introduced an amendment in January to allow the Secretary of Education to mandate at least a minimum level of remuneration for academy school teachers set through secondary legislation.

In response, a DfE spokesperson emphasized that high and rising standards are central to the government’s mission to enhance every child’s life opportunities. While acknowledging that the majority of academy trusts demonstrate strong financial management and governance, the spokesperson affirmed that robust accountability remains non-negotiable. The government pledge to challenge executive pay that is neither proportionate nor directly linked to improving student outcomes.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/16/hundreds-of-english-academy-heads-paid-over-150k-as-number-on-gravy-train-doubles-in-five-years