Dozens of academy leaders have been recognized as pay “outliers”, incomes way over their friends who run similar-sized trusts.
Faculties Week’s annual govt pay investigation reveals most trusts beneath authorities scrutiny froze or slashed pay final yr – however others handed out important rises.
Some consultants and leaders welcome new authorities scrutiny of pay “outliers”, however warn that metrics should be nuanced and motion taken on stark gender pay gaps.
Outliers paid as much as 100% extra
Faculties Week analysed the 2021-22 accounts for 246 trusts beforehand ordered by the federal government to justify having one £150,000 or two £100,000 salaries, and 31 giant trusts recognized to pay £150,000 or extra.
The Division for Schooling stopped sending warning letters in 2020 following information errors, however final month officers signalled a brand new deal with “outlier ranges of management pay throughout related academy trusts”.
No particulars have emerged on the definition of “related”, however some consultants say dimension typically gives a great predictor of pay. The DfE says bigger trusts usually “equate to greater obligations”.
Our evaluation discovered a average correlation between pay and pupil numbers.
But 50 trusts – 18 per cent – paid their chief govt 15 per cent above the typical for similar-sized trusts.
The ten largest outliers on this measure obtained on common greater than 50 per cent – £108,000 – greater than anticipated for trusts their dimension. They’re all additionally among the many highest-paid, incomes £200,000 or extra.
They embody Sir Kevin Satchwell, the chief of the standalone high-performing Thomas Telford College and linked Thomas Telford MAT. His £290,000 minimal earnings – down on final yr – are nearly twice anticipated ranges, primarily based on pupil numbers.
The belief didn’t remark.
Moynihan nets £455k wage
The Harris Federation’s Sir Dan Moynihan, the nation’s highest paid chief on £455,000, earned 60 per cent greater than the £284,000 wage the mannequin predicts given his 51 faculties.
The turnaround belief lately celebrated the best outcomes of any giant MAT in Progress 8 league tables, nevertheless, whereas Moynihan has helped increase thousands and thousands for its faculties.
Doug Selkirk, chief govt of the 15-school Central Studying Partnership Belief, was paid £203,000, round a 3rd above the anticipated wage primarily based on dimension.
However seven of its 15 academies are particular faculties. Phil Williams, the belief’s chief monetary officer, stated per-pupil figures had been “skewed” for particular and new faculties, with dimension too “slender a set of parameters”.
He stated section, specialist provision, college challenges and central workforce dimension also needs to be factored in.
Such complicated instances and the federal government’s previous blanket strategy increase questions on how sympathetic and nuanced its new clampdown can be.
Excessive expectations
Leora Cruddas, who leads the Confederation of College Trusts (CST) academy physique, stated boards set pay “very fastidiously”. However trusts “range extensively of their dimension, sort, and complexity”, making wage variation unsurprising.
Emma Knights, chief govt of the Nationwide Governance Affiliation, added the federal government was enterprise a “very thorough evaluation of what an outlier could be”, and welcomed the main focus.
She stated boards and the sector wanted to think about whether or not mountaineering chief govt pay as trusts grew was “cheap given that is public cash”. She recommended boards think about pay ratios as a “cap or brake on limitless rises with progress”.
However Helen Stevenson, director of the recruitment firm Satis Schooling, stated candidates to CEO posts typically had greater wage expectations than boards.
“That’s at all times going to be a problem till the federal government tackles outliers. Most boards settle for it’s a market-driven sector now, so you need to make your self interesting.”
Low-paying “outliers” too…
But some high-paying trusts additionally seem “outliers” for low pay.
Sixty-eight trusts of wide-ranging sizes paid greater than 15 per cent lower than anticipated. The £252,000 wage of Sir Jon Coles of United Studying is the seventh highest nationally, however 27 per cent under anticipated for the nation’s largest belief.
Sir Martyn Oliver of Outwood Grange Academies Belief was equally under anticipated, regardless of incomes £180,000.
Each additionally rank as the 2 lowest-paid per pupil, with Coles’ wages equating to £4.65 per head and Oliver’s £6. 9 different trusts ranked under £10, whereas 80 trusts ranked greater than £50 per pupil.
A spokesperson for the Meridian Belief, the place Mark Woods’ £130,000 wage is £60,000 lower than anticipated for a 28-school belief, stated this mirrored maintained college pay scales, with a further 10 factors on the prime given MAT management obligations.
Three of the bottom “outliers” are Christian trusts. Stevenson stated the Catholic sector typically provided decrease salaries, seeing roles as “mission-led”, however she warned it risked “shedding good-quality leaders”.
…and extra prone to be girls
Avearge salaries of girls leaders had been about £1,000 greater year-on-year, whereas males’s had been near-flat.
But a pay hole of about £14,000 stays, and solely 30 per cent of chief executives analysed had been girls, in contrast with 76 per cent of lecturers.
Nineteen of the 50 “outliers” for decrease pay had been girls versus 14 of the 50 higher-pay “outliers”.
Solely 4 girls made the highest 20 best-paid, and three as a result of they had been receiving wage in lieu of pension contributions.
Cruddas stated the relative lack of feminine leaders was “disappointing”, whereas Stevenson urged feminine job candidates to hunt recommendation on sector salaries “reasonably than accepting what’s introduced”.
Viv Porritt, the chief of the marketing campaign group WomenEd, stated the sector had not handled “inequitable pay gaps severely”.
“The hole between placing lecturers and rising salaries for males on the prime should be tackled by the sector and by authorities.”
Breaking the £200,000 mark
Thirty-five leaders had been incomes not less than £200,000, up from 27 in 2018-19. Ten earned £250,000 or extra.
On common, the trusts run by £200,000-plus earners run 27 faculties.
Nonetheless, information for an additional two trusts was unavailable, together with Holland Park College in London – whose £280,000 wage for Colin Corridor, its former head, made it the highest-paying standalone academy. The college is now a part of United Studying following authorities intervention over excessive pay and allegations of a “poisonous” tradition.
A Loxford Faculties Belief spokesperson stated solely £88,178 of Anita Johnson’s £240,000 wage was for her position as chief govt, with the remainder referring to her headteacher position.
Together with solely the primary aspect would slash her per-pupil CEO price from £34 to £12, whereas utilizing mixed figures makes comparability “invalid and inaccurate”, they claimed.
Leigh Academies Belief and Delta Academies Belief chief executives Simon Beamish and Paul Tarn respectively obtained the largest hikes in pay among the many prime 20, with rises of about £25,000.
A Delta spokesperson referred to as Tarn an “distinctive chief of a really high-performing, non-selective belief”, making his efficiency and benchmarking-based pay “wonderful worth”.
Total, 11 trusts had prime earners on minimal pay bands not less than 20 per cent greater than the yr earlier than.
The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Faculties Belief hiked Emma Wigmore’s minimal pay band by £30,000 to £120,000. A spokesperson stated its pay committee had reviewed benchmarking information from similar-sized MATs and her efficiency.
Two in 5 trusts boosted present or new leaders’ pay general, with common rises of 8 per cent.
It got here in a yr when most instructor payscales had been frozen, and long-standing pay restraint has contributed to industrial unrest.
“Dad and mom and the general public wouldn’t count on pay to proceed to extend while the pay of classroom lecturers continues to be held down,” stated Dr Patrick Roach, the final secretary of lecturers’ union NASUWT.
Evaluation exhibits indicators of restraint
Whereas pay rose 2 per cent on common among the many prime 20, it was nearly unchanged year-on-year
amongst all of the trusts analysed. The typical pay was £151,000 – nonetheless above the £137,000 common in a wider CST belief survey.
Forty-four per cent of trusts froze govt pay and 15.5 per cent reduce it, with declines averaging 18 per cent.
DfE evaluation additionally suggests about 40 per cent of lecturers obtained pay rises in the identical yr – regardless of frozen payscales.
Satis stated senior salaries general had been “beginning to degree off”, with boards taking authorities concern over the £150,000 determine “severely”.
9 trusts reduce pay by a 3rd or extra.
Washwood Heath appointed new chief govt Peter Weir on £110,000, the place his predecessor as soon as earned £175,000. A spokesperson stated it adopted a “full revitalisation” of the belief, with new trustees and management.
Steve Kenning’s minimal earnings at Aspirations Academy Belief fell from £250,000 to £230,000, whereas the pay of 5 of the best-paid 20 was frozen.
The Elliot Basis’s Hugh Greenway stated his £214,000 wage was frozen on unions’ advice, however as an “ celebration” he shouldn’t remark additional.
Sacred Coronary heart Catholic College’s long-standing head in south London, Serge Cefai, ranked costliest per pupil amongst majority-mainstream trusts on £145,000. However a spokesperson stated his substitute on the single-academy belief earned much less following Cefai’s retirement.
Pay under different sectors
Cruddas additionally highlighted current CST analysis suggesting common trusts pay leaders lower than their charity, private and non-private sector friends.
Jason Elsom, the chief govt of Parentkind, stated operating giant MATs was “no completely different”, overseeing giant workforces and budgets.
But CST analysis confirmed belief leaders surveyed dealt with budgets and employees far smaller than their charity friends.
Inside Housing discovered housing affiliation CEO pay averaged £193,000 final yr, up 1.8 per cent, whereas the Well being Service Journal discovered 19 NHS leaders earned greater than £250,000.
Elsom added: “Trustees ought to recognise parallels ought to proceed when issues go incorrect. When a industrial entity is financially constrained, or failing to fulfill its goals, the fallout impacts the CEO.”
Nerd be aware…
Belief data was taken from 2021-22 accounts.
Belief information varies, with precise pay information used the place accessible however minimal pay band information used the place not.
Some accounts listed pupil and faculty numbers from 2022, however others used 2021 information. When neither was accessible, Faculties Week used DfE databases.
