Pupils being deprived of frontline cash by fat-cat academy head salaries, say MPs
2 min read
Academy schools are being deprived of frontline resources because so many of their headteachers and executives are being paid fat-cat salaries, MPs have said.
A damning report by the Public Accounts Committee found that bosses at 102 of the semi-independent schools are often being paid in excess of £150,000 a year - more than Theresa May.
They said: "Unjustifiably high salaries use public money that could be better spent on improving children’s education and supporting frontline teaching staff, and do not represent value for money.
"If the payment of such high salaries remains unchallenged, it is more likely that such high salaries become accepted as indicative of the market rate. This could then distort the employment market in the sector for senior staff."
Academies, which are state funded but are free from local council control, were first set up by New Labour and further expanded under the Conservatives.
In some cases, many schools form so-called 'multi-academy trusts', which are run by a single head or senior executive.
Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation in London, is the highest paid academy executive, with a salary of £430,000.
PAC chair Meg Hiller said: "Excessive trustee salaries deprive the frontline of vital funds and it is alarming that, in two-thirds of cases where Government has challenged individual trusts on pay exceeding £150,000, it has not been satisfied by the response.
"The Department for Education must assert its authority in this area as part of a more proactive strategy to safeguard pupils’ education and public money across the sector.
"That means identifying more quickly trusts at risk of financial difficulty, enabling it to intervene effectively. It must also demonstrate it has a coherent plan to protect schools’ assets and pupils’ interests should a multi-academy trust fail."
A Department for Edusation spokesman said: "Thanks to the hard work of teachers and government reforms, academic standards In England have consistently risen since 2010, with 1.9 million more pupils in good or outstanding schools – and 450,000 of those pupils now study in a sponsored academy that was typically previously underperforming.
"All academy trusts operate under a strict system of financial accountability and have to publish their audited accounts. To ensure all pupils get the excellent education they deserve we continue to scrutinise the system on an annual basis and take action where necessary, such as recently asking all trusts paying high salaries to justify them."
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