Academisation statistics

'pay' = pay package

2022-23 - number of heads of academies paid >£150,000

• 775

Department for Education - 2024 - % of academy trusts that paid at least 1 staff member >£150,000

• 30.8%

2018-19 - % of academy trusts that paid at least 1 staff member >£150,000

• 12%

DfE - 2024 - % of academy trusts that paid at least 1 staff member £100-150,000

• 75%

2023 - number of trusts that the DfE wrote to warn about high salaries

• 37

• Some have even increased pay post-letter

Martin Haworth - role, salary and rise

• Executive teacher and head of a trust that ONLY OPERATES ONE SCHOOL

• £345,000 (one of best paid teachers in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿)

• Increased 30% over 2 years

Justin James - role, salary and rise

• CEO and exec head of a MAT

• £267,533

• Increased 18% over 2 years

Carl Ward - role, salary and rise

• CEO of MAT (4 schools, 1 college)

• >£300,000

• At least 13% over 2 years

Local Government Association (2023) - % of regular schools Ofsted rated good/outstanding

• 93%

Local Government Association (2023) - % of academies Ofsted rated good/outstanding

• 87%

• Academies excuse this by saying they take failing schools from LAs and turn them around

Schools Week (2024) - number of trusts that paid their leaders >£200,000 last year, % awarded rises

• >60

• 95%

Best paid CEO in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

• Sir Dan Moynihan

  • Head of Harris Fed (55 academies)

• 2024 paid ~ £520,000 PLUS pension contributions of ~ £85,000

Wakefield City Academies Trust trajectory

• 2015 - named top-performing and given £500,000 by Nicky Morgan

• Took on 14 schools in special measures

• Now - one of lowest-performing academy chains in the country

• 2024 - shut down

  • Parents had raised money to keep it open

  • Transferred £1.5m to central coffers (SOME OF THIS RAISED BY PARENTS) and announced it would be stepping back from its 21 schools

Education Funding Agency (2016) - Wakefield City Academies Trust CEO pay + IT costs

• £82,000/3 months

• £440,000 to IT companies owned by CEO (Ramsay) and his daughter

Francis - purpose of NL academy programme

• Revitalise schooling as an engine of social mobility in deprived areas

Francis - actual difference in outcomes for academies

• Hardly any compared to LA schools

Francis - disadvantaged children

• 6 in 10 academy chains have below-average attainment for children from disadvantaged backgrounds

Commons public accounts committe - rejections of academy applications

• 13 rejections out of >2,000 applications in 3 years

2010 - number and % of academies

• 200

• 1% of all 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 schools

2024 - fraction of academies

• 6 in 10 secondaries

• 1 in 5 primaries

• Boosted by Gove

Lack of govt power to compel trusts to take over schools

• 2016 - all inadequate schools have to become academies

• 2016-17 - 6 in 10 inadequate schools not opened as academies 9 months later

Lord Nash - conflict of interest

• Both a schools minister and the chair of an academy chain

National Audit Office - money invested in academisation

• £745m

Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust

• 2016 - forced to give up all (9) schools

• Used emergency public funding to ensure basic equipment and furniture, yet was using public funds to pay consultants >£1,000/day 

Education Fellowship Trust

• Founded by Sir Harper, key influencer of Blair’s academies policy

• 2017 - gave up all (12) schools after damning Ofsteds and financial problems

Perry Beeches Academy Trust

• Praised by Cameron as success story

• 2018 - gives up all (5) schools after financial mismanagement 

  • Paid CEO £80,000/year and an extra £120,000 over 2 years