Scrutinise headteacher pay, says highest earning academy boss

On the back of a Sunday Times investigation into head teachers and academy trust leaders’ salaries, the top earner on the Times’ list has called for more scrutiny over school leader pay. Sir Dan Moynihan, whose salary and benefits package for his role as leader of the Harris Federation is in the region of £550,000, defended his own pay package in an interview with TES but said that the large salaries of heads who run only one or two schools should be "looked at".

“What matters is the outcomes for kids and if we’re managing our budgets efficiently and the kids are getting a good deal,” Sir Dan said. “If you’ve got very large salaries and it's one school or two schools, that needs a closer look, I think. But it’s different when there is a large number of schools and [the trust] is doing well and disadvantaged kids are making progress.”

Financial accounts earlier this year revealed that the head of Holland Park School, a single-academy trust, raised its leader’s salary to £260,000 this year. It was one of the chains that received a letter from the academies minister in February which called in trusts to work with the government to tackle the “issue” of high pay.

A report last year from the Public Accounts Committee last year said that academy trusts pay their bosses “unjustifiably high salaries”, and that the money could be better spent on improving children’s education. In his interview with TES, Sir Dan was asked if the cost saving measures he had introduced had covered the cost of his salary. “I have to be very circumspect in what I say here”, Sir Dan responded. “Whatever I say I’ll be killed for.”

Exclusive: Probe high academy pay, says £550k Moynihan(TES) Some school salaries are too big, says highest earner (The Times) Academy boss paid £550,000 calls for greater scrutiny of headteacher pay (The Independent) Fat cat academy bosses told to rein in mega‑salaries (The Times)

Why should this matter to me? With many schools struggling to make ends meet, the issue of school leaders’ salaries is a controversial subject. Whether or not Sir Dan’s salary is justified, this story indicates that while many schools are under financial duress, multi-academy trusts seem to be managing well enough, and may be appropriate audiences for high-end marketing or activities and services that enrich their students beyond the standard curriculum. This story also makes abundantly clear the value such schools place in their leadership; as such, it may indicate that they are willing to invest in leadership training and management skills courses.