Tom Belger | Schools Week

More evidence needed to defend high salaries for CEOs of academy trusts

Defences of high salaries for the chief executives of academy trusts are not “evidence-based or robust enough” to withstand government scrutiny, according to experts. The Academies Financial Handbook says executive pay must be “reasonable and defensible”. Trusts paying leaders more than £150,000 have received letters ordering them to justify decisions. Emma Hughes, the head of […]

PFI Endgame: DfE steps in to ensure school handovers go to plan

The Department for Education has launched a new unit to help transfer the first private finance initiative (PFI) schools back into public hands. It comes as an investigation by Schools Week can reveal one school faces a £1 million exit fee to change its maintenance firm after the deal ends. Flawed contracts and schools’ limited […]

£125k salary fails to attract boss for ‘orphan’ academy trust

An academy trust for schools struggling to find sponsors is facing its own struggle to find a chief executive – despite offering an annual salary of £125,000. Falcon Education Academies Trust was launched as part of a government pilot in 2019 to turn around “orphan” schools in the north of England. But Gareth Mason, its […]

Academies minister questions ‘moral purpose’ of single school heads

A minister has urged high-performing standalone academies not to sit in their “splendid ‘outstanding’ isolation,” as the government launches a fresh drive for every school to join a multi-academy trust. For the person sitting in their splendid ‘outstanding’ isolation, think carefully about what is your moral purpose Education secretary Gavin Williamson outlined a raft of […]

Williamson plans behaviour survey and urges ‘sensible debate’ over exclusions

Schools will take part in a new survey on student behaviour every term, the education secretary has announced. Gavin Williamson outlined the proposals as part of a wider drive for “strong behaviour and discipline policy,” including the behaviour hubs project and a crackdown on mobile phone use in schools. The minister also called for “proper […]

MATs move to centralise in wake of Covid pressures, study finds

Many multi-academy trusts have moved to centralise HR, finance, health and safety and other policies in the wake of the pandemic, a new study suggests. While only 15 trusts of mixed sizes in the Midlands took part in the research, it points to a potentially significant development for the sector if replicated more widely. Trusts […]

Study to track Covid’s long-term impact on pupils’ life chances

A new study will track Covid’s long-term impact on the life chances of thousands of year 11 pupils. The £4.6 million Covid social mobility and opportunities (COSMO) study will look at the pandemic’s long-term consequences for 12,000 participants’ education, careers and wellbeing. Researchers at the Sutton Trust think tank and University College London plan to […]

The emerging ‘super league’ of academy trust CEO pay

The country’s best-paid academy chiefs are pulling even further ahead from the rest, with warnings of a “super league” emerging among leaders. But a Department for Education data collection gaffe means its supposed crackdown on chief executive pay has been halted for the past 18 months. Schools Week’s annual CEO pay investigation can also reveal […]