Academies

Moynihan becomes first £500k academy CEO

Harris Federation chief received a £25,000 pay rise last year, accounts show

Harris Federation chief received a £25,000 pay rise last year, accounts show

31 Jan 2025, 17:57

More from this author

Exclusive

England’s best-paid academy trust boss has been handed a £25,000 pay hike – taking his salary to over half a million pounds.

Harris Federation CEO Sir Dan Moynihan has become the first academy trust chief executive to cross the £500,000 threshold, latest accounts show.

He took home between £515,000 and £520,000 in 2023-24, up from a range of £485,000 to £490,000 the previous reporting year. This represents an increase of just over 5 per cent.

It is Moynihan’s second pay rise in a row. In 2022-23, his wages rose from between £455,000 to £460,000 to at least £485,000. This represented his first uplift in pay since 2018-19.

The trust – which has frequently been at the centre of controversy for its executive pay figures – has six other unnamed members of staff earning more than £190,000, compared to seven in 2022-23.

Of these, one employee is being paid between £250,000 and £260,000. Just nine other trust CEOs were on more in 2022-23, according to Schools Week’s last chief executive pay audit.

This comes just weeks after Moynihan railed against Labour plans to take away academy freedoms, including on pay.

Harris has been approached for comment.

Latest education roles from

Senior Quality Officer

Senior Quality Officer

University of Lancashire

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Minerva Learning Trust

Head of Programme 2D Studies – City Lit

Head of Programme 2D Studies – City Lit

FEA

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

New City College

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Helping every learner use AI responsibly

AI didn’t wait to be invited into the classroom. It burst in mid-lesson. Across UK schools, pupils are already...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Retire Early, Live Fully: What Teachers Need to Consider First

Specialist Financial Adviser, William Adams, from Wesleyan Financial Services discusses what teachers should be considering when it comes to...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Academies

Free schools update ‘later this year’, and 3 other things we learned from ministers

The education secretary and her team answered MPs' questions in Parliament today

Jack Dyson
Academies

More standalone schools on the brink as deficits grow

Seventy-five trusts – one with a deficit of almost £6 million – raised concerns about their ability to continue...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Specialist MAT given notice to improve after seeking bailout

12-school trust said it had to ask for 'emergency' government cash after 'significant delays' to SEND and free school...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Officials kept mum about academy probe as merger decided

Revelation reopens debate around the transparency of important academy decisions

Jack Dyson

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

  1. Matthew Wood

    Under Local Authorities, were the decision makers swallowing up as much public money?

    Eye watering amounts while teachers wash children’s clothes and buy pens for their classes.