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05
Nov
Union calls for cap on 'excessive' salaries of academy school leaders
A teaching union has criticised the "excessive" salaries paid to chief executives of North Yorkshire's academy schools.
The National Education Union said a number of academy trust chief executives were "drawing salaries that far exceed those of senior public officials—including the Prime Minister”.
In the Harrogate district, nine trusts oversee multiple primary and secondary schools, including Harrogate Grammar School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School.
The NEU collated the salaries of chief executives of academy trusts in North Yorkshire.
Among those included in the data set was Richard Sheriff, chief executive of Red Kite Learning Trust which oversees Harrogate Grammar School, Rossett School Coppice Valley Primary School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Western Primary School and Saltergate Schools in Harrogate.
According to the data, Mr Sheriff earned an average salary of between £170,000 and £180,000 in 2023/24.
Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of NEU North Yorkshire, said some academy trusts CEOs were given an uplift in salary at time when schools face budget shortfalls, staff redundancies and cuts to vital support services.
He said:
This is not merely a question of numbers, but of values. Public education was founded on the principle that learning is a shared good — a collective investment in the future of society.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of multi-academy trust executives undermines this principle, transforming schools into quasi-corporations governed by opaque boards and insulated from democratic oversight.
Mr McVeigh-Kaye called for chief executive and executive renumeration to be published as part of each academy’s annual accounts.
Richard Sheriff, chief executive of the Red Kite Learning Trust
Mr Sheriff told the Stray Ferret that Red Kite trustees set his salary, which is based on factors including benchmarking and recruitment.
He added that the figures in the union report “do not accurately represent my costs to our trust” as he left the trust’s pension scheme over a year ago and continues to work without receiving any contribution to his pension.
Mr Sheriff said:
We do not involve ourselves in political campaigns or comment on others, but it is disappointing to see that the NEU is taking such a confrontational stance. It is however, only right that we should be open and transparent about our work as a public body serving our communities. I do not set my salary, this is done by trustees who decide on the appropriate level based on benchmarking data, affordability, recruitment and retention and the size and complexity of the trust.
Our trust serves over 10,000 children, employs over 1600 staff and serves diverse communities across North Yorkshire and Leeds. We also have responsibility for training over 180 teachers each year through our own ‘Outstanding’ SCITT. In the last few years we have grown significantly with the addition of two schools to our organisation.
The school teachers pay and conditions document, negotiated and agreed with all the trades unions, sets a salary of £143,000 for headteachers of the largest schools. This is a useful starting point when considering the salary of the person who takes on responsibility for not just one but in this case 16 schools.
The highest paid chief executive of trusts that cover the Harrogate district is listed in the NEU report as Mark Wilson, of Wellspring Academy Trust which operates Springwell Harrogate and The Forest School in Knaresborough.
According to the figures, Mr Wilson was paid a salary of between £215,000 and £220,000 in 2023/24.
The Stray Ferret approached Weillspring Academy Trust for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
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