Latest figure from the Department for Education (DfE) reveal there are 1,177 senior staff at academies being paid £100,000 per year or more, with another 581 at council-funded schools being paid a similar bumper salary. Four academy chiefs receive more than £200,000 a year. Teachers now on six-figures are at an all-time high in England at 1,758 – a rise of 16 per cent in two years.
Academy schools, where the funding comes direct from government, have the lion’s share and have seen a 161 rise in two years. Council schools have had an increase of 82.
Classroom teachers are paid on average £37,192, while head teachers get typically £71,655.
However, academy teachers get around £1,000 less than their local authority colleagues.
But academy heads in primaries get an extra £1,500 and those in secondaries £1,000 more. Some 505 on bumper salaries were executive head teachers, often responsible for a number of schools.
In 2014 the School Teachers’ Review Body said heads could receive up to £132,685 in exceptional circumstances, rising to £141,250 in inner London.
But the maximum pay for heads in charge of “multiple very large schools” should be £106,148 or £113,000 in central London.
This followed in 2010 the then education secretary Michael Gove saying heads should not earn more than the £142,500 salary of the then PM David Cameron. There are 109 now paid more than £142,000.
Christopher McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Most people will be amazed that head teachers can earn more than the Prime Minister.
“We do need a well-paid teaching force but salary should be performance-related.
“Our school system is one of the most expensive in the world to finance but we languish mid-table when it comes to performance on international league tables.”
Kevin Courtney, of the National Education Union, called for a consistent framework. He added: “Many leaders deserve a pay rise as much as their classroom colleagues, but some, particularly in the academy sector, are getting wholly unjustifiable pay.”
The DfE said we needed the best people to lead schools but with academies “we are continuing to challenge high pay where it is neither proportionate nor directly linked to improving pupil outcomes”.
