Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues to academy trusts on executive pay.

The primary responsibility for the financial oversight of academy trusts, including setting executive pay, rests with the trustees themselves. Academy trusts are delivering a high standard of financial management and governance. The latest published data shows that, in the 2022/23 academic year, 97.7% of trusts had a cumulative surplus or a zero balance, with an aggregate surplus of £4.6 billion. In terms of pay trends, the latest published workforce data shows that the mean average salary for headteachers in the sector was:

• £78,240 in a maintained primary school.
• £78,289 in an academy primary school.
• £111,796 in a maintained secondary school.
• £108,654 in an academy secondary school.

The data can be read in full here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department engages with trusts on levels of executive pay where there is insufficient demonstration of value for money, where there is no direct link to improving pupil outcomes, or if the trust is in financial difficulty.

The department sets out its expectations on pay for academies and academy trusts in the academy trust handbook, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025. Executive pay must be justifiable and should reflect the individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs.

The handbook requires that:

• An academy trust’s board of trustees ensures its decisions follow a robust, evidence-based process when setting levels of executive pay, including salary and any other benefits.
• Academy trusts’ decisions on pay must be a reasonable and defensible reflection of the individual’s role and responsibilities.
• No individual can be involved in deciding their remuneration.

Academy trusts must be transparent on pay and publish the number of employees whose benefits exceed £100,000 on their websites in £10,000 bandings. Where employees are also trustees, this information must be disclosed in £5,000 bandings.

To further support academy trusts, the department has also published ‘setting executive salaries’ guidance on GOV.UK which outlines the key contextual factors that trusts should be considering when setting or reviewing executive salaries, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts.