红桃影视

Trust central team growth has outstripped trust expansion. But the government admits it knows little about them.

So what do they do? And how much do they cost? Jack Dyson reports

The spotlight has long shone on academy trust chief executives, but many now lead growing numbers of centrally employed 鈥� and sometimes well-paid 鈥� senior leaders.

But what do we know about such central teams? 

The Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) admitted in April it has a 鈥渄ata gap鈥� and is reviewing whether to collect information on them. Scoping research is ongoing. 

Government guidance states 鈥渟trong鈥� trusts ensure all staff are focused on improvement. Their structure allows 鈥渁dministrative functions, policies and financial management to be delivered centrally, allowing school leaders to prioritise education鈥�.

A 2021 report by the National Governance Association (NGA) noted that central teams are 鈥渆merging as powerful drivers for realising many [of the] benefits of trust-wide collaboration鈥�.  

Many are providing more services, such as HR, in-house, allowing them to recruit people with specialist expertise.

Sir David Carter, the former national schools commissioner, says another key role is improving education standards more quickly by ensuring 鈥渟uccessful practice is transmitted from one classroom to another鈥� across schools.

A third, and less talked about, benefit is delivering economies of scale on saving time by stopping duplication of tasks, he adds.

But while most larger trusts have established central teams, smaller chains and those looking to become MATs are grappling with how best to do this.

Mark Greatrex, who leads the 10-school Bellevue Place Education Trust and has advised others on their structures, says they tend to be formed just before trusts take on their second school.

At this point, chief executives start 鈥渢hinking about what they need to do to have that structure and the promises it’s sold” to secondaries or primaries set to join the group. 

Who are our central team leaders?

The academies accounts direction states MATs 鈥渕ust describe the types of central services provided to schools during the year鈥�. But they aren鈥檛 obliged to include how many people are centrally employed.    

Of the 30 biggest trusts, 15 either didn鈥檛 list the information on their website or provide their central team numbers to Schools Week.  

Unity Schools Partnership provides the names of every central team worker, including cleaners, junior technicians and HR admin assistants.     

But the Harris Federation simply mentions online that its 鈥渃entral team includes around 60 highly skilled teachers available to our academies as a resource to use as they need鈥�. Its website does not appear to list any of those leaders other than Sir Dan Moynihan, its chief executive.

Tom Richmond, the founder of the EDSK think tank, says it is 鈥渧ital we have transparency鈥� over such roles as it is 鈥渟imply not possible to understand the drivers of effective practice if we have no collective sense of how to invest wisely to improve schools鈥�.

One of the issues may be that interpretations of what constitutes a central team varies.  

Paul Tarn, the chief executive of Delta Academies Trust, says: 鈥淚 have 42 specialist subject directors. Are they part of the central team? I don鈥檛 know. It鈥檚 really difficult [to work out], and where I draw my line and say 鈥榯his is my central team鈥�, someone else may say that鈥檚 not.鈥�  

Two-thirds of chief executives across the 30 biggest trusts that formed part of our analysis are men, and all but one of the chain bosses are white.  

But of the 357 members of central staff that trusts listed online, our analysis suggests nearly two thirds are women.

Is bigger better?  

It鈥檚 difficult to get comparable figures on the size of these teams, and not all trusts responded to our request for data.

Of those that did, unsurprisingly, United Learning 鈥� the country鈥檚 largest trust 鈥� had the biggest central team. Its 230 staff provide services across areas that include payroll, accounts and technology systems for its 81 schools.

Services can be delivered 鈥渕ore efficiently and effectively鈥�, with the 鈥渟pecialist expertise鈥� offered 鈥減articularly valuable to schools鈥�, the trust says.  

But services are only centralised 鈥渨here doing so is demonstrably more efficient and/or effective than doing it locally鈥�.  

United Learning says the cost of all these services equates to 拢234 for each pupil.  

Of our analysis, just four trusts appear to have 20 or fewer central team members. All are faith-based, including the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust which has just 11 people in its central team.   

Oliver Burwood, its chief executive 鈥� who oversees one secondary and 37 primaries, 鈥渁bout half of which have less than 100 pupils鈥� 鈥� says a company performs several 鈥渂ack-office roles鈥� on its behalf.聽 聽

‘We didn’t want to replicate a whole load of roles’

His trust, with another in the same diocese, launched the firm because they 鈥渄idn鈥檛 want to replicate a whole load of roles and costs that are already sitting in one MAT鈥�. Burwood says it gives them 鈥渂etter value for money鈥�, as it operates across the two groups.  

This has allowed his central team to 鈥渇ocus on school improvement鈥�. At the same time, some members of staff also act as line managers to the chain鈥檚 executive headteachers, who run federations of up to four small primaries.   

鈥淚f you鈥檝e got a good leader, it鈥檚 best to have them across those four schools than having them teaching a lot of the time,鈥� he says.

鈥淵ou can grow central teams as big as you want, but they鈥檝e got to be effective, and they鈥檝e got to produce outcomes for pupils. You don鈥檛 want them to be bloated because, ultimately, it鈥檚 money that should be spent on kids.鈥�  

Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust has a 42-person strong central team 鈥� which Nick Hurn, it chief executive, describes as 鈥渂igger than most鈥�. The group expanded from 10 to 47 schools in just four years.    

鈥淭he difficulty we had was matching the required expansion of our services and team with the income that does not come in as quickly as the converted schools,鈥� Hurn says. 鈥淪o, you have a funding gap, but still have the extra schools to support.鈥�   

鈥楥ommand and control leads to bigger risks鈥�  

But the NGA concluded two years ago that 鈥渃entral team power and influence continues to contribute to ongoing tensions between individual school expression and trust control鈥�.  

Hugh Greenway, the chief executive of the Elliot Learning Foundation, which has 30 central staff for its 32 primaries, describes his team as 鈥渕edium-sized鈥�, but adds 鈥渢he trouble with command and control is you take bigger risks鈥�.  

鈥淵ou need people in the field to make decisions. We want to encourage innovation and development.  

鈥淲hen we see something silly or dangerous being done, we step in. My approach costs more because there are areas of duplication and development.鈥�   

While rising trust chief executive pay has been well scrutinised, the salaries of other centrally employed staff has not.

It is difficult to work out exactly how much central teams get paid. But a good proxy is salaries. Pay scales show headteachers , although trusts can set their own pay.

90 leaders paid over 拢130,000

Using analysis provided by the Campaign for State Education (CASE), we found 90 people across the 10 largest trusts earned more than 拢130,000 last year. This equated to 拢42.57 per child. The CASE analysis found the comparable figure for staff in councils and authority-maintained schools was 拢4.17.  

The Harris Federation, for instance, now has 20 people paid more than 拢130,000. Of those, four earn more than 拢200,000.  

Moynihan received 拢455,000 last year. But the salaries of the other three Harris leaders 鈥� who are not named in annual accounts 鈥� places them in the top 20 of the best-paid CEOs across the country.  

Harris appears to be an outlier, though. No other large trust has more than one person paid more than 拢200,000.  

United Learning had 25 leaders who received salaries of more than 拢130,000, the second-highest, while Ark Schools had nine.  

But the trusts say this is not a good indicator of central team wages because most people earning more than 拢130,000 are heads or executive heads working in their London schools.

鈥榃e鈥檙e custodians of public funds’

Accounts for the 10 largest trusts over the past six years show the number of employees in that pay banding climbed by two thirds. Over the same period, the chains only grew by 30 per cent. The findings suggest central team growth has outstripped trust expansion.  

Five chains had no one in the higher bandings. Among them was Oxford Diocesan Schools, which notes its 鈥渃entral team salaries are 10 per cent to 20 per cent lower relative to those of other trusts of similar size鈥�.   

A spokesperson says the chain 鈥渟trikes a balance of paying at an appropriate level for high-quality staff [and] recognising we are custodians of public funding for children鈥檚 education鈥�.    

And the costs of growing teams doesn鈥檛 sit well with some. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the amount of money that鈥檚 taken out of schools,鈥� says Tarn.  

鈥淢y trust is probably one of the most financially efficient in the country. There鈥檚 a reason why we鈥檙e spending 拢15.1 million on school buildings this year, and that鈥檚 because we generated in 2021 about 拢15 million surplus. We鈥檙e not doing that because we鈥檙e sloshing money about paying people to hybrid work and filling offices with executives.鈥�

But a survey of 84 trust leaders last week by The Key and Forum Strategy found that budget pressures have forced just over a third to reduce investment in 鈥渟pecialist central staff鈥�. 

Top slicing vs GAG pooling  

Central teams are generally funded by one of two ways. In the first 鈥� and most common 鈥� trusts collect a percentage slice of each school鈥檚 budget, or general annual grant (GAG) funding.    

Chains using the second method, GAG pooling, collect their schools鈥� budgets in one pot before dishing out funds based on their own formula, which doesn鈥檛 have to be published.   

Our analysis shows just five of the country鈥檚 biggest trusts GAG pool.

The Diocese of Ely MAT started pooling funding in 2020-21. Accounts state 鈥渟maller schools have benefited from this approach鈥�.  

The highest top slice was 7.25 per cent, charged by Unity Schools Partnership.   

Meanwhile, Bishop Wilkinson鈥檚 accounts show the amounts range from 0 to 5 per cent. Hurn says this allows the trust to make sure it does not take a top slice from schools in financial difficulty 鈥渦ntil we are able to stabilise them, which can take a year or two鈥�.   

The trust does not GAG pool 鈥渁t this stage in our development as many of our schools have managed to save decent amounts in their reserves鈥�. Despite this, heads have all agreed that this money can be pooled and used by the trust 鈥渋f or when necessary鈥� to support an ailing academy.  

Trusts consider GAG-pooling budgets

A found that nearly 25 per cent of its more than 300 trusts GAG pool, compared with 14 per cent last year. Altogether, two in five are either pooling or considering it.

REAch2 will begin pooling budgets in 2024. The trust, which is England鈥檚 largest primary-only chain, currently takes a 6.5 per cent top slice.  

Burwood says his chain is considering GAG pooling 鈥渟lowly because we鈥檙e doing it in consultation with headteachers to make sure we鈥檙e doing it right. It will help us to serve a small number of schools that aren鈥檛 by the current formula. Due to vagaries of postcode, they don鈥檛 ever seem to have enough money.鈥�  

Alice Gregson, the executive director of Forum Strategy, believes some trust bosses are 鈥渨aiting to see how GAG pooling is working for others before perhaps taking it on themselves鈥�.

But Robert Farmer, the chief executive of Hamwic Education Trust, says 鈥減ooled funding can also be a barrier to successful schools joining as they feel they may be worse off鈥�.  

Tarn also thinks it’s opaque, arguing that it must be 鈥渞eally transparent in order to be fair鈥�.   

Stephen Morales, of the Institute of School Business Leadership, says money can鈥檛 be taken into the centre and it 鈥渘ot be clear where you鈥檙e putting it鈥� But I don鈥檛 accept the local protectionism of 鈥榯his is my school and I鈥檝e got a track record of running it perfectly 鈥� I don鈥檛 need a central team to tell me what to do鈥�.   

鈥淒on鈥檛 join a trust then. If you鈥檙e going to be part of one, you accept everything鈥檚 done in the interests of the whole, not the one.鈥�  

鈥楪overnment mustn鈥檛 interfere鈥� 

For trust bosses to ensure their models are efficient, Carter argues they 鈥渕ust release capacity for school leadership teams to target educational improvement鈥�.  

鈥淭he sharing of resources, training, development opportunities, curriculum and assessment systems can and does result in a reduction in workload across MATs.  

鈥淏ut for this to work, there needs to be a culture where school staff value being part of a trust that leads in this way. They need to be willing to accept that the trust might have more capacity and be better placed than their own school to do all of this work in isolation.鈥� 

The academy trust handbook only states that central teams must have an accounting officer 鈥� who is usually the chief executive 鈥� and a finance director in place. There is no further guidance issued on how they should be configured.  

Leora Cruddas, who heads the Confederation of School Trusts, describes this as an 鈥渋mportant point of principle鈥�. 

“The whole point of creating a MAT is that it, as a specialist organisation, gets to determine the most effective structure for its group of schools.

鈥淚 would resist to my dying breath any government decision to issue guidance on how they should perform or organise operational functions. It would completely undermine the trust movement.鈥�