Academy CEO received 20 per cent-plus pay rise to nearly �150k for running six schools

A small academy chain, with only six schools as of last year, saw its chief executive’s pay climb by more than 20 per cent to nearly �150,000, its accounts for 2016-17 reveal.

South Pennine Academies, formerly Moor End Academies Trust, based in Huddersfield, west Yorkshire, saw the pay of its leader, Jane Acklam, rise from £115-£120,000 in 2015-16 to £145-£150,000 in 2016-17.

That is an increase of at least 21 per cent, and possibly up to 30 per cent (see note below), depending on where in the stated pay bracket the actual remuneration figure was, at a time when national increases in teachers’ pay have barely been above zero.

Acklam, who is a co-opted member of the government’s regional “Headteacher Board”, which makes recommendations on schools’ futures, also received employers’ pensions contributions of £20-£25,000 in 2016-17. This was an increase of anything between zero and 67 per cent on the previous year’s figure of £15-£20,000.

Her 2016-17 remuneration was higher than that of the chief executive of Kirklees council, the local authority area in which some of the chain’s schools operate, who was paid £136,754 in 2016-17 plus £18,872 in pension contributions, the council’s accounts show.