Controversial academy trust’s spending on six-figure packages for senior employees soared by nearly 40 per cent last year, document reveals

A controversial academy chain increased the amount it spent on highly-paid managers by nearly 40 per cent last year, figures published on its website reveal.

The Sheffield-based Astrea Academy Trust saw the number of its employees receiving at least £100,000 in pay, pensions and benefits rising from 29 in 2022-23 to 40 in 2023-24. The number whose packages topped £150,000 rose from two to six over the same period, making it one of the highest payers at such levels among large multi-academy trusts.

Overall, its total bill on employees with six-figure (£100,000-plus) packages increased from around* £3.6 million in 2022-23 to some £5 million last academic year. That is a rise of 39 per cent.

The increase came with Astrea’s number of pupils barely having changed over the period, with the total roll at the 26-school trust having increased by only one per cent between the two years: from 14,604 children to 14,813.

Astrea has featured extensively on this website over the past 18 months, with its centralised approaches to teaching and behaviour management in its secondary schools, devised by senior management at its head office, generating controversy including from departing teachers.