Harris could save millions by reducing executive spending to that seen at other large MATs, new analysis shows

Harris would save more than £4 million if its spending on six-figure salaries were the same, per pupil, as that of England's biggest academy trust.

England’s second-largest academy chain would achieve all of the likely savings from a redundancy process it is currently putting frontline staff through, if it could reduce its payments on senior staff to the level seen in its largest rival, analysis by Education Uncovered reveals.

On Friday, this website carried a detailed long-read piece on a move by the Harris Federation, which runs 55 academies, to make 45 school-based staff redundant.

One union source described the move as the largest set of redundancies they had seen, in decades working with schools, academy trusts and local authorities.

The federation has not put a number on the likely savings to be achieved. However, Education Uncovered has carried out calculations and used them to compare the amount currently being spent by Harris on six-figure salaries against those in England’s other nine largest academy trusts.

Harris appears not be including its highest-paid staff in its cost-cutting drive. This piece looks at savings which could follow if it did.