Moderately-sized academy trust shells out £175,000 on non-contractual pay-off to a former staff member

But details are elusive as to what might have driven this, within overall pay-offs at this trust last year dwarfing those at England’s largest chains.

A moderately-sized academy trust which has featured extensively on these pages gave one of its employees a non-contractual pay-off of £175,000 last academic year – but it will not provide any further details.

The 12-school Avanti Schools Trust, based in Stanmore, north-west London, made the award among a total of approaching half a million pounds spent on “special staff severance payments” to its employees in 2024-25 – a higher figure than at any of England’s five largest academy chains.

The award was also higher than the annual salary of the Prime Minister in 2024-25 – which reportedly sat at £172,153 -  and only slightly less than that of Avanti’s outgoing chief executive, Nitesh Gor, who was himself paid a more-than-Prime Ministerial £185-£190,000 that year.