Pay of leader of England’s largest multi-academy trust rose by up to 15 per cent last academic year

The pay of the chief executive of England’s largest multi-academy trust rose by up to 15 per cent last academic year, newly-released accounts information has shown.

Sir Jon Coles, who leads United Learning which has 90 academies and 14 fee-charging schools, saw his pay climb from £260-£270,000 in 2022-23 to £290-£300,000 in 2023-24.

The increase, which was in the range £20,000-£40,000 in cash terms, was the highest among any of the largest 10 academy chains whose 2023-24 accounts were available as of last night, with trusts having until the end of today to publish these financial data on their websites.

As a percentage increase, Sir Jon’s remuneration rise was in the range 7.4 per cent to 15.4 per cent, depending on where in the published band – trusts only have to disclose senior pay in rough terms – the actual figures were. Assuming remuneration in both years was in the middle of the published band, the increase would have been 11.3 per cent.

This is a higher increase than that enjoyed by teachers nationally last year. The rate for a teacher in the middle of the main pay scale (M4), increased by 6.5 per cent, from £33,850 to £36,051.

Figures for other large chains