Rash of departures among Harris senior executives prompts the question: why would they leave such well-remunerated posts?

Nearly half of Harris’s most senior managers left over a 15-month period, accounts disclose. Close analysis may raise questions about possibililty of a gap between salary packages of support service directors and those overseeing its education functions.

England’s second-largest academy chain saw almost half of its most senior staff leave over a 15-month period, despite the sector-outlier salaries that the trust pays to its executives, its recently-published accounts reveal.

The Harris Federation, which runs 55 schools in and around London, saw an almost complete changeover in its directors of support services during 2024-25 and the early part of this academic year.

This is despite the trust marking what must be a first in the sector, in spending more than £10 million on staff paid at least £100,000 a year, as it employed five individuals on £200,000 or more in salary alone and 23 on at least £150,000. It spent £1.8 million on the pay and pensions packages of just five people last year.