The median salary for academy trust chief executives has risen to £149,790, up 4 per cent on last year, according to a new survey.

The figure, published in the Confederation of School Trusts’ (CST) salary survey of executive roles in school trusts 2025, mirrors this year’s 4 per cent pay settlement for most teachers.

By comparison, the median salary for headteachers across all state-funded schools in England was £79,949 for the 2024-25 academic year. A typical secondary head in the country earns £106,698, while for primary heads the figure is £76,184, according to the latest Department for Education workforce data.

Pay below maintained school maximum

Under the DfE’s School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), each school is placed into a headteacher group according to its size, which sets broad salary limits. The highest statutory leadership pay range for maintained schools is £153,490 in inner London.

This means the typical trust chief executive earns slightly less than the maximum a single-school headteacher can be paid, despite overseeing multiple schools.

Chief executives in trusts with the largest number of schools continue to earn the most, according to the survey.

Those leading trusts with up to five schools received a median base salary of £137,352, while for CEOs overseeing 21 or more schools it was £173,532, or 15.6 per cent above the overall median.

The survey drew on pay data for 2,870 senior roles across 126 school trusts of widely varying size, including large MATs with more than 10,000 pupils.

Leora Cruddas, CST’s chief executive, said the data showed pay structures were “well-embedded” within the system.

Median pay for trust leaders “again changed in line with the 4 per cent settlement for most teaching staff”, she said, adding that boards were “taking their responsibilities seriously” when setting executive pay.

Ms Cruddas said that while the focus is often on CEO pay, these roles carry significantly broader responsibilities than those of an individual headteacher.

Chief executives are accountable for the educational outcomes of thousands of pupils, as well as the long-term financial viability and strategic direction of MATs.

Gender gap narrows but regional divide persists

The survey also found that the gender pay gap among CEOs has halved over the past two years. There is now a 3.4 per cent gap, with women earning a median of £5,087 less than men. In 2024, the gap was 5.8 per cent, and in 2023 it was 7 per cent, according to CST.

However, the report also found that the pay gap has widened at other leadership levels, with male operations directors now earning 11.2 per cent more than their female counterparts, up from 2 per cent a year earlier.

The survey also highlighted continuing regional variation, with trust leaders in London earning more than those in other regions. The median basic salary for CEOs in the capital is £164,851, around 10 per cent higher than the national median.

The CST said the findings underlined the need for fair, evidence-based benchmarking of senior pay, adding that the survey provides data to help trust boards make transparent decisions.

Ms Cruddas said: “Compared to similar senior roles in other sectors, trust CEO pay is well behind that of business, slightly under that of the wider public sector, and broadly in line with other charities and not-for-profit organisations.”

The report, produced in partnership with Brightmine and Browne Jacobson, is now in its fifth year and draws on pay data for senior leaders from across England’s academy trust system.

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