9th September 2024
Edwin People supported Advance Learning Partnership, a 19-school MAT, with an independent executive pay review for its CEO and senior team. Working closely with the Trust Board and Trustees, the team delivered a rigorous benchmarking exercise fully aligned with DfE Academy Trust Handbook requirements, ensuring pay decisions were transparent, justifiable and evidence-based.
Edwin People was approached by Advance Learning Partnership, a 19 school multi-academy trust consisting of primary and secondary schools based in the northeast who were keen to ensure that the CEO and executive team’s pay was fair, transparent, and aligned with the Department for Education's (DfE) Academy Trust Handbook requirements. The Trust needed to secure independent, experienced support to review and report on executive pay and reward, ensuring that executive salaries were not only justifiable but also consistent with the principles of accountability and value for money laid out by the DfE.
Edwin People’s senior education HR advisers worked closely with the MAT to develop an executive pay strategy that fully complied with the Academy Trust Handbook. This required a nuanced approach, to ensure that pay levels were appropriate and justifiable while aligning with the broader responsibilities and complexities of the leadership team’s roles and the context of the Trust.
Key elements of the support provided by Edwin People included:
Through Edwin People’s expert guidance, the Trust successfully navigated the complexities of executive pay setting in full compliance with the DfE’s Academy Trust Handbook. The final pay packages for the CEO and executive team were justifiable and transparent, and aligned with best practices across the sector. The Trust was able to demonstrate to the Board, staff and external stakeholders that it had followed a rigorous, evidence-based process for determining pay, ensuring accountability and public confidence.
I had the pleasure of working with Edwin People, part of The Edwin Group for an Executive Pay Review evaluation, and I am thoroughly impressed with the service they provided. The team demonstrated a high level of professionalism and an impressive depth of knowledge throughout the entire process. Their expertise was evident in the quality of the report they produced, which was not only thorough but also meticulously detailed, showcasing a strong commitment to delivering work of the highest standard. One aspect that stood out to me was their ability to adhere to the agreed timescales without compromising on the quality of their work. This punctuality was complemented by their excellent communication skills; they kept me informed at every stage of the process, ensuring that I was up to date with the review, all whilst not compromising on the confidentiality and independence of the report. This approach made the entire experience smooth and efficient. The review was received by the Chair of the Pay Review Committee with sufficient timescales to allow the committee to discuss and clarify the report with Edwin prior to the Pay Review meeting. I have no reservations in highly recommending their services. The level of professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to confidentiality and independence were exceptional. They delivered an outstanding and comprehensive executive pay review that was both insightful and valuable.
Cheviot Learning Trust, a family of 18 schools across Northumberland, partnered with Still Human following a trust merger to embed a trust-wide staff wellbeing strategy. Through Wellbeing Champion training, a staff wellbeing charter, CPD workshops and targeted leadership support, the programme strengthened resilience and leadership capability across every school in the trust.
A managed service partnership can bring consistency to supply staffing across a multi-academy trust, but Thrive Education Partnership's leaders started with a harder question: what do our schools give up? Edwin learned each school's ethos and pupil profile before building a single trust-wide booking process around them. Seven schools, one route, a 100% fill rate.
A managed service partnership cut supply costs by 50% in a single term at Connect Multi Academy Trust. Eight primary schools had been booking supply independently across more than 25 agencies, with spend and quality significant enough to reach the trust's risk register. Edwin introduced a single compliant supply model, a transparent rate card and real-time workforce data through School Portal+. Spend fell £260,000 year on year, and the trust now plans cover rather than chasing it.
Edwin is already a trusted education partner for many schools and multi-academy trusts, so whether you're looking for practical support, fresh thinking or simply somewhere to share ideas with peers, we'd love to hear from you.