According to an insider at a Harris academy in south London, ‘a significant number of mainstream teachers’ have already received letters of potential redundancy, as NASUWT accuses Foundation’s £520,000 pa CEO of ‘underhand tactics’. By our education correspondent, GENE BRODIE
State-funded schools that are administered by the Harris Federation have initiated a formal “consultation” process aimed at making dozens of teachers redundant, a move which has attracted the condemnation of a teachers’ union.
Job losses: Harris City Academy in Crystal Palace is one of six of the federation’s schools in Croydon
There are three Harris primary “academies” in Croydon and three secondaries. The Harris Federation is a massive education business which has 44,000 children in its 55 schools around London and Essex. It was founded by a carpet salesman from Peckham, a prominent donor to the Conservative Party.
The Harris Federation now operates from offices on Wellesley Road, in Croydon town centre, where its chief executive, Sir Dan Moynihan, pockets a salary of close to £520,000, making him the highest paid academy boss in the country.
And now they are looking to shed around 45 teaching jobs.
According to teachers working at Harris-run schools, the consultation process began last week, as staff and pupils returned at the start of their summer term.
As one Harris insider told Inside Croydon, the consultation process announced last week “appears to be a prelude to a group redundancy process, with a significant number of mainstream teachers already receiving letters of potential dismissal”.
Sitting pretty: Sir Daniel Moynihan, £520k per year, and now making teachers redundant
The concerned teacher noted: “While such actions are not uncommon in the private sector or in economically distressed institutions, this step is highly unusual for an oversubscribed and ostensibly thriving school.
“The likely underlying cause may lie in the unsustainable cost structure of the Harris Federation itself.”
The teachers and unions are very suspicious of the gravy train that Moynihan and his execs at Harris HQ have created for themselves. Publicly available financial data indicates that more than 30 individuals within the Federation receive annual remuneration packages exceeding £200,000. This may include some principals, senior managers of some of the largest schools, but is thought to comprise mainly Moynihan and his HQ executives.
In the context of stagnant growth within the Federation, increased employer National Insurance contributions and other, growing financial pressures, it appears that frontline teaching staff are being targeted for cuts: “Potentially as a means to protect top-level executive pay,” the teacher said.
“This raises serious questions about governance priorities and the Federation’s commitment to delivering high-quality education, rather than preserving a corporate-style leadership model,” they said.
There has been no formal announcement from Harris, but the south London teaching grapevine suggests that the “consultation” move has been made across other academies, with instructions issued from the Federation’s office to local principals last week.
‘Disgraceful’: NASUWT’s Matt Wrack has condemned the ‘underhand’ redundancy process
Teachers’ union the NASUWT accused Moynihan and Harris of “using underhand tactics”.
The Harris Foundation schools in Croydon include Harris Primary Academy Croydon, Harris Primary Academy Haling Park and Harris Primary Academy Crystal Palace, and secondaries Harris Aspire Academy Croydon, Harris Invictus Academy Croydon and Harris City Academy Crystal Palace.
Matt Wrack, the acting general secretary of the NASUWT, said: “Harris Federation are trying to make dozens of dedicated teachers redundant and are using underhand tactics to try and force this through.
“Their disgraceful behaviour is causing untold stress to our members and will only serve to damage children’s education.
“This academy trust has tens of millions in the bank, pays its boss more than the Prime Minister and yet is seeking to get rid of 45 teachers in its schools.
“There needs to be an immediate halt to the proposed redundancies and a proper collective consultation with NASUWT.
“NASUWT teachers are angry at this attack by their employer. They are united in their resolve and tell us that sacking teachers will only harm education provision and shatter already low morale across the trust.”
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