Setting executive pay is a big responsibility. You need to attract and retain talented leaders, make the best use of your budget, and be able to explain the decisions you’ve made.
And with new executive pay requirements introduced under the Academy Trust Handbook 2026, demonstrating a responsible use of funding becomes essential.
But when every trust has different challenges, priorities, and leadership structures, it’s not always easy knowing whether your executive salaries are where they need to be.
That’s where CEO salary benchmarking comes in.
Whether you’re recruiting a new CEO, reviewing existing pay, or planning for future growth, a pay benchmarking review gives trustees valuable evidence to support fair, informed, and defensible decisions.
We’ll walk you through the three main areas for benchmarking pay, along with key questions every board of trustees should consider.
2. Evidence-based decision-making
3. Aligning executive pay with education budgets
When every Academy Trust faces its own set of unique challenges, job titles alone reveal little about the demands of a leadership role.
Take two CEOs, both leading trusts with the same number of schools. On the surface, the job roles look similar. However, pupil numbers, geographical spread, financial circumstances, school improvement priorities and the structure of their existing leadership teams all affect the scope of responsibility. Suddenly, the comparison isn’t quite so straightforward.
Effective CEO salary benchmarking looks beyond the headline salary. It considers the whole context in which the leader works.
The Department for Education (DfE) guidance for setting executive salaries highlights several important factors for trustees to consider when reviewing executive-level pay:
The question for your board: Are we comparing genuinely similar roles, or simply matching job titles?
Finding the right comparisons takes time and a good working knowledge of the education sector. Independent benchmarking can help you identify relevant salary data and understand how differences between organisations should inform your decisions.
The question for your board: If our latest executive pay decisions were challenged, would our evidence stand up to scrutiny?
It’s worth asking, particularly following the introduction of new executive pay controls under the Academy Trust Handbook 2026.
From 1 October 2026, academy trusts must obtain DfE approval:
With greater external scrutiny, trustees must ensure executive pay decisions are proportionate, transparent and supported by a fully documented, evidence-based process. Ultimately, your Trust board should be able to explain:
Why particular salary comparisons were selected
How the responsibilities and complexity of the role were assessed
What evidence supports the proposed remuneration package.
Conducting a benchmarking review not only brings a fresh perspective to support your board's decision, but also provides an additional layer of research and objective analysis that can serve as strong evidence if an external body requires it.
If a key leader resigned tomorrow, would you know what salary to offer to their replacement?
It’s not always something trusts have an immediate answer to.
As trusts grow, responsibilities change, and leadership teams evolve, salary packages agreed several years ago may no longer reflect the demands of the role today.
An annual pay review isn’t just a chance to review executive pay and check whether salaries are competitive; it’s also an opportunity to look ahead.
Benchmarking can help your board explore whether remuneration will support recruitment, retention and succession while remaining affordable.
When reviewing executive salaries, consider:
The question for your board: Does our approach to CEO pay support future workforce succession plans? Or cover us if we need to recruit?
Planning gives trustees more time to assess the options, consider relevant market evidence and make confident decisions before recruitment or pay reviews become urgent.
Conducting a thorough review of executive pay will give your trustees strong evidence to make confident decisions. However, finding the right salary comparisons, assessing responsibilities and gathering supporting evidence all take time. And when your central team is already juggling competing priorities, carrying out a thorough executive pay review can be another significant task.
Working exclusively in the education sector, our consultants support schools and trusts nationwide with fully impartial salary benchmarking and remuneration reviews.
We look beyond headline salaries, considering the responsibilities of your leadership roles, your organisational structure, and relevant sector comparisons to ensure evaluations are clear, consistent, and carefully analysed.
With an independent assessment of how your pay aligns with comparable education organisations, you’ll have clear evidence on side, giving you the confidence to make informed decisions surrounding pay that meet the unique needs of your Academy Trust.