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<p>Our reforms over the last 8 years show that autonomy and freedom in the hands of
excellent leaders and outstanding teachers can deliver a world-class education. Academy
status leads to a more dynamic and responsive education system by allowing schools
to make decisions based on local need and the interests of their pupils. It allows
high performing schools to consolidate success and share their good practice across
their local area. This includes over 550,000 children studying in sponsored primary
and secondary academies that are now rated good or outstanding, which typically replaced
underperforming schools and that is, in part, down to our reforms.</p><p>There is
no single performance measure that adequately captures the scale, breadth and challenge
within the roles of academy chain heads. Many of the highest paid trust chief executives
work in some of the most challenging areas of the country and cover a number of schools,
and have been able to achieve significant improvements for the children in their trust.</p><p>We
are clear that high pay in academy trusts must be justified with evidence of robust
processes for setting salaries and reductions where appropriate. That is why we have
already challenged 213 trusts paying either one person more than £150,000 or 2 or
more people more than £100,000. Since this work began, 45 trusts have reduced salaries
in their latest accounts return and this month I have written to 28 of the 213 trusts
challenged in the previous round of high pay activity to further challenge where salaries
have not been reduced. We remain fully committed to continuing and developing this
challenge process.</p>
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