Academy sponsor defends his £280k pay

Bruce Liddington, chief sponsor of the Academy of E-Law, describes its mission to improve the plight of children in need "for expansion plans and the reasoning behind his very high salary

Life was good for Sir Bruce Liddington. He has come a long way from its roots in a working class neighborhood in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, where his father was a bricklayer and his mother worked in a shoe factory. At 62, the CEO of E-Law (before allocation Edutrust Academies Charitable), sitting in his office in the West End of London, seems healthy, well fed and satisfied. It should. A poster boys of New Labour, which is often said to be the highest paid person of education, which is not strictly true, for college managers to get more rare. However, the latest published accounts of E-Law, which has charitable status, reveal a salary package of £ 280,017 in the year August 31, 2010 - almost double what Michael Gove, the Secretary of Education , received - not bad for a job that involves responsibility for only 14 academies and free schools and an annual budget of less than £ 60m.

Empire State Building

It seems, however, work Liddington is not so much to run a handful of schools in terms of building an empire. E-law must have at least 10 schools next September and earlier this year, Liddington told a newspaper that plans to open a "super-chain" of 250 in five years, so it's more than all but a handful of local education authorities. It is now strangely shy about this projection probably arrogant, saying he is not sure of the Board E-law has never consented to 250 and just wanted to "responsible growth".

last December, a new company, E-Business Act was formed. It will sell "intellectual property" and services such as school improvement and possibly provide for the payment of fees in schools abroad. The company can make profits, but 100% of the latter, Liddington said, "are reinvested in our English schools," which provides additional funds for scholarships, prizes, staff and student experiences. " This is the 21 th century the patronage of the Academy, "he added. He said that the sale of E-services Act itself "is not in the cards." T he, as one of two directors, receive payment from E-Business Act? "Absolutely, absolutely not." Do you think that companies that use the schools themselves should be allowed to profit? "We have no public stance on this subject, but personally I think it is inevitable if the government continues its intervention in schools. Strings are unable current high level."

All this with some skepticism by the Academy of suppliers. The world of education is at ease with words such as "earnings" and "expansion" and the Academy and supporters nonsense school of E-Law and its director general, are a bit out of the message.

Perhaps this explains why the tone is so decidedly Liddington not confrontation. For example, I do point of sale E-Law, the only thing that distinguishes it from other channels of the academy. "It is difficult without implying that other channels of the Academy are so good," he said. After much hesitation, he continued: "We are relentless in pursuing the highest levels of success in performance levels were extremely low, before Our goal is to improve the situation of poor and disadvantaged children for most of this countries .. our schools in disadvantaged areas and are well above the average number of our children with special educational needs. "

Liddington One would expect that to be a criticism of the shortcomings of telling local authorities and proselytizing for the private sector, in particular, because when working in the Ministry of Education, who played a leading role academies start. But again that is prudent. "It's a myth that local authorities do nothing low-performing schools. They tried to intervene. But we still have some schools that are not in the required level, so something must be judged. I ' have no advice to run or bumps to worry about. We can be very concentrated. We are able to function very effectively. We upper 5%. This figure is considerably lower than almost all slices it high LEA Five years ago, much less than most do now. "

may be so, but that does not mean much unless you know exactly what E-established by law. Their schools financial, human, computer and other similar services, but E-law has not, for example, special advisers needs, such as local authorities usually do. As a share of the budget, pay Liddington must be a multiple well above that of any CEO of local authorities, and E-law of 10 other employees earn at least £ 100 000 per year. I ask you to justify your salary, the size of the one who said not to know. "It is an organization at the forefront," he says. "I know that, as CEO, I have to be creative to get good people here, and you must watch the market and decide what to pay. Not for me to decide what they pay me. This is a matter for the board that invited me to show interest in the work. "

What's expenses

(Liddington said £ 14 075 in 2009-10, according to the accounts) that have attracted comments in the press last year, with accusations that he and other managers use " chauffeured limousine ... "to visit schools? "I have a car in four years and do not drive often," said Liddington. "Most of our schools are on the West Coast Main Line and use. No limousines. " Without realizing it, said a big bill for two nights in a luxury hotel in Birmingham, but after a leak of revenue, behind. "We travel and hospitality more austere existence. We use Skype, so you do not need to travel far. "

• Liddington
• Wellingborough attended primary school, where his ambition was to become a station chief "because I love cooking and I like trains." However, "hurt" to go to college and became the first in his family to do so. Between the end of A levels and from the Queen's College London, University of Mary (as it then was), he taught local boys secondary modern - "you do not need a title, but was on sabbatical from my generation "- and he liked it so much that he decided to become a teacher.

after the first-class honors in English, which made his PGCE at Kings College Cambridge, where a guest speaker was the late Sir Alec Clegg, Director of Education District of West Yorkshire between the numbers education the most important of the time. Clegg believes that schools should apply "the education of the mind ... the child likes and dislikes ... hopes and fears." It seems to work very new, but Liddington was inspired to teach in Conisbrough, a private mining community in the West Riding. "Professionally," Liddington said "I've always been attracted to children who have had a difficult time in life." I was very leftist in his youth? "I was left. He wore jeans with holes and long hair. I was president of my local Labour Party. But that was all that happened. "

was, say, less inspired by the ideas of Mr. Clegg, at the end of three years in Conisbrough. "I had very low levels of aspiration and I found that frustrating." The master's degree at Washington State University in the United States, where he met his wife, a teacher who later became the Labour Law and became a judge.

becomes a department head and a deputy. The leadership did not want "because he was afraid" and applies to the operator. However, the inspection is refused, then he became the leader after all, the boys' school in Northampton, a former high school fallen on hard times, with only 9% of pupils achieving five GCSEs at AC. His success in returning to school has become famous and earned a knighthood in 2000.

Find best price for : --Northampton----Alec----PGCE----Wellingborough----Liddington----West----Bruce--