Teachers at a school in Birmingham are among the best paid in England, new statistics have revealed.
The average full-time teacher at Perry Beeches The Academy in Great Barr takes home £54,999 a year, according to Department for Education figures.
The generous salary makes the academy – transformed from a failing school in special measures to ‘outstanding’ in the last two years – the tenth best-paid secondary school in England and the highest paying secondary in Birmingham.
And its sister school, Perry Beeches II, in the city centre – also rated by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’ – is also in the top ten highest paying secondary schools in Birmingham, with its average full-time teacher earning £42,916.
However, the statistics, taken from the latest schools’ workforce census and based on data supplied by schools to the Government in November 2013, showed a stark contrast between the level of wages being paid to teachers across Birmingham.
While teachers at Perry Beeches The Academy are earning nearly £55,000 a year, staff at Nishkam Primary School, in Handsworth, are being paid almost £30,000 less, with its average full-time teacher on £25,591.
Part of a chain of multi-faith free schools with a Sikh ethos, its sister school – Nishkam High School in Hockley – is also one of Birmingham’s lowest-paying establishments. The figures show teachers at the high school were earning on average of £34,352 at the time of the census. Brin Mahon, chairman of directors at Nishkam School Trust, said both schools had been rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted and had only opened in the last four years.
Dr Mahon added: “Pay scales for all teaching staff are and have always been higher by approximately £1,000 compared with guidance.
“At the time of the census, both schools were very much in their infancy.
“Many teachers will have been newly qualified and therefore this is reflected in the relatively low average salary.
“Despite the relatively number of junior teaching staff, both schools are rated by Ofsted as outstanding.”
Greenwood Academy, which had the lowest paid teachers out of all of Birmingham’s secondary schools at the time of the last census, said it “valued” its staff.
Formerly Castle Vale Performing Arts College, the school was once at the centre of parent protests after introducing tough rules on pupil toilet breaks and a strict uniform protocol.
But the school, which has since being converted into an academy, was last November deemed “good” by Ofsted after seven years of only achieving a “satisfactory” grade.
A spokesman for Greenwood Academy said the school followed strict procedures when it came to its teachers’ pay and conditions which have been set by the Department for Education.
He added: “All salaries are agreed throughout the official interview process, in accordance with the Government’s official guidelines. Our teachers are a dedicated and valued team; a caring staff who focus tirelessly on the welfare and education of the children at Greenwood Academy. They have supported significant improvements to this school over recent years.”
Denis Ramplin, spokesman for King Edwards VI Aston, said the figures were only a “snapshot in time”. He said at the time of the census, the school had hired a substantial number of younger teachers – which reflects in its £35,533-a-year average salary.
“These tables are not a true reflection of salaries as the make-up of staffing personnel at any school at any given time can change,” he said.
“If you have got a young team the salary rate reflects that, if you have an older team it would obviously be much higher.
“Salaries at our school will have increased in the last two years as our younger teachers have gained more experience and climbed the pay scales.”
Meanwhile, Liam Nolan, chief executive officer for the Perry Beeches The Academy Trust chain of schools, declined to comment.
The news came after Perry Beeches III in Birmingham city centre was placed in special measures last week after being rated “inadequate” by Ofsted.
The latest Department for Education figures do not reveal the salaries of staff either at Perry Beeches III or Perry Beeches IV in the Jewellery Quarter as neither were open at the time the census was carried out.
Birmingham teachers’ pay – best and worst
Top ten paying primaries
Sundridge Primary, Kingstanding £47,448
Ark Rose Academy, Kings Norton £45,337
Woodcock Hill Primary, Northfield £42,695
St Teresa’s Catholic Primary, Handsworth Wood £42,641
St Mary’s C of E Primary and Nursery Academy, Handsworth £42,536
St Cuthbert’s RC Junior and Infant (NC) , Stechford £42,424
Aston Tower Community Primary, Aston £42,309
Holy Souls Catholic Primary, Acocks Green £41,866
Lyndon Green Infant, Sheldon £41,574
Nonsuch Primary, Woodgate Valley £41,389
Ten lowest paying primaries
Nishkam Primary Birmingham, Handsworth £25,591
Oasis Academy Boulton, Handsworth £29,505
St Mark’s Catholic Primary, Great Barr £29,562
Adderley Primary, Saltley £30,151
St Clement’s Church of England Academy, Nechells £31,137
Chilwell Croft Academy, Birmingham £31,169
St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Newtown £31,328
ARK Tindal Primary Academy, Balsall Heath £31,367
Oasis Academy Short Heath, Erdington £31,557
Woodthorpe Junior and Infant, Kings Heath £31,585
Top ten paying secondaries
Perry Beeches The Academy, Great Barr £54,999
Park View School the Academy of Mathematics and Science, Alum Rock £46,724
Four Dwellings Academy, Quinton £43,378
Perry Beeches II the Free School, City Centre £42,916
Bishop Challoner Catholic College, Kings Heath £42,695
Kings Heath Boys Mathematics and Computing College, Kings Heath £42,669
Bartley Green School Technology and Sports College, Bartley Green £42,502
Hillcrest Maths and Computing College/6th Form Centre, Bartley Green £42,234
St John Wall Catholic School - Humanities College, Handsworth £41,516
Bournville School and Sixth Form Centre, Bournville £41,310
Ten lowest paying secondaries
Greenwood Academy, Castle Vale £32,729
Nishkam High, Hockley £34,352
Stockland Green, Erdington £34,992
Lordswood Boys, Harborne £35,092
King’s Norton Boys, Kings Norton £35,183
King Edward VI Aston, Aston £35,533
Heartlands Academy, Nechells £35,597
Shenley Academy, Northfield £36,008
Holy Trinity Catholic Media Arts College, Small Heath £36,740
Birmingham Ormiston Academy, City Centre £36,906