Former head of academy chain banned from teaching after receiving 'second salary'

Liam Nolan was found guilty of unprofessional conduct during his time at Perry Beeches Academy Trust

Liam Nolan, former headteacher of Perry Beeches School in Birmingham (Andrew Fox)

A former head of an academy chain has been banned from teaching indefinitely after he was paid two salaries.

Liam Nolan, whose academy trust was once praised by former prime minister David Cameron and Conservative education secretaries, was found guilty of unprofessional conduct last month.

Mr Nolan used to be executive headteacher, CEO and accounting officer at Perry Beeches Academy Trust in Birmingham until he resigned in 2016 during an investigation into the academy chain.

Mr Nolan - who was once described as a "superhead" - appeared before the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) in relation to £160,000 of payments he received while CEO of the trust.

A previous investigation found that the academy chain paid nearly £1.3m to Nexus Schools Ltd - a private company contracted to help run the school - without following proper procedures.

Nexus then paid Mr Nolan £160,000 via a company of which he was sole director. This payment was on top of his £120,000 annual payroll salary.

A TRA report, published on Monday, concluded that it was satisfied that Mr Nolan was "guilty of unacceptable professional conduct”.

Mr Nolan was found guilty of a number of allegations - including not being paid through the payroll for two years as it said there were no “exceptional temporary circumstances” to justify this.

The report said: "Although Mr Nolan apologised for some of his failings as accounting officer, there did not appear to be sufficient insight into the seriousness of those failings or his responsibility in that post.

"In particular, the panel was concerned that Mr Nolan blamed the trustees, accountants and others for the remuneration arrangements that are at the heart of this case."

Mr Nolan's "cavalier attitude" to his role as accounting officer was a significant factor in the decision to ban him from teaching, the panel said.

In 2013, the prime minister said Perry Beeches’ first academy was “one of the most successful comprehensive schools ever in Britain”.

Former education secretary Nicky Morgan also described Perry Beeches as an example of schools achieving "truly extraordinary outcomes for young people".