Harris Federation

The Harris Federation is a chain of 37 academy and free schools in and around London. Some of these schools, like Downhills Primary School, were forced by the government to join Harris against the wishes of the majority parents and governors.

Its founder and sponsor is Philip Harris, or Lord Harris of Peckham, former chairman of Carpetright and Conservative Party donor.

The 'philosophy' of the Harris Federation of schools has been summed up as: 'Good leaders + discipline + uniform = A*.'

Technology partnerships

• Microsoft: Harris is said to be a 'pioneer' in adopting cloud based technology with the help of Microsoft. Harris CEO Dan Moynihan spoke at a Microsoft 'School-in-a-Box' reception at House of Commons in February 2012. Harris says it now has a 'central, cloud-based solution' for the whole Federation thanks to Microsoft.

High staff turnover

It was reported in 2015 that more than 1,000 teachers have left schools in the Harris Federation over the past three academic years, according to a freedom of information request. The proportion of Harris teachers that leave each year is estimated to be as high as 30% (compared with 11% across the country), although this is disputed by Harris.

People

• Sir Dan Moynihan, CEO of Harris Federation. He receives a salary of £395,000-£400,000, making him the best paid of anyone overseeing schools in the state sector.

Trustees

As of June 2016

• Philip Harris, Lord Harris of Peckham
• Dan Moynihan
• Robin Alcock, formerly of IBM, PwC and KPMG
• Karl Hoods, IT Director of Save the Children UK and working voluntarily for The Transformation Trust
• Angela Kail, works at New Philanthropy Capital (NPC)
• David Lomas, Academic Director at UCLPartners and UCL’s Vice Provost (Health)
• Timothy Moore
• Keith Morley, Higher Education IT Service Delivery Manager; current assistant director at Royal Holloway, University of London
• Phil Saunders
• Annette Smith
• Rosalyn Wilton

Contacts

Website: http://harrisfederation.org.uk