Salary Sacrifice provider Fleet Evolution has appointed Marie Leech as Academy Specialist, as the firm seeks to expand its offering to universities and academies across the country.

Leech comes to Fleet Evolution from a background in teaching , having worked in a variety of SMT (school management team) roles in the past.

The number of academies in the UK has grown exponentially in recent years. In May 2010 there were just 203 academies nationwide, but at the last count in June 2015, the number had skyrocketed to 4,676, with hundreds more planning to open in the coming years. More than half of all the secondary schools in England are now academies – a figure which has fired Fleet Evolution into action.

A Fleet Evolution spokesman said: “The growth in the number of academies in the UK over the last few years has been enormous, and we’re now adapting our services to meet the heightened demand. We’re thrilled to be welcoming Marie on board – she’ll be supporting our academy offering and liaising with those in charge to ensure that these schools are able to attract the finest teachers with the most generous benefits packages.”

Leech added: “I’m incredibly happy to be joining the Fleet Evolution team, working within my own area of expertise to help deliver cost-effective salary sacrifice solutions to academies and their employees. If academies can attract the top talent to their institutions with the best benefits packages, they’ll be in the best possible position to ensure their students are successful. That’s a topic very close to my heart, and I’m thrilled to be working with Fleet Evolution to make it a reality for more teachers and academies.”

Salary sacrifice schemes are currently unavailable to teachers in traditional schools, but the ability of academy teachers to register for these car schemes makes the role a very attractive prospect. Introducing the schemes can provide a massive differentiator between academies and traditional schools when both are fighting to recruit the very best teachers around.

In this month's Budget, the chancellor announced all UK schools are to become academies.

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