Schools in South Dorset: finances
In 2024-25, 5 of the 33 schools in South Dorset with a full-year return were in deficit (15.2%), against 14.3% across England. In 2025-26, the latest council-run year, 0 of 10 council-run schools were in deficit (0.0%).
Most of a school's money pays for staff, so deficits usually build up when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or when pupil numbers fall and the money that comes with each pupil goes too. In 2024–25 and 2025–26, mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 2 percentage points less than school costs nationally. (IFS, p.62) What helps: a recovery plan agreed with the council or trust that brings the budget back into balance over a few years, regular forecasts that governors check, and early conversations about pupil numbers and special needs funding.
Council-run schools report for April to March (CFR returns) and academies for September to August (academy accounts returns). Figures for all schools together stop at 2024-25, the latest year with academy accounts; later years are council-run schools only.
- In deficit 4 (12%)
- Heading for deficit 4 (12%)
- Tight 7 (21%)
- Healthy 4 (12%)
- Large reserves 14 (42%)
Council-run schools report for April to March (CFR returns) and academies for September to August (academy accounts returns). Figures for all schools together stop at 2024-25, the latest year with academy accounts; later years are council-run schools only.
Government funding is academies' grant funding from government (academy accounts) against council-run schools' grant funding (CFR), which can include some money that is not from government, so the two are not strictly comparable. Lines are the middle (median) school's figure each year. Solid lines are funding, dashed lines spending. Real terms are in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026). Academy figures exclude trust central spending: On average, academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24, money that is not counted in their individual schools' own spending. (IFS, p.56)
The dashed line is council-run schools only.
Each area's combined school deficits divided by the pupils in those schools.
Among schools with a registered parents' association, in the school year each charity return falls in.
Change in pupils since 2018-19, so areas of different sizes can be compared. South Dorset had 10,396.5 pupils in schools with a full-year return in 2024-25.
The national picture
- Across England, primary schools are expected to spend about £7,000 per pupil in 2025–26. (IFS, p.7)
- Across England, secondary schools are expected to spend about £7,800 per pupil in 2025–26, including sixth forms. (IFS, p.7)
- The core schools budget is planned to be flat in real terms to 2028–29; with falling pupil numbers, that is about a 3% real-terms rise per pupil over three years. (IFS, p.62)
Area medians mix primary and secondary schools, so compare them with these national figures with care.
Figures are each school's latest full-year return, total with the per-pupil figure beside it. PTA income is the school's share of its registered parents' association's latest return, in the school year that return falls in. Where no registered parents' association was found, the school may still have one: charities with an income of £5,000 or less need not register.
| School | Status | Reserve | Government funding | Spending | PTA income | PTA per pupil | Donations | Reserve per pupil trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In deficit | -£69k -£298 per pupil | £1.4m £6,277 per pupil | £1.7m £7,169 per pupil | £4k £16 per pupil | £16 | £95k £411 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£9k -£50 per pupil | £1.2m £6,514 per pupil | £1.4m £7,603 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £7k £39 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£76k -£50 per pupil | £11.0m £7,353 per pupil | £10.0m £6,654 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2022 | — | £8k £5 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£38k -£50 per pupil | £5.9m £7,833 per pupil | £5.4m £7,205 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2014 | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£10k +£123 per pupil | £631k £7,602 per pupil | £685k £8,253 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £14k £169 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£25k +£123 per pupil | £1.3m £6,396 per pupil | £1.3m £6,574 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £18k £89 per pupil |
Sources: DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data (CFR returns for council-run schools, April to March; academy accounts returns, September to August), Get Information about Schools, DfE section 251 outturn (DSG balances), the Charity Commission register and the IFS annual report on education spending in England 2025–26 (IFS figures in 2025–26 prices, November 2025 deflator). Open Government Licence v3.0. How these figures are worked out