School finances in England
In 2024-25, 3,038 of the 21,286 schools in England with a full-year return were in deficit (14.3%). In 2025-26, the latest council-run year, 2,017 of 9,847 council-run schools were in deficit (20.5%).
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 3,374 (15%)
- Heading for deficit 1,189 (5%)
- Tight 2,008 (9%)
- Healthy 4,936 (23%)
- Large reserves 10,306 (47%)
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.
Negative is a deficit carried forward, in cash terms. Per pupil divides by pupils at the schools on this site; a school whose return for the year is not yet published counts its previous year's roll.
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. England had 8,288,691.0 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.
- Councils' special needs (high needs) budgets have been allowed to run deficits since 2019 under a 'statutory override' due to end in 2028; total deficits are forecast to reach £14 billion. (IFS, p.61) Statutory override: since 2020-21 DSG deficits are held in a separate unusable reserve rather than met from council general funds. The override runs to the end of 2027-28. Under the February 2026 approach, the High Needs Stability Grant pays 90% of each LA's eligible DSG deficit at 31 March 2026 from autumn 2026, so 2026-27 balances will fall sharply.
- Councils top up a mainstream school's costs for a pupil with special needs above £6,000 a year from their high needs budget. (IFS, p.46)
- About 5.3% of pupils in England now have an EHCP, up from just below 3% historically. (IFS, p.58)
| Council | Schools | In deficit | Deficit per pupil | Median reserve per pupil | Government funding per pupil | Spending per pupil | High-needs (DSG) balance per pupil | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
62 | 48.4% (30 of 62) | -£455 | +£51 | £6,765 | £7,160 | -£59 | ||
82 | 37.8% (31 of 82) | -£649 | +£266 | £8,383 | £9,042 | -£262 | ||
129 | 36.4% (47 of 129) | -£479 | +£306 | £7,568 | £8,329 | +£71 | ||
59 | 35.6% (21 of 59) | -£671 | +£239 | £7,543 | £7,541 | -£772 | ||
35 | 34.3% (12 of 35) | -£240 | +£225 | £6,566 | £6,903 | -£1,797 | ||
86 | 33.7% (29 of 86) | -£1,468 | +£569 | £10,116 | £10,710 | +£67 | ||
140 | 32.9% (46 of 140) | -£903 | +£313 | £7,707 | £8,163 | -£1,158 | ||
61 | 31.1% (19 of 61) | -£511 | +£264 | £8,213 | £8,447 | -£56 | ||
77 | 29.9% (23 of 77) | -£1,735 | +£276 | £6,647 | £7,095 | -£373 |
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