St Mary's Church of England Primary School: school finances
Latest full year 2025-26, as a council-run school (CFR return, April to March). Richmond upon Thames · Primary · Voluntary aided school
Healthy
Holds £294k £475 per pupil in reserve, 6% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2019-20 Healthy same as the year before
- 2020-21 Healthy same as the year before
- 2021-22 Healthy same as the year before
- 2022-23 Healthy same as the year before
- 2023-24 Healthy same as the year before
- 2024-25 Healthy same as the year before
- 2025-26 Healthy same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2025-26, government funding was £3.9m £6,323 per pupil and spending £4.6m £7,355 per pupil. Spending was £639k £1,032 per pupil more than government funding; the difference came from other income, such as lettings, catering or donations, or from the school's reserve.
Funding is the money a school receives; spending is what it pays out. The two differ when a school adds to or draws on its savings, and because some money is spent on its pupils by someone else: the council (for example special needs top-ups and transport) or, for academies, the trust's central team. (IFS, pp. 7, 10, 46, 52, 54)
Government funding is the academy accounts line "grant funding from government" in academy (AAR) years and the CFR grant funding total in council-run years. The two are not strictly comparable: CFR line I07 can include some money that is not from government.
Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).
Reserve per pupil by year
Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).
| Year | Pupils | Income | Spending | In-year balance | Reserve at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 619.0 | £4.6m £7,463 per pupil | £4.6m £7,355 per pupil | +£67k +£108 per pupil | £294k £475 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 607.0 | £4.2m £6,911 per pupil | £4.2m £6,939 per pupil | -£17k -£27 per pupil | £227k £374 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 619.0 | £3.9m £6,353 per pupil | £4.0m £6,391 per pupil | -£24k -£38 per pupil | £244k £394 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 617.0 | £3.7m £5,950 per pupil | £3.6m £5,907 per pupil | +£26k +£42 per pupil | £267k £433 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 620.0 | £3.6m £5,758 per pupil | £3.5m £5,568 per pupil | +£118k +£190 per pupil | £241k £389 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 654.0 | £3.4m £5,157 per pupil | £3.4m £5,132 per pupil | +£16k +£25 per pupil | £123k £188 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 656.0 | £3.2m £4,914 per pupil | £3.3m £5,031 per pupil | -£76k -£116 per pupil | £107k £163 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 647.0 | £3.3m £5,063 per pupil | £3.2m £4,903 per pupil | +£104k +£160 per pupil | £183k £283 per pupil |
Where the money comes from
| Line | 2025-26 | Trend per pupil | Change per pupil since 2018-19 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | £4.6m £7,463 per pupil | +47% +12% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £3.9m £6,323 per pupil | +45% +11% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £197k £318 per pupil | +32% +1% real | £301 | |
| Pupil premium | £56k £90 per pupil | +32% +1% real | £104 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £706k £1,140 per pupil | +61% +23% real | £718 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £240k £388 per pupil | +56% +19% real | £92 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £307k £496 per pupil | +433% +307% real | £363 | |
| Catering income | -£41 -£0 per pupil | -100% -100% real | £5 | |
| Other DfE grants | £140k £226 per pupil | +22% -7% real | £236 |
Other DfE grants is a container line. It includes the grants that cover higher employer pension and National Insurance costs, which cannot be separated out, so no figure is shown for them on their own. Not every rise in a school's income is extra spending power. When the government raised what schools pay as employers into staff pensions and National Insurance, it gave schools grants to cover the bill. The IFS describes this as extra money to pay for extra outgoings, with no change in real resources. About £2.3 billion of the growth in school funding between 2019–20 and 2025–26 was this kind of grant. So when a school's income jumps, check whether its staff costs jumped by the same amount: the money may simply have passed through. (IFS, p. 50)
Where it goes
| Line | 2025-26 | Trend per pupil | Change per pupil since 2018-19 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total spending | £4.6m £7,355 per pupil | +50% +14% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £2.0m £3,162 per pupil | +58% +21% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £116k £187 per pupil | -22% -40% real | £62 | |
| Support staff | £881k £1,423 per pupil | +46% +11% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £347k £560 per pupil | +50% +14% real | £336 | |
| Premises staff | £94k £152 per pupil | +4% -20% real | £100 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £157k £253 per pupil | +150% +90% real | £268 | |
| All staff costs | £3.5m £5,630 per pupil | +51% +15% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £231k £373 per pupil | +72% +31% real | £288 | |
| Energy | £50k £80 per pupil | +116% +63% real | £90 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £397k £641 per pupil | +89% +44% real | £726 | |
| Catering | £297k £480 per pupil | +95% +49% real | £404 | |
| Learning resources | £188k £304 per pupil | +24% -6% real | £282 | |
| Supplies and services | £477k £770 per pupil | +25% -5% real | £633 | |
| Bought-in services | £204k £330 per pupil | +10% -16% real | £198 |
Staff costs were 77% of this school's spending in 2025-26. Across England, over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. (IFS, p. 63)
In 2025-26 prices, this school spent £4.6m £7,355 per pupil in 2025-26. Across England, primary schools are expected to spend about £7,000 per pupil in 2025–26. (IFS, p. 7)
Pupils by year
- 2018-19 647.0
- 2019-20 656.0
- 2020-21 654.0
- 2021-22 620.0
- 2022-23 617.0
- 2023-24 619.0
- 2024-25 607.0
- 2025-26 619.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2025-26, this school's income rose by +£425k +£686 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£336k +£544 per pupil. Much of the extra money may have gone straight out again on higher pay, pension and National Insurance costs.
About £2.3 billion of the rise in school funding since 2019–20 was grants to cover higher employer pension and National Insurance costs, not extra spending power. (IFS, p. 50)
Money raised by parents
| School year | Raised | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 year to March 2025 | £88k £145 per pupil | £95k £157 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to March 2024 | £119k £192 per pupil | £112k £181 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to March 2023 | £111k £179 per pupil | £111k £179 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to March 2022 | £103k £166 per pupil | £86k £139 per pupil |
| 2020-21 year to March 2021 | £80k £122 per pupil | £93k £142 per pupil |
- THE FRIENDS OF ST MARY'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL (TWICKENHAM) (charity 1026779) Latest return: £88k £145 per pupil in the year to March 2025. It reports 20 volunteers. Annual return due 31 January 2026.
Each return is placed in the school year that holds the end of the charity's financial year, and per-pupil figures use that year's pupils. A parents' association's money is its own and isn't in the school's accounts above. Money a parents' association gives the school can also appear in the school's own accounts as donations, so the two can overlap. They are shown separately here and never added together.
Across England, the typical registered parents' association raised £50 per pupil in 2025-26.
Intake and area
- 4% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 14%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 8 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 9 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 67% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 52% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 2% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 1 of 5 nationally, combining free-school-meal eligibility and the deprivation of the school's neighbourhood (1 = least disadvantaged, 5 = most).
Context, not a judgement: schools with different intakes get different funding and face different costs.
How my school's money is split
For pupils: out of every pound the school spent in 2025-26, here is roughly where it went, with the amount for each pupil.
- Teachers £2.1m £3,350 per pupil
- Support staff £881k £1,423 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £231k £373 per pupil
- Energy £50k £80 per pupil
- Learning resources £188k £304 per pupil
- Everything else £1.1m £1,826 per pupil
National context
- Primary pupil numbers in England are expected to fall by over 300,000 (about 8%) between 2024–25 and 2030–31. (IFS, p. 19)
- Council-run primary schools spend about £400 (6%) more per pupil than primary academies, and council-run secondaries about £300 (4%) more, partly because trusts spend some money centrally. (IFS, p. 56)
- Pupil premium is £1,515 a year per eligible primary pupil and £1,075 per eligible secondary pupil, over 16% lower in real terms than in 2015–16. (IFS, p. 51)
- Mainstream schools are expected to fund the first £6,000 a year of extra support for a pupil with special needs from their own budget. (IFS, p. 46)
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTFA committees.
- How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
- How does St Mary's Church of England Primary School's spending per pupil compare with similar schools, and why? Why ask: Nationally, primaries spend about £7,000 and secondaries about £7,800 per pupil in 2025–26. (IFS, p. 7)
Check at source
Every figure here comes from the school's published return. Check it on the DfE benchmarking page for this school, and see how the figures are worked out.
Similar schools: the closest in phase, size and share of pupils on free school meals.
- Ridgeway Primary School
- Balgowan Primary School
- Hayes Primary School
- Sheen Mount Primary School
- Avanti Court Primary School
Admissions and catchments for St Mary's Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Richmond upon Thames school finances · Schools in Twickenham
- DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data: CFR returns for council-run schools (April to March) and academy accounts returns (September to August), Open Government Licence v3.0
- Get Information about Schools, Open Government Licence v3.0
- Charity Commission register, Open Government Licence v3.0
- National context: IFS, Annual report on education spending in England: 2025–26 (January 2026); IFS figures are in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, November 2025)
- Real-terms figures on this page: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)