Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery: school finances
Latest full year 2025-26, as a council-run school (CFR return, April to March). East Sussex · Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Large reserves
Holds £123k £620 per pupil in reserve, 9% 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 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2021-22 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2022-23 Healthy same as the year before
- 2023-24 In deficit reserve below zero
- 2024-25 In deficit same as the year before
- 2025-26 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2025-26, government funding was £1.4m £6,835 per pupil and spending £1.3m £6,352 per pupil. Government funding was £96k £483 per pupil more than spending.
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 | 199.0 | £1.4m £7,124 per pupil | £1.3m £6,352 per pupil | +£154k +£772 per pupil | £123k £620 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 173.0 | £1.2m £6,959 per pupil | £1.2m £7,120 per pupil | -£28k -£161 per pupil | -£30k -£175 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 165.0 | £1.1m £6,550 per pupil | £1.2m £7,041 per pupil | -£81k -£492 per pupil | -£2k -£15 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 162.0 | £1.0m £6,249 per pupil | £1.0m £6,209 per pupil | +£7k +£41 per pupil | £79k £486 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 167.0 | £921k £5,514 per pupil | £933k £5,587 per pupil | -£12k -£73 per pupil | £72k £432 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 164.0 | £914k £5,572 per pupil | £894k £5,452 per pupil | +£20k +£120 per pupil | £84k £514 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 178.0 | £932k £5,236 per pupil | £939k £5,276 per pupil | -£7k -£40 per pupil | £65k £363 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 188.0 | £934k £4,967 per pupil | £942k £5,009 per pupil | -£8k -£43 per pupil | £72k £382 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 | £1.4m £7,124 per pupil | +43% +9% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.4m £6,835 per pupil | +47% +12% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £76k £381 per pupil | +1091% +807% real | £369 | |
| Pupil premium | £56k £280 per pupil | +30% -1% real | £304 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £58k £289 per pupil | -4% -27% real | £438 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £10k £52 per pupil | -54% -65% real | £22 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £20k £99 per pupil | -22% -41% real | £231 | |
| Catering income | £0 £0 per pupil | £80 | ||
| Other DfE grants | £44k £221 per pupil | £308 |
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 | £1.3m £6,352 per pupil | +27% -3% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £592k £2,974 per pupil | +17% -10% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £6k £31 per pupil | -6% -30% real | £117 | |
| Support staff | £188k £946 per pupil | +38% +5% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £48k £243 per pupil | +17% -10% real | £380 | |
| Premises staff | £28k £140 per pupil | +30% -1% real | £104 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £33k £165 per pupil | +36% +4% real | £342 | |
| All staff costs | £873k £4,389 per pupil | +23% -7% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £72k £360 per pupil | +29% -2% real | £384 | |
| Energy | £30k £150 per pupil | +150% +90% real | £97 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £122k £613 per pupil | +43% +9% real | £593 | |
| Catering | £50k £253 per pupil | +85% +41% real | £348 | |
| Learning resources | £45k £226 per pupil | -56% -67% real | £355 | |
| Supplies and services | £100k £501 per pupil | -29% -46% real | £696 | |
| Bought-in services | £35k £177 per pupil | +5% -20% real | £311 |
Staff costs were 69% 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 £1.3m £6,352 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
- 2018-19 188.0
- 2019-20 178.0
- 2020-21 164.0
- 2021-22 167.0
- 2022-23 162.0
- 2023-24 165.0
- 2024-25 173.0
- 2025-26 199.0
Money raised by parents
| School year | Raised | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 year to August 2025 | £9k £45 per pupil | £15k £78 per pupil |
| 2024-25 year to August 2024 | £4k £26 per pupil | £1k £8 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to August 2023 | £7k £41 per pupil | £8k £50 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to August 2022 | £11k £70 per pupil | £11k £67 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to August 2021 | £6k £33 per pupil | £5k £29 per pupil |
- FOREST ROW C E PRIMARY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (charity 1026518) Latest return: £9k £45 per pupil in the year to August 2025. It reports 5 volunteers. Annual return due 30 June 2023.
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
- 19% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 21%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 7 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 7 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 42% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 66% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 16% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 2 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 £598k £3,004 per pupil
- Support staff £188k £946 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £72k £360 per pupil
- Energy £30k £150 per pupil
- Learning resources £45k £226 per pupil
- Everything else £331k £1,665 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.
- What is Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery's £123k £620 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
- How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
- Is any of it already committed, for example to building work or to cover a planned overspend?
- How does Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery'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)
- Could some be spent on current pupils without putting future years at risk?
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.
- Orrell Holgate Academy
- Nutgrove Methodist Primary School
- Clare Community Primary School
- Merton Infant School and Nursery
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Thornton Cleveleys
Admissions and catchments for Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery on Schools in Reach · All East Sussex school finances · Schools in East Grinstead and Uckfield
- 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)