St Paul's Church of England Primary School: school finances
Latest full year 2025-26, as a council-run school (CFR return, April to March). Gloucestershire · Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Large reserves
Holds £422k £1,811 per pupil in reserve, 22% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2019-20 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2020-21 Healthy same as the year before
- 2021-22 Healthy same as the year before
- 2022-23 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2023-24 Large reserves same as the year before
- 2024-25 Large reserves same as the year before
- 2025-26 Large reserves same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2025-26, government funding was £1.9m £8,238 per pupil and spending £1.9m £8,249 per pupil. Spending was £3k £12 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 | 233.0 | £2.0m £8,412 per pupil | £1.9m £8,249 per pupil | +£38k +£163 per pupil | £422k £1,811 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 210.0 | £1.8m £8,445 per pupil | £1.7m £8,178 per pupil | +£56k +£266 per pupil | £384k £1,828 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 210.0 | £1.6m £7,812 per pupil | £1.5m £7,050 per pupil | +£160k +£763 per pupil | £328k £1,562 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 203.0 | £1.4m £7,037 per pupil | £1.3m £6,630 per pupil | +£83k +£407 per pupil | £168k £827 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 204.0 | £1.3m £6,213 per pupil | £1.2m £6,048 per pupil | +£34k +£165 per pupil | £85k £418 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 196.0 | £1.3m £6,493 per pupil | £1.3m £6,476 per pupil | +£3k +£18 per pupil | £52k £263 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 210.0 | £1.2m £5,734 per pupil | £1.3m £6,069 per pupil | -£70k -£336 per pupil | £48k £229 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 202.0 | £1.2m £6,063 per pupil | £1.2m £5,950 per pupil | +£23k +£113 per pupil | £119k £587 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 | £2.0m £8,412 per pupil | +39% +6% real | £8k | |
| Government funding | £1.9m £8,238 per pupil | +38% +5% real | £7k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £221k £949 per pupil | +234% +155% real | £412 | |
| Pupil premium | £136k £582 per pupil | +4% -21% real | £512 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £41k £175 per pupil | -1% -25% real | £261 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £150 £1 per pupil | £12 | ||
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £19k £81 per pupil | -18% -38% real | £120 | |
| Catering income | £14k £61 per pupil | -16% -36% real | £63 | |
| Other DfE grants | £45k £193 per pupil | -25% -43% real | £179 |
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 | £1.9m £8,249 per pupil | +39% +6% real | £8k | |
| Teachers | £765k £3,284 per pupil | +12% -14% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £61k £260 per pupil | +148% +90% real | £53 | |
| Support staff | £368k £1,579 per pupil | +28% -2% real | £2k | |
| Office and admin staff | £74k £316 per pupil | +139% +82% real | £414 | |
| Premises staff | £41k £175 per pupil | +1% -23% real | £218 | |
| Catering staff | £2k £9 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £46k £198 per pupil | -31% -48% real | £236 | |
| All staff costs | £1.3m £5,640 per pupil | +20% -8% real | £6k | |
| Premises | £78k £334 per pupil | +37% +4% real | £471 | |
| Energy | £11k £47 per pupil | +15% -11% real | £103 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £134k £573 per pupil | +25% -5% real | £570 | |
| Catering | £74k £316 per pupil | +9% -17% real | £271 | |
| Learning resources | £99k £424 per pupil | +38% +5% real | £284 | |
| Supplies and services | £288k £1,237 per pupil | +121% +69% real | £637 | |
| Bought-in services | £170k £729 per pupil | +288% +196% real | £255 |
Staff costs were 68% 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 £1.9m £8,249 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
- 2018-19 202.0
- 2019-20 210.0
- 2020-21 196.0
- 2021-22 204.0
- 2022-23 203.0
- 2023-24 210.0
- 2024-25 210.0
- 2025-26 233.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2025-26, this school's income rose by +£187k +£801 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£140k +£602 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
- ST PAULS C OF E PTA (charity 1152309) Had a registered PTA until 2015. This charity was matched with lower confidence, so check with the school that it is theirs.
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
- 34% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 17%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 2 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 2 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 27% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 40% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 12% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 5 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 £826k £3,545 per pupil
- Support staff £368k £1,579 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £78k £334 per pupil
- Energy £11k £47 per pupil
- Learning resources £99k £424 per pupil
- Everything else £541k £2,320 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 St Paul's Church of England Primary School's £422k £1,811 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
- How many pupils at St Paul's Church of England Primary School have an EHCP or need extra support, and how is support above the first £6,000 a year funded? Why ask: Mainstream schools are expected to fund the first £6,000 a year per pupil from their core budget. (IFS, p. 46)
- 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?
- Does the council's top-up money arrive on time and cover what the support actually costs?
- How does St Paul'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)
- Could some be spent on current pupils without putting future years at risk?
- Is the council's high needs budget in deficit, and could that affect the school's top-ups? Why ask: Councils' accumulated high needs deficits are forecast to reach £14 billion by 2028. 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. (IFS, p. 61)
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.
- Forres Primary Academy
- Tuxford Primary Academy
- St Mark's RC Primary School
- Propps Hall Junior Infant and Nursery School
- St Peter's Church of England Primary School
Admissions and catchments for St Paul's Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Gloucestershire school finances · Schools in Gloucester
- 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)