Kingsholm 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 £447k £738 per pupil in reserve, 10% 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 Healthy same as the year before
- 2023-24 Healthy same as the year before
- 2024-25 Healthy 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 £4.5m £7,445 per pupil and spending £4.4m £7,265 per pupil. Government funding was £109k £181 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 | 605.0 | £4.7m £7,700 per pupil | £4.4m £7,265 per pupil | +£263k +£435 per pupil | £447k £738 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 617.0 | £4.4m £7,152 per pupil | £4.5m £7,276 per pupil | -£76k -£123 per pupil | £184k £298 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 627.0 | £4.3m £6,896 per pupil | £4.2m £6,754 per pupil | +£89k +£142 per pupil | £260k £414 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 627.0 | £3.8m £6,106 per pupil | £3.9m £6,142 per pupil | -£23k -£36 per pupil | £171k £272 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 615.0 | £3.4m £5,595 per pupil | £3.5m £5,694 per pupil | -£61k -£99 per pupil | £194k £315 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 583.0 | £3.4m £5,900 per pupil | £3.4m £5,909 per pupil | -£5k -£9 per pupil | £254k £436 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 602.0 | £3.4m £5,643 per pupil | £3.5m £5,793 per pupil | -£90k -£150 per pupil | £260k £431 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 616.0 | £3.4m £5,481 per pupil | £3.2m £5,268 per pupil | +£131k +£212 per pupil | £350k £568 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 | £4.7m £7,700 per pupil | +40% +7% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £4.5m £7,445 per pupil | +46% +11% real | £7k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £295k £488 per pupil | +170% +106% real | £219 | |
| Pupil premium | £314k £519 per pupil | +20% -9% real | £497 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £154k £255 per pupil | -30% -47% real | £208 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £22k £36 per pupil | -64% -72% real | £6 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £48k £80 per pupil | -13% -33% real | £73 | |
| Catering income | £46k £76 per pupil | -3% -26% real | £5 | |
| Other DfE grants | £106k £175 per pupil | -10% -31% real | £182 |
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 | £4.4m £7,265 per pupil | +38% +5% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £1.8m £2,988 per pupil | +29% -2% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £135k £223 per pupil | +223% +148% real | £82 | |
| Support staff | £805k £1,330 per pupil | +19% -9% real | £2k | |
| Office and admin staff | £286k £472 per pupil | +44% +10% real | £319 | |
| Premises staff | £152k £251 per pupil | +50% +15% real | £219 | |
| Catering staff | £136k £225 per pupil | +80% +37% real | £0 | |
| Other staff costs | £117k £193 per pupil | +11% -15% real | £185 | |
| All staff costs | £3.2m £5,238 per pupil | +30% -1% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £196k £324 per pupil | +40% +7% real | £373 | |
| Energy | £45k £74 per pupil | +85% +42% real | £87 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £370k £612 per pupil | +53% +17% real | £575 | |
| Catering | £238k £393 per pupil | +50% +14% real | £285 | |
| Learning resources | £186k £308 per pupil | +70% +29% real | £281 | |
| Supplies and services | £482k £797 per pupil | +129% +75% real | £584 | |
| Bought-in services | £283k £468 per pupil | +252% +169% real | £209 |
Staff costs were 72% 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 £4.4m £7,265 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
- 2018-19 616.0
- 2019-20 602.0
- 2020-21 583.0
- 2021-22 615.0
- 2022-23 627.0
- 2023-24 627.0
- 2024-25 617.0
- 2025-26 605.0
Money raised by parents
| School year | Raised | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 year to November 2024 | £49k £79 per pupil | £64k £104 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to November 2023 | £28k £45 per pupil | £29k £47 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to November 2022 | £33k £52 per pupil | £14k £22 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to November 2021 | £1k £2 per pupil | £539 £1 per pupil |
| 2020-21 year to November 2020 | £24k £41 per pupil | £31k £54 per pupil |
- FRIENDS OF KINGSHOLM CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL (charity 295758) Latest return: £49k £79 per pupil in the year to November 2024. It reports 3 volunteers. Annual return due 12 September 2025.
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
- 31% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 17%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 1 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 4 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 30% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 28% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 31% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 4 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 £1.9m £3,210 per pupil
- Support staff £805k £1,330 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £196k £324 per pupil
- Energy £45k £74 per pupil
- Learning resources £186k £308 per pupil
- Everything else £1.2m £2,018 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 Kingsholm Church of England Primary School's £447k £738 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 Kingsholm 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?
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.
- Lift Anglesey
- Athelstan Primary School
- Roberts Primary School
- The Crescent Primary School
- West Rise Primary School and Nursery
Admissions and catchments for Kingsholm 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)