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Deerhurst and Apperley 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 £121k £1,391 per pupil in reserve, 17% of a year's income.

Status by year

  1. 2018-19 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
  2. 2019-20 Large reserves same as the year before
  3. 2020-21 Large reserves same as the year before
  4. 2021-22 Large reserves same as the year before
  5. 2022-23 Large reserves same as the year before
  6. 2023-24 Large reserves same as the year before
  7. 2024-25 Large reserves same as the year before
  8. 2025-26 Large reserves same as the year before

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2025-26, government funding was £666k £7,661 per pupil and spending £708k £8,134 per pupil. Spending was £41k £473 per pupil more than government funding; the difference came from other income, such as lettings, catering or donations, or from the school's reserve.

Government funding and spending per pupil, 2018-19 to 2025-26Government funding and spending per pupil each year, 2018-19 to 2025-26. 2018-19: funding £5k, spending £6k; 2019-20: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2020-21: funding £7k, spending £6k; 2021-22: funding £7k, spending £7k; 2022-23: funding £7k, spending £8k; 2023-24: funding £7k, spending £8k; 2024-25: funding £8k, spending £8k; 2025-26: funding £8k, spending £8k£5,000£6,000£7,000£8,0002019-202021-222023-242025-26Gov. fundingSpendingSimilarGov. fundingSpending

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

Reserve per pupil, 2018-19 to 2025-26Reserve per pupil at the end of each year. 2018-19: £906; 2019-20: £810; 2020-21: £1k; 2021-22: £1k; 2022-23: £2k; 2023-24: £1k; 2024-25: £2k; 2025-26: £1k£0£500£1,000£1,5002019-202021-222023-242025-26ReserveSimilarReserve

Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2025-2687.0£708k £8,139 per pupil£708k £8,134 per pupil+£455 +£5 per pupil£121k £1,391 per pupil
2024-2579.0£658k £8,332 per pupil£648k £8,200 per pupil+£10k +£132 per pupil£121k £1,526 per pupil
2023-2477.0£599k £7,773 per pupil£601k £7,805 per pupil-£2k -£32 per pupil£110k £1,430 per pupil
2022-2372.0£572k £7,938 per pupil£554k £7,698 per pupil+£17k +£240 per pupil£113k £1,564 per pupil
2021-2273.0£524k £7,175 per pupil£540k £7,395 per pupil-£16k -£220 per pupil£95k £1,306 per pupil
2020-2178.0£545k £6,983 per pupil£495k £6,344 per pupil+£50k +£639 per pupil£111k £1,429 per pupil
2019-2076.0£477k £6,274 per pupil£486k £6,393 per pupil-£9k -£119 per pupil£62k £810 per pupil
2018-1978.0£472k £6,054 per pupil£459k £5,883 per pupil+£13k +£171 per pupil£71k £906 per pupil

Where the money comes from

Income in 2025-26, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2025-26Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total income£708k £8,139 per pupil+34% +3% real£8k
Government funding£666k £7,661 per pupil+43% +9% real£8k
Special needs (SEN) funding£23k £264 per pupil-19% -38% real£193
Pupil premium£11k £122 per pupil+34% +3% real£181
Money the school raised itself£42k £478 per pupil-30% -47% real£353
Donations (day-to-day)£10k £120 per pupil-21% -40% real£62
Donations for buildings and equipment£0 £0 per pupil£0
Facilities and services£14k £160 per pupil-14% -35% real£94
Catering income£7k £85 per pupil+8400% +8400% real£47
Other DfE grants£29k £331 per pupil+0% -23% real£358

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

Spending in 2025-26, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2025-26Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total spending£708k £8,134 per pupil+38% +5% real£8k
Teachers£390k £4,483 per pupil+61% +23% real£4k
Supply staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£57
Support staff£66k £757 per pupil-17% -37% real£1k
Office and admin staff£29k £334 per pupil+51% +15% real£462
Premises staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£47
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other staff costs£19k £219 per pupil-40% -54% real£238
All staff costs£505k £5,805 per pupil+35% +3% real£7k
Premises£33k £383 per pupil+47% +12% real£414
Energy£9k £104 per pupil+51% +14% real£89
Rates, water and other building costs£48k £552 per pupil+53% +17% real£584
Catering£25k £282 per pupil+47% +12% real£299
Learning resources£35k £400 per pupil+38% +5% real£395
Supplies and services£73k £836 per pupil+49% +14% real£793
Bought-in services£37k £427 per pupil+67% +27% real£195

Staff costs were 71% 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 £708k £8,134 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

  1. 2018-19 78.0
  2. 2019-20 76.0
  3. 2020-21 78.0
  4. 2021-22 73.0
  5. 2022-23 72.0
  6. 2023-24 77.0
  7. 2024-25 79.0
  8. 2025-26 87.0

Income that passed straight through

In 2025-26, this school's income rose by +£50k +£574 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£37k +£431 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

Parents' association money per pupilParents' association income and spending per pupil. 2020-21: raised £15; 2021-22: raised £52; 2022-23: raised £98; 2023-24: raised £98; 2024-25: raised £92£0£50£100£1502020-212021-222022-232023-242024-25RaisedSpent
Each school year's returns, newest first
School yearRaisedSpent
2024-25
year to March 2025
£7k £92 per pupil£13k £162 per pupil
2023-24
year to March 2024
£8k £98 per pupil£2k £32 per pupil
2022-23
year to March 2023
£7k £98 per pupil£4k £54 per pupil
2021-22
year to March 2022
£4k £52 per pupil£4k £51 per pupil
2020-21
year to March 2021
£1k £15 per pupil£2k £22 per pupil

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

council-run · Primary · Mixed · Church of England

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.

National context

Questions to ask the school

Useful for parents, governors and PTFA committees.

  1. What is Deerhurst and Apperley Church of England Primary School's £121k £1,391 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
  3. Is any of it already committed, for example to building work or to cover a planned overspend?
  4. How does Deerhurst and Apperley 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)
  5. 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.

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