Shurdington 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
In deficit
In deficit by £59k £287 per pupil, 4% of a year's income: it has spent more over the years than it received.
Why schools go into deficit. Most of a school's money goes on people: over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. So when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or a school loses pupils and the money that comes with each one, the budget is squeezed quickly and staffing is the only big thing left to cut. In 2024–25 and 2025–26, mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 2 percentage points less than school costs, partly because rising special needs costs took a large share of the extra money. A deficit usually comes from several of these pressures at once, not one bad decision. (IFS, pp. 62–63)
What helps. Schools in this position usually agree a recovery plan with the council, often over two or three years, and governors check progress against it each term. The questions further down are a good way to start that conversation.
Status by year
- 2018-19 In deficit reserve below zero
- 2019-20 In deficit same as the year before
- 2020-21 In deficit same as the year before
- 2021-22 In deficit same as the year before
- 2022-23 In deficit same as the year before
- 2023-24 In deficit same as the year before
- 2024-25 In deficit same as the year before
- 2025-26 In deficit same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2025-26, government funding was £1.4m £6,819 per pupil and spending £1.5m £7,062 per pupil. Spending was £50k £243 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 | 207.0 | £1.5m £7,157 per pupil | £1.5m £7,062 per pupil | +£20k +£95 per pupil | -£59k -£287 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 199.0 | £1.4m £6,868 per pupil | £1.4m £6,806 per pupil | +£12k +£61 per pupil | -£79k -£397 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 199.0 | £1.2m £6,170 per pupil | £1.3m £6,329 per pupil | -£32k -£159 per pupil | -£91k -£458 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 197.0 | £1.1m £5,599 per pupil | £1.1m £5,572 per pupil | +£5k +£27 per pupil | -£60k -£302 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 188.0 | £1.0m £5,454 per pupil | £1.0m £5,394 per pupil | +£11k +£60 per pupil | -£65k -£345 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 176.0 | £896k £5,092 per pupil | £901k £5,117 per pupil | -£4k -£26 per pupil | -£76k -£433 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 153.0 | £841k £5,496 per pupil | £906k £5,919 per pupil | -£65k -£423 per pupil | -£72k -£469 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 151.0 | £841k £5,571 per pupil | £942k £6,236 per pupil | -£100k -£665 per pupil | -£7k -£46 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 | £1.5m £7,157 per pupil | +28% -2% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.4m £6,819 per pupil | +28% -2% real | £7k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £144k £695 per pupil | +157% +97% real | £351 | |
| Pupil premium | £72k £346 per pupil | -14% -35% real | £443 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £70k £338 per pupil | +41% +8% real | £304 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £6k £31 per pupil | -73% -79% real | £1 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £42k £204 per pupil | +500% +353% real | £132 | |
| Catering income | £5k £23 per pupil | -8% -30% real | £52 | |
| Other DfE grants | £49k £236 per pupil | -30% -47% real | £233 |
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 | £1.5m £7,062 per pupil | +13% -14% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £748k £3,615 per pupil | +28% -3% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £20k £99 per pupil | -27% -45% real | £100 | |
| Support staff | £277k £1,337 per pupil | +18% -10% real | £2k | |
| Office and admin staff | £36k £172 per pupil | -36% -51% real | £303 | |
| Premises staff | £27k £131 per pupil | +98% +51% real | £214 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £89k £429 per pupil | +73% +32% real | £279 | |
| All staff costs | £1.2m £5,654 per pupil | +20% -8% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £45k £217 per pupil | +15% -12% real | £341 | |
| Energy | £14k £66 per pupil | -14% -35% real | £106 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £119k £574 per pupil | +17% -11% real | £645 | |
| Catering | £61k £295 per pupil | +0% -24% real | £355 | |
| Learning resources | £70k £339 per pupil | +0% -24% real | £278 | |
| Supplies and services | £128k £617 per pupil | -28% -45% real | £581 | |
| Bought-in services | £48k £233 per pupil | -51% -63% real | £243 |
Staff costs were 80% 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 £1.5m £7,062 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
- 2018-19 151.0
- 2019-20 153.0
- 2020-21 176.0
- 2021-22 188.0
- 2022-23 197.0
- 2023-24 199.0
- 2024-25 199.0
- 2025-26 207.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2025-26, this school's income rose by +£115k +£555 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£83k +£399 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 year to July 2026 | £13k | £9k |
- SHURDINGTON CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL PARENT, TEACHER AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (charity 1213447) Latest return: £13k in the year to July 2026. It reports 23 volunteers. Annual return due 31 May 2027.
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
- 26% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 17%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 6 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 7 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 38% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 78% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 12% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 3 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 £769k £3,713 per pupil
- Support staff £277k £1,337 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £45k £217 per pupil
- Energy £14k £66 per pupil
- Learning resources £70k £339 per pupil
- Everything else £288k £1,389 per pupil
National context
- In 2024–25 and 2025–26, mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 2 percentage points less than school costs nationally. (IFS, p. 62)
- 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 the plan to get Shurdington Church of England Primary School back into balance, and how many years will it take? Has the council agreed it?
- How many pupils at Shurdington 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?
- What is driving the deficit: falling pupil numbers, staff costs, special needs support, or something else? Why ask: Over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. (IFS, p. 63)
- Does the council's top-up money arrive on time and cover what the support actually costs?
- How does Shurdington 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)
- Will the recovery plan change class sizes, the subjects on offer or the number of support staff?
- 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.
- St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham
- West Green Primary School
- St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School
- Oswaldtwistle Hippings Methodist Voluntary Controlled Primary School
- Byerley Park Primary School
Admissions and catchments for Shurdington Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Gloucestershire school finances · Schools in North Cotswolds
- 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)