Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring: school finances
Latest full year 2025-26, as a council-run school (CFR return, April to March). Hertfordshire · Primary · Voluntary aided school
Healthy
Holds £95k £390 per pupil in reserve, 6% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2019-20 Heading for deficit spending more than it received, reserve running down
- 2020-21 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2021-22 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2022-23 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2023-24 Healthy same as the year before
- 2024-25 Healthy same as the year before
- 2025-26 Healthy same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2025-26, government funding was £1.4m £5,752 per pupil and spending £1.6m £6,726 per pupil. Spending was £237k £973 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 | 243.0 | £1.6m £6,675 per pupil | £1.6m £6,726 per pupil | -£12k -£51 per pupil | £95k £390 per pupil |
| 2024-25 | 243.0 | £1.5m £6,351 per pupil | £1.5m £6,284 per pupil | +£16k +£67 per pupil | £107k £440 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 237.0 | £1.4m £5,943 per pupil | £1.4m £5,869 per pupil | +£18k +£75 per pupil | £91k £383 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 236.0 | £1.2m £5,093 per pupil | £1.2m £5,225 per pupil | -£31k -£132 per pupil | £73k £309 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 226.0 | £1.1m £4,858 per pupil | £1.1m £4,747 per pupil | +£25k +£111 per pupil | £104k £461 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 225.0 | £1.1m £4,670 per pupil | £1.0m £4,463 per pupil | +£47k +£207 per pupil | £79k £351 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 237.0 | £1.1m £4,522 per pupil | £1.1m £4,673 per pupil | -£36k -£151 per pupil | £32k £137 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 237.0 | £1.0m £4,388 per pupil | £1.1m £4,543 per pupil | -£37k -£155 per pupil | £68k £288 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 | £1.6m £6,675 per pupil | +52% +16% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.4m £5,752 per pupil | +49% +13% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £36k £148 per pupil | +448% +323% real | £286 | |
| Pupil premium | £49k £204 per pupil | +162% +100% real | £219 | |
| Money the school raised itself | £224k £923 per pupil | +77% +35% real | £485 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £9k £35 per pupil | -71% -78% real | £39 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Facilities and services | £114k £471 per pupil | +6629% +4610% real | £246 | |
| Catering income | £45k £185 per pupil | -24% -42% real | £73 | |
| Other DfE grants | £24k £97 per pupil | +24% -5% real | £228 |
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 | £1.6m £6,726 per pupil | +48% +13% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £788k £3,242 per pupil | +56% +19% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £4k £15 per pupil | -87% -90% real | £54 | |
| Support staff | £231k £953 per pupil | +58% +21% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £98k £402 per pupil | +116% +65% real | £274 | |
| Premises staff | £37k £152 per pupil | -7% -29% real | £179 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £96k £397 per pupil | +251% +168% real | £244 | |
| All staff costs | £1.2m £5,033 per pupil | +61% +23% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £77k £317 per pupil | -5% -27% real | £322 | |
| Energy | £19k £77 per pupil | +60% +22% real | £73 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £125k £514 per pupil | +27% -3% real | £552 | |
| Catering | £76k £313 per pupil | +15% -12% real | £273 | |
| Learning resources | £132k £545 per pupil | +19% -9% real | £289 | |
| Supplies and services | £209k £862 per pupil | +28% -2% real | £581 | |
| Bought-in services | £57k £234 per pupil | +23% -6% real | £183 |
Staff costs were 75% 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 £1.6m £6,726 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
- 2018-19 237.0
- 2019-20 237.0
- 2020-21 225.0
- 2021-22 226.0
- 2022-23 236.0
- 2023-24 237.0
- 2024-25 243.0
- 2025-26 243.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2025-26, this school's income rose by +£79k +£325 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£96k +£397 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 year to July 2025 | £20k £82 per pupil | £21k £87 per pupil |
| 2024-25 year to July 2024 | £20k £82 per pupil | £21k £88 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to July 2023 | £23k £99 per pupil | £23k £96 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to July 2022 | £19k £79 per pupil | £18k £77 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to July 2021 | £10k £45 per pupil | £10k £44 per pupil |
- THE BISHOP WOOD SCHOOL ASSOCIATION (charity 1042238) Latest return: £20k £82 per pupil in the year to July 2025. It reports 8 volunteers. Annual return due 31 May 2026.
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
- 13% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 15%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 10 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 9 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 43% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 78% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 7% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 1 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 £792k £3,258 per pupil
- Support staff £231k £953 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £77k £317 per pupil
- Energy £19k £77 per pupil
- Learning resources £132k £545 per pupil
- Everything else £383k £1,576 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.
- How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
- How does Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring'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)
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.
- Grove Junior School
- Kingfisher Primary School
- Cupernham Infant School
- Kirk Fenton Church of England Primary School
- Willow Bank Junior School
Admissions and catchments for Bishop Wood Church of England Junior School, Tring on Schools in Reach · All Hertfordshire school finances · Schools in Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- 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)