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St Jude's Church of England Junior School: school finances

Latest full year 2025-26, as a council-run school (CFR return, April to March). Surrey · Primary · Voluntary aided school

Large reserves

Holds £277k £1,612 per pupil in reserve, 19% of a year's income.

Status by year

  1. 2018-19 Tight reserve under 3% of a year's income
  2. 2019-20 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
  3. 2020-21 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
  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 £1.4m £7,988 per pupil and spending £1.3m £7,661 per pupil. Government funding was £56k £327 per pupil more than spending.

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 £5k; 2019-20: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2020-21: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2021-22: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2022-23: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2023-24: funding £7k, spending £7k; 2024-25: funding £7k, spending £8k; 2025-26: funding £8k, spending £8k£4,000£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: £102; 2019-20: £271; 2020-21: £504; 2021-22: £517; 2022-23: £539; 2023-24: £1k; 2024-25: £876; 2025-26: £2k£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
2025-26172.0£1.4m £8,362 per pupil£1.3m £7,661 per pupil+£120k +£701 per pupil£277k £1,612 per pupil
2024-25179.0£1.4m £7,626 per pupil£1.4m £7,790 per pupil-£29k -£163 per pupil£157k £876 per pupil
2023-24183.0£1.3m £7,365 per pupil£1.3m £6,946 per pupil+£77k +£419 per pupil£186k £1,017 per pupil
2022-23203.0£1.3m £6,175 per pupil£1.3m £6,164 per pupil+£2k +£11 per pupil£109k £539 per pupil
2021-22208.0£1.3m £6,325 per pupil£1.3m £6,389 per pupil-£13k -£64 per pupil£108k £517 per pupil
2020-21240.0£1.4m £5,704 per pupil£1.3m £5,499 per pupil+£49k +£205 per pupil£121k £504 per pupil
2019-20265.0£1.4m £5,098 per pupil£1.3m £4,934 per pupil+£43k +£163 per pupil£72k £271 per pupil
2018-19278.0£1.3m £4,778 per pupil£1.4m £4,945 per pupil-£46k -£167 per pupil£28k £102 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£1.4m £8,362 per pupil+75% +34% real£9k
Government funding£1.4m £7,988 per pupil+74% +33% real£8k
Special needs (SEN) funding£198k £1,153 per pupil+1760% +1306% real£328
Pupil premium£75k £438 per pupil+43% +9% real£506
Money the school raised itself£75k £434 per pupil+58% +21% real£311
Donations (day-to-day)£5k £31 per pupil-73% -79% real£15
Donations for buildings and equipment£0 £0 per pupil£0
Facilities and services£37k £216 per pupil+130% +76% real£147
Catering income£0 £0 per pupil£50
Other DfE grants£16k £95 per pupil+38% +6% real£311

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£1.3m £7,661 per pupil+55% +18% real£8k
Teachers£634k £3,683 per pupil+37% +4% real£3k
Supply staff£4k £21 per pupil-64% -72% real£119
Support staff£251k £1,462 per pupil+105% +56% real£2k
Office and admin staff£99k £576 per pupil+55% +18% real£449
Premises staff£62k £361 per pupil+75% +34% real£259
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other staff costs£17k £102 per pupil+0% -24% real£325
All staff costs£1.0m £5,846 per pupil+47% +12% real£6k
Premises£99k £573 per pupil+105% +56% real£474
Energy£39k £229 per pupil+176% +110% real£101
Rates, water and other building costs£84k £486 per pupil+138% +82% real£749
Catering£23k £132 per pupil+169% +106% real£387
Learning resources£53k £305 per pupil+144% +86% real£381
Supplies and services£125k £728 per pupil+58% +20% real£757
Bought-in services£62k £360 per pupil+43% +9% real£282

Staff costs were 76% 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 £1.3m £7,661 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. 2018-19 278.0
  2. 2019-20 265.0
  3. 2020-21 240.0
  4. 2021-22 208.0
  5. 2022-23 203.0
  6. 2023-24 183.0
  7. 2024-25 179.0
  8. 2025-26 172.0

Pupil numbers fell from 278.0 to 172.0 (38% fewer) over the years shown.

Schools are mostly funded per pupil, so fewer pupils means less money. Costs do not fall in step: a class with a few fewer pupils still needs a teacher. Primary schools in England have already lost about 100,000 pupils (3%) between 2019–20 and 2024–25, and are expected to lose over 300,000 more (about 8%) by 2030–31. Secondary numbers are expected to start falling from about 2026–27. The IFS points out that money is only saved if schools actually reduce what they spend, such as staff or the number of schools. That is why a well-run school with falling numbers can still find its budget under pressure. (IFS, pp. 19, 64)

Money raised by parents

Parents' association money per pupilParents' association income and spending per pupil. 2021-22: raised £12; 2022-23: raised £26; 2023-24: raised £25; 2024-25: raised £26; 2025-26: raised £9£5£10£15£20£252021-222022-232023-242024-252025-26RaisedSpent
Each school year's returns, newest first
School yearRaisedSpent
2025-26
year to August 2025
£2k £9 per pupil£1k £8 per pupil
2024-25
year to August 2024
£5k £26 per pupil£3k £14 per pupil
2023-24
year to August 2023
£5k £25 per pupil£4k £24 per pupil
2022-23
year to August 2022
£5k £26 per pupil£5k £24 per pupil
2021-22
year to August 2021
£2k £12 per pupil£2k £9 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 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.

National context

Questions to ask the school

Useful for parents, governors and PTFA committees.

  1. What is St Jude's Church of England Junior School's £277k £1,612 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How many pupils does St Jude's Church of England Junior School expect in each year group over the next three years? Why ask: Primary pupil numbers in England are expected to fall by over 300,000 (about 8%) by 2030–31. (IFS, p. 19)
  3. How many pupils at St Jude's Church of England Junior 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)
  4. How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
  5. Is any of it already committed, for example to building work or to cover a planned overspend?
  6. Is the school planning to merge classes, share staff or work more closely with another school?
  7. Does the council's top-up money arrive on time and cover what the support actually costs?
  8. How does St Jude's Church of England Junior 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)

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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