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St Peter and St Paul Church of England Academy: school finances

Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Leicestershire · Primary · Academy converter

Healthy

Holds £155k £398 per pupil in reserve, 6% of a year's income.

Status by year

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

School presentation · PTFA presentation

School Wrapped: St Peter and St Paul Church of England Academy's year in money · PTFA Wrapped

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2024-25, government funding was £2.4m £6,223 per pupil and spending £2.0m £5,020 per pupil. Government funding was £470k £1,202 per pupil more than spending.

Government funding and spending per pupil, 2018-19 to 2024-25Government funding and spending per pupil each year, 2018-19 to 2024-25. 2018-19: funding £4k, spending £4k; 2019-20: funding £4k, spending £4k; 2020-21: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2021-22: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2022-23: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2023-24: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2024-25: funding £6k, spending £5k£4,000£5,000£6,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25Gov. 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 2024-25Reserve per pupil at the end of each year. 2018-19: £122; 2019-20: £469; 2020-21: £532; 2021-22: £0; 2022-23: £0; 2023-24: £0; 2024-25: £0£0£200£400£6002018-192020-212022-232024-25ReserveSimilarReserve

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

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2024-25391.0£2.6m £6,537 per pupil£2.0m £5,020 per pupil+£593k +£1,517 per pupil£0 £0 per pupil
2023-24416.0£2.3m £5,632 per pupil£2.0m £4,712 per pupil+£383k +£921 per pupil£0 £0 per pupil
2022-23412.0£2.2m £5,408 per pupil£2.2m £5,386 per pupil+£9k +£22 per pupil£0 £0 per pupil
2021-22402.0£2.2m £5,353 per pupil£2.1m £5,162 per pupil+£77k +£192 per pupil£0 £0 per pupil
2020-21406.0£2.0m £4,951 per pupil£1.9m £4,717 per pupil+£95k +£234 per pupil£216k £532 per pupil
2019-20403.0£1.9m £4,685 per pupil£1.7m £4,141 per pupil+£219k +£543 per pupil£189k £469 per pupil
2018-19386.0£1.8m £4,593 per pupil£1.7m £4,277 per pupil+£122k +£316 per pupil£47k £122 per pupil

Where the money comes from

Income in 2024-25, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2024-25Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total income£2.6m £6,537 per pupil+42% +12% real£7k
Government funding£2.4m £6,223 per pupil+49% +17% real£6k
Special needs (SEN) funding£94k £240 per pupil+97% +55% real£298
Pupil premiumNot reported in academy accounts
Money the school raised itself£53k £136 per pupil-19% -37% real£205
Donations (day-to-day)£0 £0 per pupil recorded£10
Donations for buildings and equipmentNot reported in academy accounts
Facilities and services£25k £64 per pupil-2% -23% real£97
Catering income£28k £72 per pupil+47% +14% real£58
Other DfE grants£52k £133 per pupil+4333% +4433% real£204

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)

Academy accounts don't report pupil premium as a separate line, so it is shown as not reported rather than as zero.

Where it goes

Spending in 2024-25, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2024-25Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total spending£2.0m £5,020 per pupil+17% -8% real£6k
Teachers£1.0m £2,675 per pupil+36% +7% real£3k
Supply staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£65
Support staff£474k £1,212 per pupil+51% +19% real£1k
Office and admin staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£266
Premises staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£156
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£0
Other staff costs£101k £258 per pupil+427% +311% real£119
All staff costs£1.6m £4,146 per pupil+31% +3% real£5k
Premises£30k £77 per pupil-75% -80% real£365
Energy£58k £148 per pupil+121% +74% real£105
Rates, water and other building costs£223k £570 per pupil+50% +18% real£499
Catering£131k £335 per pupil+77% +39% real£284
Learning resources£56k £143 per pupil-31% -46% real£253
Supplies and services£89k £228 per pupil-46% -57% real£478
Bought-in services£16k £41 per pupil-49% -60% real£94

Staff costs were 83% of this school's spending in 2024-25. Across England, over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. (IFS, p. 63)

In 2025-26 prices, this school spent £2.0m £5,117 per pupil in 2024-25. Across England, primary schools are expected to spend about £7,000 per pupil in 2025–26. (IFS, p. 7)

Academy figures exclude the trust's central spending on its schools, so they can look lower than a council-run school's. See the trust's central spending below.

Pupils by year

  1. 2018-19 386.0
  2. 2019-20 403.0
  3. 2020-21 406.0
  4. 2021-22 402.0
  5. 2022-23 412.0
  6. 2023-24 416.0
  7. 2024-25 391.0

Trust central spending

What RISE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:

  1. 2018-19 £244
  2. 2019-20 £206
  3. 2020-21 £237
  4. 2021-22 £352
  5. 2022-23 £612
  6. 2023-24 £2k
  7. 2024-25 £2k

These are cash figures. The IFS average below is in 2025-26 prices.

On average, academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24, money that is not counted in their individual schools' own spending. (IFS, p. 56)

Money raised by parents

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

academy · Primary · Mixed · RISE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST (multi-academy trust) · non-selective · 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 2024-25, 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. How much of St Peter and St Paul Church of England Academy's funding does RISE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST keep centrally each year, and what does the school get for it? Why ask: Academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24 on average. (IFS, p. 56)
  2. How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
  3. Does the school's reserve figure include its share of the trust's central reserves?
  4. How does St Peter and St Paul Church of England Academy'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. Can the trust move money between its schools, and has this school given or received any?
  6. Who sets the school's budget: the headteacher, local governors or the trust board?

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.

Compare side by side

Admissions and catchments for St Peter and St Paul Church of England Academy on Schools in Reach · All Leicestershire school finances · Schools in Melton and Syston · RISE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST