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Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy: school finances

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

Large reserves

Holds £104k £757 per pupil in reserve, 12% 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
Present and share

School presentation · PTFA presentation

School Wrapped: Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy's year in money · PTFA Wrapped

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2024-25, government funding was £808k £5,898 per pupil and spending £814k £5,942 per pupil. Spending was £6k £44 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 2024-25Government funding and spending per pupil each year, 2018-19 to 2024-25. 2018-19: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2019-20: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2020-21: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2021-22: funding £5k, spending £5k; 2022-23: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2023-24: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2024-25: funding £6k, spending £6k£4,000£5,000£6,000£7,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25Gov. 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: £955; 2019-20: £832; 2020-21: £879; 2021-22: £1k; 2022-23: £967; 2023-24: £912; 2024-25: £752£0£500£1,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25ReserveSimilarReserve

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

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2024-25137.0£854k £6,234 per pupil£814k £5,942 per pupil+£40k +£292 per pupil£103k £752 per pupil
2023-24125.0£796k £6,368 per pupil£763k £6,104 per pupil+£33k +£264 per pupil£114k £912 per pupil
2022-23120.0£744k £6,200 per pupil£710k £5,917 per pupil+£34k +£283 per pupil£116k £967 per pupil
2021-22124.0£707k £5,702 per pupil£645k £5,202 per pupil+£62k +£500 per pupil£131k £1,056 per pupil
2020-21124.0£669k £5,395 per pupil£632k £5,097 per pupil+£37k +£298 per pupil£109k £879 per pupil
2019-20119.0£612k £5,143 per pupil£594k £4,992 per pupil+£18k +£151 per pupil£99k £832 per pupil
2018-19110.0£621k £5,645 per pupil£560k £5,091 per pupil+£61k +£555 per pupil£105k £955 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£854k £6,234 per pupil+10% -13% real£8k
Government funding£808k £5,898 per pupil+11% -13% real£7k
Special needs (SEN) funding£29k £212 per pupil+29% +2% real£282
Pupil premiumNot reported in academy accounts
Money the school raised itself£47k £343 per pupil+51% +19% real£532
Donations (day-to-day)£2k £15 per pupil-58% -68% real£43
Donations for buildings and equipmentNot reported in academy accounts
Facilities and services£22k £161 per pupil+193% +131% real£174
Catering income£11k £80 per pupil-41% -54% real£63
Other DfE grants£0 £0 per pupil£303

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£814k £5,942 per pupil+17% -8% real£7k
Teachers£393k £2,869 per pupil+10% -14% real£3k
Supply staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£116
Support staff£165k £1,204 per pupil£1k
Office and admin staff£47k £343 per pupil+14% -10% real£323
Premises staff£6k £44 per pupil+22% -4% real£111
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other staff costs£9k £66 per pupil+3% -19% real£189
All staff costs£618k £4,511 per pupil+16% -9% real£5k
Premises£52k £380 per pupil+44% +13% real£346
Energy£18k £131 per pupil+31% +3% real£115
Rates, water and other building costs£80k £584 per pupil+40% +10% real£600
Catering£55k £401 per pupil+64% +29% real£338
Learning resources£39k £285 per pupil-41% -54% real£325
Supplies and services£60k £438 per pupil-14% -32% real£587
Bought-in services£4k £29 per pupil+222% +150% real£146

Staff costs were 76% 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 £830k £6,056 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. 2018-19 110.0
  2. 2019-20 119.0
  3. 2020-21 124.0
  4. 2021-22 124.0
  5. 2022-23 120.0
  6. 2023-24 125.0
  7. 2024-25 137.0

Income that passed straight through

In 2024-25, this school's income rose by +£58k +£423 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£50k +£365 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)

Trust central spending

What THE TILIAN PARTNERSHIP spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:

  1. 2018-19 £547
  2. 2019-20 £207
  3. 2020-21 £1k
  4. 2021-22 £713
  5. 2022-23 £306
  6. 2023-24 £463
  7. 2024-25 £316

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

No registered parents' association found for Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy. Charities with an income of £5,000 or less a year don't have to register with the Charity Commission, so many schools have an active PTA or friends' group that isn't on the register.

Across England, the typical registered parents' association raised £50 per pupil in 2025-26.

Intake and area

academy · Primary · Mixed · THE TILIAN PARTNERSHIP (multi-academy trust) · 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 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. What is Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy's £104k £757 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How much of Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy's funding does THE TILIAN PARTNERSHIP 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)
  3. How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
  4. Is any of it already committed, for example to building work or to cover a planned overspend?
  5. Does the school's reserve figure include its share of the trust's central reserves?
  6. How does Rattlesden Church of England Primary 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)
  7. Could some be spent on current pupils without putting future years at risk?
  8. Can the trust move money between its schools, and has this school given or received any?

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 Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy on Schools in Reach · All Suffolk school finances · Schools in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket · THE TILIAN PARTNERSHIP