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Brenzett Church of England Primary School: school finances

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

Large reserves

Holds £199k £2,072 per pupil in reserve, 26% of a year's income.

Status by year

  1. 2018-19 In deficit reserve below zero
  2. 2019-20 Tight reserve under 3% of a year's income
  3. 2020-21 In deficit reserve below zero
  4. 2021-22 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
  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: Brenzett Church of England Primary School's year in money · PTFA Wrapped

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2024-25, government funding was £754k £7,854 per pupil and spending £745k £7,760 per pupil. Government funding was £9k £94 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 £6k, spending £7k; 2019-20: funding £6k, spending £5k; 2020-21: funding £6k, spending £6k; 2021-22: funding £8k, spending £7k; 2022-23: funding £9k, spending £8k; 2023-24: funding £8k, spending £8k; 2024-25: funding £8k, spending £8k£4,000£6,000£8,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25Gov. 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: -£414; 2019-20: £123; 2020-21: -£579; 2021-22: £717; 2022-23: £2k; 2023-24: £2k; 2024-25: £2k-£1,000£0£1,000£2,0002018-192020-212022-232024-25ReserveSimilarReserve

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

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2024-2596.0£778k £8,104 per pupil£745k £7,760 per pupil+£33k +£344 per pupil£208k £2,167 per pupil
2023-2486.0£753k £8,756 per pupil£654k £7,605 per pupil+£99k +£1,151 per pupil£204k £2,372 per pupil
2022-2383.0£745k £8,976 per pupil£654k £7,880 per pupil+£91k +£1,096 per pupil£141k £1,699 per pupil
2021-2292.0£728k £7,913 per pupil£639k £6,946 per pupil+£89k +£967 per pupil£66k £717 per pupil
2020-2195.0£607k £6,389 per pupil£590k £6,211 per pupil+£17k +£179 per pupil-£55k -£579 per pupil
2019-2081.0£497k £6,136 per pupil£406k £5,012 per pupil+£91k +£1,123 per pupil£10k £123 per pupil
2018-1970.0£449k £6,414 per pupil£469k £6,700 per pupil-£20k -£286 per pupil-£29k -£414 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£778k £8,104 per pupil+26% -1% real£8k
Government funding£754k £7,854 per pupil+32% +4% real£8k
Special needs (SEN) funding£43k £448 per pupil£298
Pupil premiumNot reported in academy accounts
Money the school raised itself£23k £240 per pupil-47% -59% real£416
Donations (day-to-day)£1k £10 per pupil£31
Donations for buildings and equipmentNot reported in academy accounts
Facilities and services£14k £146 per pupil+28% +1% real£102
Catering income£0 £0 per pupil£65
Other DfE grants£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£300

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£745k £7,760 per pupil+16% -9% real£8k
Teachers£288k £3,000 per pupil+14% -10% real£4k
Supply staff£5k £52 per pupil+271% +179% real£80
Support staff£161k £1,677 per pupil+13% -11% real£2k
Office and admin staff£24k £250 per pupil-40% -53% real£383
Premises staff£32k £333 per pupil-35% -49% real£141
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£0
Other staff costs£51k £531 per pupil+366% +266% real£225
All staff costs£529k £5,510 per pupil+18% -8% real£6k
Premises£55k £573 per pupil-27% -43% real£411
Energy£21k £219 per pupil+70% +34% real£130
Rates, water and other building costs£53k £552 per pupil+7% -16% real£680
Catering£25k £260 per pupil-4% -25% real£375
Learning resources£44k £458 per pupil-6% -26% real£396
Supplies and services£108k £1,125 per pupil+31% +3% real£718
Bought-in services£41k £427 per pupil£191

Staff costs were 71% 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 £759k £7,910 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 70.0
  2. 2019-20 81.0
  3. 2020-21 95.0
  4. 2021-22 92.0
  5. 2022-23 83.0
  6. 2023-24 86.0
  7. 2024-25 96.0

Trust central spending

What THE DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY ACADEMIES TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:

  1. 2018-19 £203
  2. 2019-20 £115
  3. 2020-21 £715
  4. 2021-22 £375
  5. 2022-23 £303
  6. 2023-24 £451
  7. 2024-25 £302

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 · THE DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY ACADEMIES TRUST (multi-academy trust) · 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. What is Brenzett Church of England Primary School's £199k £2,072 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How much of Brenzett Church of England Primary School's funding does THE DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY ACADEMIES 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)
  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 Brenzett 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)
  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 Brenzett Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Kent school finances · Schools in Folkestone and Hythe · THE DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY ACADEMIES TRUST