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St Andrew's Church of England Infant School: school finances

Latest full year 2022-23, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Surrey · Primary · Academy converter

Large reserves

Holds £47k £534 per pupil in reserve, 10% 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. 2022-23 Large reserves same as the year before

Government funding vs spending per pupil

In 2022-23, government funding was £414k £4,705 per pupil and spending £471k £5,352 per pupil. Spending was £57k £648 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 2022-23Government funding and spending per pupil each year, 2018-19 to 2022-23. 2018-19: funding £7k, spending £6k; 2019-20: funding £6k, spending £7k; 2020-21: funding £5k, spending £6k; 2022-23: funding £5k, spending £5k£4,000£6,000£8,0002018-192019-202020-212022-23Gov. 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 2022-23Reserve per pupil at the end of each year. 2018-19: £3k; 2019-20: £2k; 2020-21: £655; 2022-23: £534£0£1,000£2,000£3,0002018-192019-202020-212022-23ReserveSimilarReserve

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

Each year's figures, newest first
YearPupilsIncomeSpendingIn-year balanceReserve at year end
2022-2388.0£454k £5,159 per pupil£471k £5,352 per pupil-£17k -£193 per pupil£47k £534 per pupil
2020-2158.0£322k £5,552 per pupil£321k £5,534 per pupil+£1k +£17 per pupil£38k £655 per pupil
2019-2066.5£409k £6,150 per pupil£437k £6,571 per pupil-£28k -£421 per pupil£160k £2,406 per pupil
2018-1965.0£481k £7,400 per pupil£395k £6,077 per pupil+£86k +£1,323 per pupil£182k £2,800 per pupil

Where the money comes from

Income in 2022-23, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2022-23Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total income£454k £5,159 per pupil-30% -41% real£7k
Government funding£414k £4,705 per pupil-33% -43% real£6k
Special needs (SEN) funding£4k £45 per pupil-42% -50% real£130
Pupil premiumNot reported in academy accounts
Money the school raised itself£28k £318 per pupil+591% +487% real£320
Donations (day-to-day)£5k £57 per pupil+280% +215% real£11
Donations for buildings and equipmentNot reported in academy accounts
Facilities and services£23k £261 per pupil+742% +622% real£51
Catering income£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other DfE grants£2k £23 per pupil£371

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 2022-23, with the trend per pupil since 2018-19
Line2022-23Trend per pupilChange per pupil since 2018-19Similar schools (median per pupil)
Total spending£471k £5,352 per pupil-12% -25% real£7k
Teachers£216k £2,455 per pupil-4% -18% real£3k
Supply staff£0 £0 per pupil-100% -100% real£37
Support staff£83k £943 per pupil-24% -35% real£1k
Office and admin staff£19k £216 per pupil-71% -75% real£365
Premises staff£6k £68 per pupil-56% -62% real£28
Catering staff£0 £0 per pupil£0
Other staff costs£8k £91 per pupil-1% -16% real£153
All staff costs£326k £3,705 per pupil-26% -37% real£5k
Premises£29k £330 per pupil£293
Energy£15k £170 per pupil+38% +18% real£144
Rates, water and other building costs£58k £659 per pupil+22% +4% real£591
Catering£40k £455 per pupil+29% +10% real£273
Learning resources£51k £580 per pupil-3% -18% real£369
Supplies and services£58k £659 per pupil-16% -28% real£676
Bought-in services£2k £23 per pupil-79% -82% real£184

Staff costs were 69% of this school's spending in 2022-23. Across England, over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. (IFS, p. 63)

In 2025-26 prices, this school spent £521k £5,921 per pupil in 2022-23. 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 65.0
  2. 2019-20 66.5
  3. 2020-21 58.0
  4. 2022-23 88.0

Trust central spending

What THE GOOD SHEPHERD TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:

  1. 2018-19 £252
  2. 2019-20 £249
  3. 2020-21 £314
  4. 2022-23 £331

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

Parents' association money per pupilParents' association income and spending per pupil. 2020-21: raised £67; 2021-22: raised £222; 2022-23: raised £196; 2023-24: raised £178; 2024-25: raised £220£0£100£200£3002020-212021-222022-232023-242024-25RaisedSpent
Each school year's returns, newest first
School yearRaisedSpent
2024-25
year to August 2025
£19k£32k
2023-24
year to August 2024
£16k£22k
2022-23
year to August 2023
£17k £196 per pupil£11k £128 per pupil
2021-22
year to August 2022
£19k£12k
2020-21
year to August 2021
£4k £67 per pupil£3k £51 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

academy · Primary · Mixed · THE GOOD SHEPHERD TRUST (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 2022-23, 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 Andrew's Church of England Infant School's £47k £534 per pupil reserve being kept for, and is there a timetable to spend it?
  2. How much of St Andrew's Church of England Infant School's funding does THE GOOD SHEPHERD 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 St Andrew's Church of England Infant 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.

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