Hopton Church of England Primary Academy: school finances
Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Norfolk · Primary · Academy converter
Healthy
Holds £40k £218 per pupil in reserve, 3% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2019-20 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2020-21 Tight reserve under 3% of a year's income
- 2021-22 Tight same as the year before
- 2022-23 Tight same as the year before
- 2023-24 Tight same as the year before
- 2024-25 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2024-25, government funding was £1.1m £5,995 per pupil and spending £1.1m £5,881 per pupil. Government funding was £21k £114 per pupil more than spending.
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
Real terms: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026).
| Year | Pupils | Income | Spending | In-year balance | Reserve at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 185.0 | £1.2m £6,238 per pupil | £1.1m £5,881 per pupil | +£66k +£357 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 184.0 | £1.1m £5,918 per pupil | £1.0m £5,500 per pupil | +£77k +£418 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 178.0 | £995k £5,590 per pupil | £966k £5,427 per pupil | +£29k +£163 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 184.0 | £930k £5,054 per pupil | £915k £4,973 per pupil | +£15k +£82 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 182.0 | £893k £4,907 per pupil | £844k £4,637 per pupil | +£49k +£269 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 176.0 | £886k £5,034 per pupil | £867k £4,926 per pupil | +£19k +£108 per pupil | £61k £347 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 176.0 | £842k £4,784 per pupil | £819k £4,653 per pupil | +£23k +£131 per pupil | £96k £545 per pupil |
Where the money comes from
| Line | 2024-25 | Trend per pupil | Change per pupil since 2018-19 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | £1.2m £6,238 per pupil | +30% +2% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.1m £5,995 per pupil | +31% +3% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £71k £384 per pupil | +510% +383% real | £273 | |
| Pupil premium | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Money the school raised itself | £37k £200 per pupil | +26% -1% real | £384 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £5k £27 per pupil | +145% +87% real | £27 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Facilities and services | £0 £0 per pupil | -100% -100% real | £130 | |
| Catering income | £10k £54 per pupil | -14% -32% real | £61 | |
| Other DfE grants | £0 £0 per pupil | -100% -100% real | £259 | |
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
| Line | 2024-25 | Trend per pupil | Change per pupil since 2018-19 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total spending | £1.1m £5,881 per pupil | +26% -1% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £529k £2,859 per pupil | -15% -33% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £13k £70 per pupil | -23% -39% real | £60 | |
| Support staff | £234k £1,265 per pupil | £1k | ||
| Office and admin staff | £48k £259 per pupil | +42% +12% real | £315 | |
| Premises staff | £0 £0 per pupil | -100% -100% real | £138 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £39k £211 per pupil | +1141% +877% real | £262 | |
| All staff costs | £863k £4,665 per pupil | +28% +1% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £43k £232 per pupil | +13% -11% real | £345 | |
| Energy | £19k £103 per pupil | +81% +42% real | £122 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £82k £443 per pupil | +77% +40% real | £575 | |
| Catering | £51k £276 per pupil | +28% +0% real | £311 | |
| Learning resources | £13k £70 per pupil | -63% -70% real | £341 | |
| Supplies and services | £95k £514 per pupil | -9% -28% real | £619 | |
| Bought-in services | £57k £308 per pupil | +55% +22% real | £197 |
Staff costs were 79% 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 £1.1m £5,994 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
- 2018-19 176.0
- 2019-20 176.0
- 2020-21 182.0
- 2021-22 184.0
- 2022-23 178.0
- 2023-24 184.0
- 2024-25 185.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2024-25, this school's income rose by +£65k +£351 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£63k +£341 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 DIOCESE OF NORWICH EDUCATION AND ACADEMIES TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:
- 2018-19 £658
- 2019-20 £409
- 2020-21 £629
- 2021-22 £867
- 2022-23 £1k
- 2023-24 £877
- 2024-25 £709
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
| School year | Raised | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 year to March 2025 | £8k £43 per pupil | £1k £7 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to March 2024 | £6k £31 per pupil | £5k £27 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to March 2023 | £4k £21 per pupil | £3k £19 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to March 2022 | £1k £6 per pupil | £1k £6 per pupil |
| 2020-21 year to March 2021 | £128 £1 per pupil | £1k £6 per pupil |
- FRIENDS OF HOPTON PTA (charity 1108502) Latest return: £8k £43 per pupil in the year to March 2025.
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
- 22% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 20%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 5 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 5 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 20% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 81% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 5% of nearby homes are social rented
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.
- Teachers £542k £2,930 per pupil
- Support staff £234k £1,265 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £43k £232 per pupil
- Energy £19k £103 per pupil
- Learning resources £13k £70 per pupil
- Everything else £237k £1,281 per pupil
National context
- Primary pupil numbers in England are expected to fall by over 300,000 (about 8%) between 2024–25 and 2030–31. (IFS, p. 19)
- Council-run primary schools spend about £400 (6%) more per pupil than primary academies, and council-run secondaries about £300 (4%) more, partly because trusts spend some money centrally. (IFS, p. 56)
- Mainstream schools are expected to fund the first £6,000 a year of extra support for a pupil with special needs from their own budget. (IFS, p. 46)
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTFA committees.
- How much of Hopton Church of England Primary Academy's funding does THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH EDUCATION AND 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)
- How much does the PTA (or friends' association) raise each year, and what does it pay for?
- Does the school's reserve figure include its share of the trust's central reserves?
- How does Hopton 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)
- Can the trust move money between its schools, and has this school given or received any?
- 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.
- St Oswald's Catholic Primary School
- Scholes (Holmfirth) Junior & Infant School
- Holy Rosary Catholic Voluntary Academy
- Pickering Community Junior School
- Hayes Meadow Primary School
Admissions and catchments for Hopton Church of England Primary Academy on Schools in Reach · All Norfolk school finances · Schools in Great Yarmouth · THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH EDUCATION AND ACADEMIES TRUST
- DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data: CFR returns for council-run schools (April to March) and academy accounts returns (September to August), Open Government Licence v3.0
- Get Information about Schools, Open Government Licence v3.0
- Charity Commission register, Open Government Licence v3.0
- National context: IFS, Annual report on education spending in England: 2025–26 (January 2026); IFS figures are in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, November 2025)
- Real-terms figures on this page: in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)