Church of the Ascension CofE Primary School: school finances
Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Dudley · Primary · Academy converter
Healthy
Holds £113k £363 per pupil in reserve, 6% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2019-20 Healthy same as the year before
- 2020-21 Healthy same as the year before
- 2021-22 Healthy same as the year before
- 2023-24 Healthy same as the year before
- 2024-25 Healthy same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2024-25, government funding was £1.7m £5,314 per pupil and spending £1.9m £5,965 per pupil. Spending was £203k £651 per pupil more than government funding; the difference came from other income, such as lettings, catering or donations, or from the school's reserve.
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. CFR years run April to March and AAR years September to August.
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 | 312.0 | £1.9m £6,003 per pupil | £1.9m £5,965 per pupil | +£12k +£38 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 304.0 | £1.8m £5,865 per pupil | £1.7m £5,510 per pupil | +£108k +£355 per pupil | £91k £299 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 310.0 | £1.5m £4,827 per pupil | £1.5m £4,835 per pupil | -£3k -£8 per pupil | £84k £270 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 294.0 | £1.4m £4,801 per pupil | £1.4m £4,804 per pupil | -£924 -£3 per pupil | £86k £293 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 297.0 | £1.4m £4,702 per pupil | £1.4m £4,733 per pupil | -£9k -£31 per pupil | £87k £293 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 306.0 | £1.4m £4,453 per pupil | £1.3m £4,393 per pupil | +£19k +£61 per pupil | £96k £315 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 | £1.9m £6,003 per pupil | +35% +5% real | £6k | |
| Government funding | £1.7m £5,314 per pupil | +23% -5% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £52k £167 per pupil | +596% +431% real | £178 | |
| Pupil premium | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Money the school raised itself | £166k £532 per pupil | +336% +239% real | £437 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £0 £0 per pupil recorded | -100% -100% real | £37 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Facilities and services | £150k £481 per pupil | +354% +255% real | £178 | |
| Catering income | £14k £45 per pupil | £90 | ||
| Other DfE grants | £3k £10 per pupil | -95% -96% real | £240 | |
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 | £1.9m £5,965 per pupil | +36% +6% real | £6k | |
| Teachers | £1.0m £3,301 per pupil | +34% +4% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £5k £16 per pupil | -62% -71% real | £105 | |
| Support staff | £303k £971 per pupil | +84% +43% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £57k £183 per pupil | +68% +30% real | £255 | |
| Premises staff | £37k £119 per pupil | +40% +8% real | £151 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £44k £141 per pupil | -3% -24% real | £132 | |
| All staff costs | £1.5m £4,651 per pupil | +39% +8% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £90k £288 per pupil | -4% -25% real | £297 | |
| Energy | £28k £90 per pupil | +96% +52% real | £84 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £125k £401 per pupil | +23% -5% real | £521 | |
| Catering | £79k £253 per pupil | +54% +20% real | £326 | |
| Learning resources | £70k £224 per pupil | +11% -14% real | £244 | |
| Supplies and services | £182k £583 per pupil | +37% +6% real | £519 | |
| Bought-in services | £42k £135 per pupil | -27% -44% real | £148 |
Staff costs were 78% 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 £1.9m £6,080 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
- 2018-19 306.0
- 2019-20 297.0
- 2020-21 294.0
- 2021-22 310.0
- 2023-24 304.0
- 2024-25 312.0
Income that passed straight through
In 2024-25, this school's income rose by +£90k +£288 per pupil on the year before, and its staff costs by +£137k +£439 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 WORCESTER MULTI ACADEMY TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:
- 2023-24 £803
- 2024-25 £859
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 August 2025 | £17k £53 per pupil | £26k £83 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to August 2024 | £22k £73 per pupil | £24k £78 per pupil |
| 2022-23 year to August 2023 | £39k | £32k |
| 2021-22 year to August 2021, August 2022 | £9k £28 per pupil | £3k £9 per pupil |
- CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION PRIMARY SCHOOL HSA (charity 1173690) Latest return: £17k £53 per pupil in the year to August 2025. It reports 21 volunteers. Annual return due 30 June 2026.
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
- 5% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 27%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 10 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 9 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 29% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 94% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 1% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 1 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 £1.0m £3,317 per pupil
- Support staff £303k £971 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £90k £288 per pupil
- Energy £28k £90 per pupil
- Learning resources £70k £224 per pupil
- Everything else £335k £1,074 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 Church of the Ascension CofE Primary School's funding does THE DIOCESE OF WORCESTER 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)
- 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 Church of the Ascension CofE 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)
- 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.
- Davenham CofE Primary School
- The Firs Lower School
- St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, Wigan
- Theydon Bois Primary School
- Langho and Billington St Leonards Church of England Primary School
Admissions and catchments for Church of the Ascension CofE Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Dudley school finances · Schools in Kingswinford and South Staffordshire · THE DIOCESE OF WORCESTER MULTI ACADEMY 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)