Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School: school finances
Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Medway · Primary · Free schools
Healthy
Holds £96k £417 per pupil in reserve, 6% of a year's income.
Status by year
- 2022-23 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2023-24 Healthy reserve between 3% and 8% of a year's income
- 2024-25 Healthy same as the year before
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2024-25, government funding was £1.5m £6,379 per pupil and spending £1.4m £6,244 per pupil. Government funding was £31k £135 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 | 229.5 | £1.5m £6,693 per pupil | £1.4m £6,244 per pupil | +£103k +£449 per pupil | £87k £379 per pupil |
| 2023-24 | 141.0 | £903k £6,404 per pupil | £942k £6,681 per pupil | -£39k -£277 per pupil | £58k £411 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 26.0 | £360k £13,846 per pupil | £329k £12,654 per pupil | +£31k +£1,192 per pupil | £130k £5,000 per pupil |
Where the money comes from
| Line | 2024-25 | Trend per pupil | Change per pupil since 2022-23 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | £1.5m £6,693 per pupil | -52% -55% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.5m £6,379 per pupil | -53% -57% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £52k £227 per pupil | +195% +172% real | £295 | |
| Pupil premium | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Money the school raised itself | £69k £301 per pupil | +95% +80% real | £283 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £10k £44 per pupil | +16% +2% real | £6 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Facilities and services | £35k £153 per pupil | +33% +21% real | £100 | |
| Catering income | £0 £0 per pupil | £76 | ||
| Other DfE grants | £122k £532 per pupil | -74% -76% real | £250 | |
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 2022-23 | Similar schools (median per pupil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total spending | £1.4m £6,244 per pupil | -51% -55% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £737k £3,211 per pupil | -58% -61% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £13k £57 per pupil | £130 | ||
| Support staff | £276k £1,203 per pupil | -42% -47% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £52k £227 per pupil | -75% -77% real | £357 | |
| Premises staff | £41k £179 per pupil | -48% -52% real | £150 | |
| Catering staff | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £6k £26 per pupil | -32% -37% real | £242 | |
| All staff costs | £1.1m £4,723 per pupil | -56% -59% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £82k £357 per pupil | -7% -14% real | £328 | |
| Energy | £49k £214 per pupil | +39% +28% real | £114 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £158k £688 per pupil | +19% +10% real | £576 | |
| Catering | £88k £383 per pupil | +11% +2% real | £315 | |
| Learning resources | £22k £96 per pupil | -86% -87% real | £260 | |
| Supplies and services | £109k £475 per pupil | -52% -56% real | £517 | |
| Bought-in services | £57k £248 per pupil | +29% +19% real | £165 |
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 £1.5m £6,364 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
- 2022-23 26.0
- 2023-24 141.0
- 2024-25 229.5
Trust central spending
What THE PILGRIM MULTI ACADEMY TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:
- 2022-23 £300
- 2023-24 £304
- 2024-25 £330
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 year to December 2025 | £6k | £4k |
| 2024-25 year to December 2024 | £15k £66 per pupil | £12k £51 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to December 2023 | £6k £41 per pupil | £3k £24 per pupil |
- ROCHESTER RIVERSIDE PARENT, TEACHER AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (charity 1203367) Latest return: £6k in the year to December 2025. It reports 20 volunteers. Annual return due 31 October 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
- 18% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 28%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 3 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 3 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 40% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 53% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 18% of nearby homes are social rented
Intake band 4 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 £750k £3,268 per pupil
- Support staff £276k £1,203 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £82k £357 per pupil
- Energy £49k £214 per pupil
- Learning resources £22k £96 per pupil
- Everything else £254k £1,107 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 Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School's funding does THE PILGRIM 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 Rochester Riverside 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)
- 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 Benedict's Catholic Primary School
- Howard Park Community School
- All Souls Church of England Primary School
- Kings Copse Primary School
- Perton Primary Academy
Admissions and catchments for Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Medway school finances · Schools in Rochester and Strood · THE PILGRIM 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)