Cropredy Church of England Primary School: school finances
Latest full year 2024-25, as an academy (accounts return, September to August). Oxfordshire · Primary · Academy sponsor led
Heading for deficit
Has spent more than it received for 5 years running; at that rate its £62k £367 per pupil reserve runs out in about 2 years.
Why schools go into deficit. Most of a school's money goes on people: over 80% of schools' costs are staff costs. So when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or a school loses pupils and the money that comes with each one, the budget is squeezed quickly and staffing is the only big thing left to cut. In 2024–25 and 2025–26, mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 2 percentage points less than school costs, partly because rising special needs costs took a large share of the extra money. A deficit usually comes from several of these pressures at once, not one bad decision. (IFS, pp. 62–63)
What helps. Schools in this position usually agree a recovery plan with EPA TRUST, often over two or three years, and governors check progress against it each term. The questions further down are a good way to start that conversation.
Status by year
- 2018-19 Large reserves reserve 8% or more of a year's income
- 2019-20 In deficit reserve below zero
- 2020-21 In deficit same as the year before
- 2021-22 In deficit same as the year before
- 2022-23 In deficit same as the year before
- 2024-25 Heading for deficit spending more than it received, reserve running down
Government funding vs spending per pupil
In 2024-25, government funding was £1.0m £5,918 per pupil and spending £1.1m £6,765 per pupil. Spending was £144k £847 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 | 170.0 | £1.1m £6,553 per pupil | £1.1m £6,765 per pupil | -£36k -£212 per pupil | £58k £341 per pupil |
| 2022-23 | 170.0 | £960k £5,645 per pupil | £985k £5,795 per pupil | -£26k -£150 per pupil | -£211k -£1,241 per pupil |
| 2021-22 | 175.0 | £915k £5,228 per pupil | £942k £5,382 per pupil | -£27k -£153 per pupil | -£185k -£1,060 per pupil |
| 2020-21 | 174.0 | £826k £4,745 per pupil | £962k £5,527 per pupil | -£136k -£782 per pupil | -£159k -£911 per pupil |
| 2019-20 | 167.0 | £829k £4,962 per pupil | £929k £5,564 per pupil | -£101k -£602 per pupil | -£22k -£135 per pupil |
| 2018-19 | 170.0 | £853k £5,018 per pupil | £808k £4,752 per pupil | +£45k +£266 per pupil | £78k £459 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 | £1.1m £6,553 per pupil | +31% +2% real | £7k | |
| Government funding | £1.0m £5,918 per pupil | +30% +1% real | £6k | |
| Special needs (SEN) funding | £15k £88 per pupil | -23% -40% real | £253 | |
| Pupil premium | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Money the school raised itself | £25k £147 per pupil | -68% -75% real | £343 | |
| Donations (day-to-day) | £0 £0 per pupil recorded | -100% -100% real | £24 | |
| Donations for buildings and equipment | Not reported in academy accounts | |||
| Facilities and services | £8k £47 per pupil | -51% -62% real | £192 | |
| Catering income | £17k £100 per pupil | +212% +149% real | £69 | |
| Other DfE grants | £8k £47 per pupil | -83% -87% real | £293 | |
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 £6,765 per pupil | +42% +11% real | £7k | |
| Teachers | £411k £2,418 per pupil | +15% -10% real | £3k | |
| Supply staff | £2k £12 per pupil | -95% -97% real | £107 | |
| Support staff | £231k £1,359 per pupil | +75% +36% real | £1k | |
| Office and admin staff | £188k £1,106 per pupil | +361% +258% real | £348 | |
| Premises staff | £24k £141 per pupil | +1310% +929% real | £118 | |
| Catering staff | £15k £88 per pupil | £0 | ||
| Other staff costs | £36k £212 per pupil | +54% +19% real | £175 | |
| All staff costs | £868k £5,106 per pupil | +43% +11% real | £5k | |
| Premises | £55k £324 per pupil | +44% +12% real | £340 | |
| Energy | £15k £88 per pupil | +60% +23% real | £111 | |
| Rates, water and other building costs | £98k £576 per pupil | +57% +22% real | £621 | |
| Catering | £71k £418 per pupil | +122% +72% real | £340 | |
| Learning resources | £62k £365 per pupil | +29% +0% real | £295 | |
| Supplies and services | £129k £759 per pupil | +78% +38% real | £593 | |
| Bought-in services | £28k £165 per pupil | +302% +211% real | £153 |
Staff costs were 75% 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 £1.2m £6,895 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
- 2018-19 170.0
- 2019-20 167.0
- 2020-21 174.0
- 2021-22 175.0
- 2022-23 170.0
- 2024-25 170.0
Trust central spending
What EPA TRUST spent centrally per pupil, on top of this school's own accounts:
- 2024-25 £352
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 | £14k £83 per pupil | £11k £63 per pupil |
| 2023-24 year to August 2024 | £16k | £15k |
| 2022-23 year to August 2022, August 2023 | £3k £17 per pupil | £4k £25 per pupil |
| 2021-22 year to August 2021 | £3k £20 per pupil | £4k £20 per pupil |
- FRIENDS OF CROPREDY SCHOOL PTA (charity 1175803) Latest return: £14k £83 per pupil in the year to August 2025. It reports 25 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
- 10% of pupils eligible for free school meals (median school: council 14%, England 22%)
- Neighbourhood deprivation decile 7 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- Income deprivation affecting children: decile 10 of 10 (1 = most deprived)
- 38% of adults nearby hold a degree-level qualification
- 76% of nearby homes are owner-occupied
- 10% 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 £413k £2,429 per pupil
- Support staff £231k £1,359 per pupil
- Buildings and grounds £55k £324 per pupil
- Energy £15k £88 per pupil
- Learning resources £62k £365 per pupil
- Everything else £374k £2,200 per pupil
National context
- In 2024–25 and 2025–26, mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 2 percentage points less than school costs nationally. (IFS, p. 62)
- 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.
- Cropredy Church of England Primary School has spent more than it received for 5 years. Is that planned, and what does the school expect its reserve to be in three years' time?
- How much of Cropredy Church of England Primary School's funding does EPA 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?
- What does the budget assume about pay rises and pupil numbers over the next three years? Why ask: The IFS projects school costs could grow 0.5 to 1 percentage points a year faster than funding to 2028–29. (IFS, p. 11)
- Does the school's reserve figure include its share of the trust's central reserves?
- How does Cropredy 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)
- If the gap does not close, what would the school cut first?
- 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.
- Clyst St Mary Primary School
- St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy
- New Swannington Primary School
- Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School
- Mickle Trafford Village School
Admissions and catchments for Cropredy Church of England Primary School on Schools in Reach · All Oxfordshire school finances · Schools in Banbury · EPA 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)