ACER TRUST: academy finances
9 academies with a full-year return, 2 of them in deficit at their latest return. A trust can move money between its academies, so an academy shown in deficit may be supported by the trust as a whole.
Most of a school's money pays for staff, so deficits usually build up when pay and other costs rise faster than funding, or when pupil numbers fall and the money that comes with each pupil goes too. What helps: a recovery plan agreed with the council or trust that brings the budget back into balance over a few years, regular forecasts that governors check, and early conversations about pupil numbers and special needs funding.
- 2019-20: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 2 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 2 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 2 of 9 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £440 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £465 in 2025–26 prices. The IFS average for all trusts in 2023-24 was £510 per pupil, in 2025–26 prices (IFS, p.56).
Figures are each school's latest full-year return, total with the per-pupil figure beside it. PTA income is the school's share of its registered parents' association's latest return, in the school year that return falls in. Where no registered parents' association was found, the school may still have one: charities with an income of £5,000 or less need not register.
| School | Status | Reserve | Government funding | Spending | PTA income | PTA per pupil | Donations | Reserve per pupil trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In deficit | -£779k -£633 per pupil | £8.8m £7,140 per pupil | £8.7m £7,031 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2009 | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£111k -£319 per pupil | £2.0m £5,582 per pupil | £1.9m £5,459 per pupil | £16k £46 per pupil | £46 | £9k £26 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£43k +£204 per pupil | £1.6m £7,608 per pupil | £1.6m £7,450 per pupil | £13k £63 per pupil | £63 | £34k £163 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£35k +£160 per pupil | £1.3m £5,832 per pupil | £1.2m £5,601 per pupil | £6k £27 per pupil | £27 | £6k £27 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£219k +£285 per pupil | £5.3m £6,909 per pupil | £5.5m £7,210 per pupil | £500 | — | £3k £4 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£495k +£372 per pupil | £9.3m £6,961 per pupil | £9.0m £6,796 per pupil | £26k | — | £25k £19 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£797k +£638 per pupil | £9.3m £7,454 per pupil | £8.7m £6,953 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£172k +£795 per pupil | £1.3m £6,032 per pupil | £1.3m £5,940 per pupil | £22k £103 per pupil | £103 | £19k £88 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£180k +£2,067 per pupil | £664k £7,632 per pupil | £634k £7,287 per pupil | £10k | — | £34k £391 per pupil |
Sources: DfE Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool data (CFR returns for council-run schools, April to March; academy accounts returns, September to August), Get Information about Schools, DfE section 251 outturn (DSG balances), the Charity Commission register and the IFS annual report on education spending in England 2025–26 (IFS figures in 2025–26 prices, November 2025 deflator). Open Government Licence v3.0. Check at source: DfE benchmarking for this trust. How these figures are worked out