ARETÉ LEARNING TRUST: academy finances
10 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.
- 2024-25: 2 of 10 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £247 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £261 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 | -£345k -£328 per pupil | £7.4m £7,058 per pupil | £8.2m £7,831 per pupil | £3k £3 per pupil | £3 | £25k £24 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£98k -£139 per pupil | £5.0m £7,163 per pupil | £5.2m £7,412 per pupil | £358 £0 per pupil | £0 | £7k £10 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£250 +£2 per pupil | £985k £6,006 per pupil | £1.0m £6,360 per pupil | £21k £131 per pupil | £131 | £5k £30 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£37k +£54 per pupil | £5.5m £7,954 per pupil | £5.5m £7,931 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £3 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£85k +£442 per pupil | £1.3m £6,886 per pupil | £1.4m £7,036 per pupil | £18k | — | £1k £5 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£613k +£475 per pupil | £8.6m £6,628 per pupil | £9.0m £6,951 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £99k £77 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£602k +£577 per pupil | £8.1m £7,769 per pupil | £8.3m £7,928 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £10k £10 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£64k +£717 per pupil | £612k £6,838 per pupil | £659k £7,363 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £22 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.2m +£883 per pupil | £10.4m £7,359 per pupil | £10.4m £7,397 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£404k +£1,821 per pupil | £1.6m £7,081 per pupil | £1.5m £6,811 per pupil | £2k £8 per pupil | £8 | £1k £5 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