BLACKDOWN EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP: academy finances
13 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.
- 2021-22: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £412 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £435 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 | -£284k -£376 per pupil | £5.6m £7,389 per pupil | £6.0m £7,914 per pupil | £4k £6 per pupil | £6 | £2k £3 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£71k -£76 per pupil | £7.0m £7,502 per pupil | £7.4m £7,942 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2009 | — | £10k £11 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£72k +£67 per pupil | £7.7m £7,058 per pupil | £8.2m £7,581 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £19k £18 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£33k +£153 per pupil | £1.3m £5,991 per pupil | £1.4m £6,470 per pupil | £13k | — | £4k £19 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£241k +£319 per pupil | £5.5m £7,292 per pupil | £5.4m £7,120 per pupil | £35 £0 per pupil | £0 | £11k £15 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£73k +£301 per pupil | £1.4m £5,709 per pupil | £1.5m £6,020 per pupil | £10k | — | £83k £340 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£748k +£566 per pupil | £9.9m £7,492 per pupil | £9.7m £7,317 per pupil | £4k £3 per pupil | £3 | £9k £7 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£931k +£1,127 per pupil | £6.3m £7,656 per pupil | £6.5m £7,912 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £14k £17 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£250k +£1,086 per pupil | £1.5m £6,360 per pupil | £1.5m £6,538 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £4 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.7m +£1,395 per pupil | £8.6m £7,136 per pupil | £9.1m £7,542 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2012 | — | £10k £8 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£263k +£1,260 per pupil | £1.3m £6,397 per pupil | £1.3m £6,220 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2020 | — | £14k £67 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£167k +£2,623 per pupil | £699k £11,008 per pupil | £684k £10,772 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £16k £252 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£643k +£2,151 per pupil | £2.0m £6,662 per pupil | £1.9m £6,368 per pupil | £10k | — | £7k £23 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