COMMUNITY ACADEMIES TRUST: academy finances
17 academies with a full-year return, 0 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.
- 2018-19: 3 of 16 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 1 of 17 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 1 of 17 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 18 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 1 of 18 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 16 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 17 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £297 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £314 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tight | +£94k +£64 per pupil | £10.3m £7,049 per pupil | £10.7m £7,325 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £11k £8 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£79k +£211 per pupil | £2.8m £7,535 per pupil | £2.7m £7,155 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £5 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£253k +£277 per pupil | £6.8m £7,431 per pupil | £6.6m £7,175 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2006 | — | £6k £7 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£71k +£336 per pupil | £1.3m £5,920 per pupil | £1.3m £6,231 per pupil | £13k | — | £27k £127 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£229k +£496 per pupil | £3.3m £7,051 per pupil | £3.1m £6,787 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £9 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£155k +£416 per pupil | £2.1m £5,677 per pupil | £2.0m £5,401 per pupil | £2k £6 per pupil | £6 | £2k £5 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£619k +£535 per pupil | £9.5m £8,222 per pupil | £9.2m £7,912 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £64k £55 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£159k +£610 per pupil | £1.9m £7,207 per pupil | £1.8m £7,073 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £15 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£101k +£642 per pupil | £1.1m £6,781 per pupil | £1.1m £6,851 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £6 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£132k +£663 per pupil | £1.3m £6,761 per pupil | £1.5m £7,678 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2020 | — | £3k £15 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£286k +£697 per pupil | £2.6m £6,327 per pupil | £2.5m £6,139 per pupil | £6k £14 per pupil | £14 | £11k £27 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£275k +£687 per pupil | £2.3m £5,820 per pupil | £2.4m £5,865 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £10k £25 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£325k +£718 per pupil | £2.6m £5,731 per pupil | £2.6m £5,680 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £18k £40 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