DIOCESE OF SOUTHWELL AND NOTTINGHAM MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
23 academies with a full-year return, 1 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: 1 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 0 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 16 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 0 of 16 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 1 of 18 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 3 of 23 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 23 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £310 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £328 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 | -£1.7m -£1,689 per pupil | £7.8m £7,729 per pupil | £8.9m £8,860 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £10k £10 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£10k +£115 per pupil | £749k £8,416 per pupil | £725k £8,146 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £22 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£40k +£208 per pupil | £1.5m £7,596 per pupil | £1.5m £7,658 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£211k +£282 per pupil | £6.8m £9,120 per pupil | £6.8m £9,115 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £59k £79 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£30k +£350 per pupil | £870k £10,235 per pupil | £797k £9,376 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £12 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£92k +£207 per pupil | £2.5m £5,595 per pupil | £2.5m £5,707 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £3k £7 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£131k +£542 per pupil | £1.9m £7,892 per pupil | £1.8m £7,548 per pupil | £4k | — | £2k £8 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£137k +£606 per pupil | £1.6m £7,261 per pupil | £1.6m £7,071 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £6k £27 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£65k +£941 per pupil | £600k £8,696 per pupil | £582k £8,435 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2013 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£111k +£998 per pupil | £754k £6,793 per pupil | £709k £6,387 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £5k £45 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£119k +£1,174 per pupil | £741k £7,337 per pupil | £758k £7,505 per pupil | £6k £61 per pupil | £61 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£526k +£1,342 per pupil | £3.4m £8,755 per pupil | £3.4m £8,722 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £3 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