EDEN LEARNING TRUST: academy finances
8 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.
- 2020-21: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 8 academies in deficit
On average, academy trusts spent £510 per pupil centrally in 2023–24, money that is not counted in their individual schools' own spending. (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Large reserves | +£543k +£584 per pupil | £8.3m £8,909 per pupil | £8.8m £9,477 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.1m +£1,083 per pupil | £8.3m £8,075 per pupil | £8.6m £8,393 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£212k +£1,090 per pupil | £1.5m £7,512 per pupil | £1.5m £7,486 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.1m +£1,533 per pupil | £6.7m £9,113 per pupil | £7.0m £9,523 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.3m +£1,821 per pupil | £5.8m £8,255 per pupil | £5.8m £8,212 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £6 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£3.1m +£2,738 per pupil | £9.0m £7,837 per pupil | £9.1m £7,915 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.8m +£2,500 per pupil | £9.3m £8,312 per pupil | £8.9m £7,954 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £3k £3 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.0m +£3,683 per pupil | £2.0m £7,204 per pupil | £1.9m £7,013 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £14 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