EQUA MEAD LEARNING TRUST: academy finances
18 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.
- 2019-20: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 0 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 2 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 18 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £239 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £253 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 | +£5k +£66 per pupil | £633k £8,440 per pupil | £637k £8,493 per pupil | £4k £56 per pupil | £56 | £3k £40 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£10k +£66 per pupil | £952k £6,103 per pupil | £1.0m £6,641 per pupil | £15k £94 per pupil | £94 | £84k £538 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£218k +£251 per pupil | £6.7m £7,712 per pupil | £6.9m £7,885 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£50k +£278 per pupil | £1.2m £6,676 per pupil | £1.3m £7,196 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £70k £391 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£94k +£305 per pupil | £2.3m £7,505 per pupil | £2.3m £7,579 per pupil | £6k £19 per pupil | £19 | £49k £159 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£99k +£412 per pupil | £1.4m £5,996 per pupil | £1.6m £6,625 per pupil | £9k £37 per pupil | £37 | £65k £271 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£85k +£460 per pupil | £1.2m £6,362 per pupil | £1.2m £6,481 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £20k £108 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£73k +£592 per pupil | £781k £6,324 per pupil | £859k £6,955 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £51k £413 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£183k +£852 per pupil | £2.1m £10,000 per pupil | £2.2m £10,088 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £47k £219 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£65k +£674 per pupil | £678k £6,990 per pupil | £749k £7,722 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £58k £598 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£216k +£546 per pupil | £2.3m £5,838 per pupil | £2.4m £6,071 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £12k £30 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£282k +£778 per pupil | £3.0m £8,243 per pupil | £2.9m £8,030 per pupil | £2k | — | £13k £36 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£237k +£920 per pupil | £2.4m £9,476 per pupil | £2.4m £9,227 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2019 | — | £4k £16 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