LEARNING PARTNERS ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
17 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.
- 2020-21: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 2 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 2 of 12 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 2 of 13 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 16 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £360 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £380 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 | -£242k -£427 per pupil | £4.8m £8,454 per pupil | £5.0m £8,834 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £18k £32 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£322k +£235 per pupil | £9.7m £7,110 per pupil | £9.7m £7,080 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £22k £16 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£701k +£362 per pupil | £13.6m £7,018 per pupil | £13.7m £7,083 per pupil | £86k £44 per pupil | £44 | £28k £14 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£161k +£373 per pupil | £2.6m £6,032 per pupil | £2.8m £6,483 per pupil | £9k £22 per pupil | £22 | £5k £12 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£192k +£481 per pupil | £2.2m £5,575 per pupil | £2.5m £6,318 per pupil | £16k £39 per pupil | £39 | £27k £68 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£547k +£458 per pupil | £8.6m £7,207 per pupil | £9.3m £7,817 per pupil | £11k £9 per pupil | £9 | £51k £43 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£342k +£953 per pupil | £3.5m £9,626 per pupil | £3.6m £9,975 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £23k £64 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£436k +£672 per pupil | £3.6m £5,570 per pupil | £4.3m £6,575 per pupil | £26k £40 per pupil | £40 | £56k £86 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£309k +£862 per pupil | £2.5m £6,858 per pupil | £2.5m £6,980 per pupil | £26k £72 per pupil | £72 | £10k £28 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£264k +£761 per pupil | £2.0m £5,833 per pupil | £2.2m £6,245 per pupil | £33k £94 per pupil | £94 | £11k £32 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£259k +£859 per pupil | £2.0m £6,558 per pupil | £2.0m £6,811 per pupil | £21k £70 per pupil | £70 | £16k £53 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£774k +£1,019 per pupil | £5.7m £7,441 per pupil | £5.8m £7,643 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | -£20k -£26 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