LIFE EDUCATION TRUST: academy finances
10 academies with a full-year return, 2 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: 1 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 1 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 1 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 2 of 10 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £780 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £824 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 | -£136k -£1,527 per pupil | £709k £7,966 per pupil | £685k £7,697 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£50k -£522 per pupil | £669k £6,969 per pupil | £670k £6,979 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£2k +£20 per pupil | £687k £6,543 per pupil | £762k £7,257 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £10 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£2k +£18 per pupil | £785k £6,947 per pupil | £805k £7,124 per pupil | £10k £88 per pupil | £88 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£41k +£596 per pupil | £644k £9,333 per pupil | £634k £9,188 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £14 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£81k +£1,264 per pupil | £575k £8,984 per pupil | £548k £8,562 per pupil | £4k £61 per pupil | £61 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£112k +£1,319 per pupil | £630k £7,412 per pupil | £570k £6,706 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2015 | — | £1k £12 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.1m +£1,539 per pupil | £11.8m £8,441 per pupil | £10.8m £7,758 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil matched with lower confidence | £0 | £12k £9 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£536k +£1,304 per pupil | £2.8m £6,786 per pupil | £2.5m £6,117 per pupil | £14k £35 per pupil | £35 | £3k £7 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£218k +£2,323 per pupil | £909k £9,670 per pupil | £749k £7,968 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2009 | — | £0 £0 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