OUR COMMUNITY MULTI ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
10 academies with a full-year return, 4 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: 3 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 3 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 3 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 3 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 4 of 10 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £405 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £428 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 | -£234k -£3,394 per pupil | £744k £10,783 per pupil | £627k £9,087 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2017 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£216k -£1,348 per pupil | £1.1m £7,088 per pupil | £1.1m £6,881 per pupil | £2k | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£65k -£604 per pupil | £770k £7,130 per pupil | £739k £6,843 per pupil | £9k £82 per pupil | £82 | £6k £56 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£6k -£19 per pupil | £2.1m £7,064 per pupil | £2.0m £6,885 per pupil | £10k | — | £23k £78 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£121k +£311 per pupil | £2.5m £6,371 per pupil | £2.3m £5,918 per pupil | £25k £65 per pupil | £65 | £8k £21 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£52k +£420 per pupil | £920k £7,419 per pupil | £849k £6,847 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £27k £218 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£65k +£711 per pupil | £899k £9,772 per pupil | £800k £8,696 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2011 | — | £25k £272 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£89k +£867 per pupil | £802k £7,786 per pupil | £756k £7,340 per pupil | £8k £78 per pupil | £78 | £7k £68 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£405k +£1,596 per pupil | £1.9m £7,570 per pupil | £1.8m £7,089 per pupil | £9k | — | £5k £20 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£149k +£2,714 per pupil | £697k £12,673 per pupil | £618k £11,236 per pupil | £4k | — | £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