SOUTH FARNHAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST: academy finances
11 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.
- 2022-23: 1 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 10 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £192 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £203 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heading for deficit | +£54k +£337 per pupil | £926k £5,752 per pupil | £1.3m £8,292 per pupil | £29k £182 per pupil | £182 | £157k £975 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£78k +£301 per pupil | £1.5m £5,849 per pupil | £1.8m £6,764 per pupil | £8k | — | £147k £568 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£57k +£295 per pupil | £1.3m £6,534 per pupil | £1.3m £6,492 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £34k £176 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£132k +£303 per pupil | £2.3m £5,311 per pupil | £2.3m £5,323 per pupil | £32k £74 per pupil | £74 | £47k £108 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£90k +£422 per pupil | £1.4m £6,657 per pupil | £1.4m £6,723 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £9 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.1m +£1,263 per pupil | £7.2m £8,076 per pupil | £6.5m £7,238 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2016 | — | £68k £76 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.5m +£1,169 per pupil | £9.2m £7,151 per pupil | £8.5m £6,581 per pupil | £5k £4 per pupil | £4 | £3k £2 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.9m +£2,203 per pupil | £7.1m £8,359 per pupil | £7.6m £8,965 per pupil | £78k £93 per pupil | £93 | £20k £24 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£246k +£1,316 per pupil | £1.1m £5,706 per pupil | £1.1m £5,909 per pupil | £26k £138 per pupil | £138 | £9k £48 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£915k +£1,878 per pupil | £3.1m £6,304 per pupil | £2.6m £5,427 per pupil | £17k £35 per pupil | £35 | £12k £25 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£643k +£2,896 per pupil | £1.5m £6,617 per pupil | £1.8m £7,946 per pupil | £35k £158 per pupil | £158 | £16k £72 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