SPARK EDUCATION TRUST: academy finances
15 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.
- 2018-19: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 0 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 0 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 5 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 15 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £443 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £468 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 | +£11k +£65 per pupil | £1.1m £6,787 per pupil | £1.2m £7,363 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2008 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£23k +£65 per pupil | £2.1m £5,849 per pupil | £2.1m £5,963 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£62k +£115 per pupil | £4.1m £7,722 per pupil | £4.2m £7,813 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£139k +£112 per pupil | £9.3m £7,494 per pupil | £9.1m £7,382 per pupil | £448 £0 per pupil | £0 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£53k +£157 per pupil | £1.8m £5,378 per pupil | £1.8m £5,426 per pupil | £20k £61 per pupil | £61 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£442k +£292 per pupil | £10.2m £6,741 per pupil | £10.8m £7,144 per pupil | £5k £3 per pupil | £3 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£70k +£340 per pupil | £1.2m £5,870 per pupil | £1.3m £6,329 per pupil | £4k £19 per pupil | £19 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£158k +£349 per pupil | £2.6m £5,707 per pupil | £2.6m £5,645 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£892k +£666 per pupil | £9.6m £7,194 per pupil | £9.6m £7,157 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£232k +£622 per pupil | £2.2m £5,954 per pupil | £2.3m £6,102 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £3k £8 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£214k +£601 per pupil | £2.1m £5,868 per pupil | £2.0m £5,579 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£230k +£655 per pupil | £2.1m £5,860 per pupil | £2.1m £5,917 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£162k +£856 per pupil | £1.2m £6,190 per pupil | £1.2m £6,185 per pupil | £8k | — | £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