STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY ACADEMIES TRUST: academy finances
21 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 14 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 0 of 14 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 19 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 20 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 20 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 20 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 21 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £228 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £241 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Large reserves | +£83k +£571 per pupil | £822k £5,669 per pupil | £907k £6,255 per pupil | £4k £25 per pupil | £25 | £6k £41 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£119k +£594 per pupil | £1.0m £5,103 per pupil | £1.2m £5,950 per pupil | £20k | — | £9k £45 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£135k +£638 per pupil | £1.1m £5,403 per pupil | £1.3m £6,033 per pupil | £18k | — | £19k £90 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£67k +£1,049 per pupil | £537k £8,457 per pupil | £576k £9,071 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £8k £126 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£335k +£736 per pupil | £3.0m £6,494 per pupil | £3.2m £6,926 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£57k +£1,148 per pupil | £459k £9,180 per pupil | £493k £9,860 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£122k +£725 per pupil | £965k £5,744 per pupil | £1.0m £6,125 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £6 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£150k +£864 per pupil | £1.2m £7,155 per pupil | £1.2m £7,161 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2019 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£736k +£1,093 per pupil | £6.2m £9,209 per pupil | £5.7m £8,497 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£174k +£838 per pupil | £1.2m £5,577 per pupil | £1.3m £6,058 per pupil | £4k £21 per pupil | £21 | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£121k +£1,265 per pupil | £616k £6,417 per pupil | £737k £7,677 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £42 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£91k +£1,475 per pupil | £496k £8,000 per pupil | £551k £8,887 per pupil | £6k | — | £6k £97 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£337k +£1,146 per pupil | £1.9m £6,486 per pupil | £1.9m £6,531 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £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