STOWE VALLEY MULTI ACADEMY TRUST: academy finances
12 academies with a full-year return, 6 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 6 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 1 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 0 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 0 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 0 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 6 of 12 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £320 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £338 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 | -£13k -£81 per pupil | £806k £5,101 per pupil | £923k £5,842 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2012 | — | £13k £82 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£84k -£81 per pupil | £7.4m £7,124 per pupil | £7.6m £7,342 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2016 | — | £301k £290 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£8k -£81 per pupil | £795k £7,950 per pupil | £795k £7,950 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2010 | — | £9k £90 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£8k -£81 per pupil | £761k £7,845 per pupil | £838k £8,639 per pupil | £6k | — | £8k £82 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£18k -£81 per pupil | £1.9m £8,345 per pupil | £1.9m £8,404 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2020 | — | £10k £45 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£31k -£81 per pupil | £3.6m £9,423 per pupil | £4.2m £11,008 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £57k £151 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£213k +£122 per pupil | £12.5m £7,184 per pupil | £12.8m £7,354 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £46k £26 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£105k +£497 per pupil | £1.4m £6,735 per pupil | £1.4m £6,701 per pupil | £17k £78 per pupil | £78 | £25k £118 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£636k +£546 per pupil | £9.0m £7,726 per pupil | £8.4m £7,230 per pupil | £2k | — | £168k £144 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£819k +£504 per pupil | £11.1m £6,861 per pupil | £11.0m £6,761 per pupil | £12k £7 per pupil | £7 | £345k £212 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£187k +£461 per pupil | £2.2m £5,451 per pupil | £2.2m £5,325 per pupil | £16k matched with lower confidence | — | £27k £67 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£237k +£7,661 per pupil | £408k £13,161 per pupil | £306k £9,871 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £32 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