SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST: academy finances
7 academies with a full-year return, 2 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.
- 2023-24: 1 of 5 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 2 of 6 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £368 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £389 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 | -£150k -£247 per pupil | £3.3m £5,496 per pupil | £3.4m £5,633 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2011 | — | £12k £20 per pupil | ||
In deficit | -£85k -£206 per pupil | £2.4m £5,870 per pupil | £2.5m £6,155 per pupil | £23k | — | £29k £70 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£24k +£23 per pupil | £7.6m £7,426 per pupil | £6.8m £6,687 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £33k £32 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£212k +£138 per pupil | £10.8m £7,014 per pupil | £11.4m £7,431 per pupil | £5k £3 per pupil | £3 | £378k £246 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£207k +£192 per pupil | £6.8m £6,291 per pupil | £6.8m £6,333 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £2 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£147k +£331 per pupil | £2.6m £5,813 per pupil | £2.7m £6,153 per pupil | £11k | — | £30k £68 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£200k +£1,363 per pupil | £1.2m £8,333 per pupil | £1.1m £7,408 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £24k £163 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