THE DUNSTAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST: academy finances
10 academies with a full-year return, 1 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: 1 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 10 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £330 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £349 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 | -£117k -£912 per pupil | £920k £7,188 per pupil | £1.5m £11,641 per pupil | £4k £33 per pupil | £33 | £18k £141 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£64k +£619 per pupil | £1.2m £11,481 per pupil | £1.6m £15,779 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £98k £942 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£53k +£268 per pupil | £1.3m £6,480 per pupil | £1.3m £6,364 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2010 | — | £18k £91 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£74k +£472 per pupil | £886k £5,679 per pupil | £1.1m £6,865 per pupil | £11k £71 per pupil | £71 | £142k £910 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£130k +£1,115 per pupil | £1.0m £8,897 per pupil | £1.1m £9,085 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £68k £581 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£282k +£1,516 per pupil | £1.2m £6,226 per pupil | £1.2m £6,484 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £60k £323 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£373k +£1,848 per pupil | £1.3m £6,312 per pupil | £1.3m £6,431 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £61k £302 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£444k +£2,709 per pupil | £1.0m £6,207 per pupil | £1.1m £6,866 per pupil | £12k | — | £82k £500 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£397k +£1,811 per pupil | £1.3m £5,922 per pupil | £1.2m £5,575 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2014 | — | £26k £119 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£498k +£1,926 per pupil | £1.5m £5,896 per pupil | £1.5m £5,954 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £30k £116 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