THE EDUCATION ALLIANCE: academy finances
12 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.
- 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 6 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 0 of 6 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 9 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 12 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £381 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £403 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 | -£131k -£841 per pupil | £1.1m £6,929 per pupil | £1.1m £7,224 per pupil | £0 £0 per pupil | £0 | £46k £295 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£10k +£46 per pupil | £1.2m £5,420 per pupil | £1.4m £6,353 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2011 | — | £15k £67 per pupil | ||
Heading for deficit | +£47k +£1,135 per pupil | £434k £10,458 per pupil | £534k £12,867 per pupil | £2k | — | £15k £361 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£96k +£458 per pupil | £1.2m £5,967 per pupil | £1.3m £6,325 per pupil | £4k | — | £15k £72 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£433k +£2,814 per pupil | £4.6m £29,591 per pupil | £5.6m £36,052 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £15k £97 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£79k +£671 per pupil | £748k £6,339 per pupil | £793k £6,720 per pupil | £4k £32 per pupil | £32 | £25k £212 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£626k +£794 per pupil | £5.6m £7,081 per pupil | £6.0m £7,643 per pupil | £5k | — | £118k £150 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.3m +£760 per pupil | £12.0m £7,265 per pupil | £11.9m £7,177 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2005 | — | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.4m +£1,027 per pupil | £10.0m £7,113 per pupil | £10.4m £7,387 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £5k £4 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.4m +£1,125 per pupil | £14.0m £6,653 per pupil | £14.9m £7,047 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2019 | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£318k +£1,466 per pupil | £1.4m £6,484 per pupil | £1.3m £5,954 per pupil | £10k £46 per pupil | £46 | £16k £74 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£300k +£1,495 per pupil | £1.2m £5,766 per pupil | £1.2m £5,935 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £95k £473 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