TOVE LEARNING TRUST: academy finances
14 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: 1 of 7 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 1 of 8 academies in deficit
- 2020-21: 1 of 10 academies in deficit
- 2021-22: 1 of 11 academies in deficit
- 2022-23: 2 of 13 academies in deficit
- 2023-24: 1 of 13 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 1 of 14 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £279 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £295 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 | -£588k -£536 per pupil | £7.9m £7,165 per pupil | £8.5m £7,781 per pupil | Registered, no income filed yet | — | £6k £5 per pupil | ||
Tight | +£34k +£97 per pupil | £2.2m £6,256 per pupil | £2.2m £6,336 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £5k £14 per pupil | ||
Healthy | +£352k +£2,174 per pupil | £6.1m £37,889 per pupil | £6.1m £37,574 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £1k £6 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£680k +£456 per pupil | £12.0m £8,030 per pupil | £12.0m £8,063 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £2k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£625k +£584 per pupil | £9.3m £8,675 per pupil | £9.1m £8,477 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£214k +£1,082 per pupil | £1.9m £9,535 per pupil | £1.8m £9,136 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.2m +£835 per pupil | £11.0m £7,682 per pupil | £10.1m £7,070 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £4k £3 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£856k +£917 per pupil | £6.7m £7,133 per pupil | £6.4m £6,837 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £0 £0 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£457k +£6,089 per pupil | £3.3m £44,147 per pupil | £3.1m £41,827 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £5k £67 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£952k +£1,161 per pupil | £6.4m £7,829 per pupil | £6.8m £8,239 per pupil | £616 £1 per pupil | £1 | £1k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.7m +£1,210 per pupil | £9.7m £6,797 per pupil | £9.4m £6,638 per pupil | £29k £20 per pupil | £20 | £2k £1 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£450k +£1,375 per pupil | £2.1m £6,505 per pupil | £2.1m £6,321 per pupil | £8k £25 per pupil | £25 | £10k £31 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.1m +£2,076 per pupil | £8.4m £8,196 per pupil | £7.3m £7,174 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £54k £53 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