VALLEY INVICTA ACADEMIES TRUST: academy finances
9 academies with a full-year return, 0 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 8 academies in deficit
- 2019-20: 1 of 8 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 9 academies in deficit
- 2024-25: 0 of 9 academies in deficit
in 2025-26 prices (HM Treasury GDP deflator, October 2026)
In 2023-24 the trust spent £261 per pupil centrally (cash), money that is not counted in its academies' own spending, or £276 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Large reserves | +£1.5m +£1,848 per pupil | £6.0m £7,296 per pupil | £5.6m £6,820 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £215k £260 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£2.9m +£1,819 per pupil | £11.6m £7,277 per pupil | £10.3m £6,437 per pupil | Had a registered PTA until 2011 | — | £318k £199 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£434k +£1,897 per pupil | £1.7m £7,485 per pupil | £1.6m £6,856 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £30k £131 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£427k +£1,899 per pupil | £1.6m £7,267 per pupil | £1.5m £6,840 per pupil | £17k £75 per pupil | £75 | £31k £138 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£1.8m +£1,840 per pupil | £6.6m £6,911 per pupil | £5.9m £6,163 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £181k £190 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£3.0m +£1,818 per pupil | £10.6m £6,439 per pupil | £10.2m £6,209 per pupil | £8k £5 per pupil | £5 | £825k £502 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£425k +£1,899 per pupil | £1.5m £6,768 per pupil | £1.4m £6,348 per pupil | £9k | — | £31k £138 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£813k +£1,844 per pupil | £2.8m £6,247 per pupil | £2.7m £6,025 per pupil | £16k £37 per pupil | £37 | £30k £68 per pupil | ||
Large reserves | +£715k +£1,852 per pupil | £2.3m £5,943 per pupil | £2.0m £5,311 per pupil | No registered parents' association found | — | £31k £80 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