Recommendation 11

Academy trusts report their finances for the year ending in August. In 2019/20, 93% of academy trusts reported a cumulative surplus, up from 88% in 2017/18. The proportion reporting a cumulative deficit fell from 7% to 4% over the same period.25 The net position for the academy sector as a whole in 2019/20 was a cumulative surplus of £3.1 billion. The average balance per pupil in academy trusts in 2019/20 was £689, up from £608 in 2017/18 and more than double the average balance of £337 per pupil in maintained schools in 2019–20.26 The Department told us that, compared with maintained schools, academy trusts were able to manage their finances well for a number of reasons – they benefited from economies of scale, were able to pool and move money across the trust, and had professionalised how they use their school business managers.27