Academies overspend


Academy schools in England overspent by £280 million last year, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Education.


The total income for academies during 2015-16 was £18.93 billion, but spending for the year came to £19.21 billion.


The figures showed academies overspent by 1.5% of their total income — up from 1% the previous year.


Just under half of single academy trusts (1,014 of 2,064) were found to have spent more than their income in 2015-16, while the figures showed six in 10 multi academy trusts (661 of 1,081 trusts) also overspent.


Paul Whiteman, general secretary designate of the NAHT head teacher's union, said the statistics were “damning” and that although much of this could have come from reserves, it does show that school funding levels are "unsustainable".


“All schools, across all phases of education, are finding it hard to balance budgets,” he added.


https://schoolsweek.co.uk/academies-overspent-by-280m-last-year