Data sources and interpretation

Data Sources

Types of schools you can get data for

The data on the site is for maintained schools and academies in England. It's based on schools' Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns and academies' accounts returns (AAR).

You can also get data for multi-academy trusts (MATs).

Financial returns

This data is based on schools' Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns for Local Authority (LA) maintained schools and academies' accounts returns (AARs).

LA Maintained Schools

• CFR 2023/24
• CFR 2022/23
• CFR 2021/22
• CFR 2020/21
• CFR 2019/20
• CFR 2018/19
• CFR 2017/18
• CFR 2016/17
• CFR 2015/16
• CFR 2014/15

Academies

• AAR 2023/24
• AAR 2022/23
• AAR 2021/22
• AAR 2020/21
• AAR 2019/20
• AAR 2018/19
• AAR 2017/18
• AAR 2016/17
• AAR 2015/16
• AAR 2014/15

Performance tables

This comes from Find school and college performance data in England.

The period covered matches the submissions for financial returns.

Pupil data

This comes from Statistics: school and pupil numbers.

The period covered matches the submissions for financial returns.

6th form data

If 6th form data is not available from the pupil census, we will refer to Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Data from ILR will only be included in FBIT, so there may be some differences between data shown here and the downloadable financial return above.

Workforce data

This comes from the Statistics: school workforce.

The period covered matches the submissions for financial returns.

Ofsted data

This comes from Ofsted school inspections.

Ratings are accurate at the date the financial data was uploaded.

Special educational needs data

This comes from Statistics: special educational needs.

School contextual information

This comes from the Get Information About Schools site.

Interpreting our data

Interpreting expenditure charts

You should take care when interpreting the data.

It shows the position of a school relative to others but it doesn't explain why.

There may be good reasons for a school to have high or low figures. People involved in budget setting should review them and consider the differences.

Teaching and teaching support staff costs

Staffing typically makes up between 75% and 80% of mainstream schools' expenditure. It can be more for special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs).

When reviewing and comparing your teaching and teaching support staff costs, you should:

• review staff structures as part of annual school improvement, curriculum and financial planning
• look at the whole education delivery model - use the data on the Benchmark pupil and workforce data page
• talk to benchmarked schools about how they operate and see if you could change your education delivery model

Further guidance on school workforce and curriculum planning.

Premises costs

Premises costs can also be one of the most expensive cost groups, and includes:

• premises staff
• cleaning, caretaking and maintenance and improvement
• other occupation costs, such as security costs and refuse collection

School building types rather than pupil numbers can affect premises costs.

To get the best results, you might want to:

• view premises expenditure on a per metre squared basis
• compare costs to schools with similar buildings using gross internal floor area and average age of buildings

You could also:

• look at the premises total expenditure as a percentage of total cost
• check if this is much higher or lower than other schools

Differences are sometimes because of income from the hire of the school's facilities.

Consider some premises costs together

For example, school premises staff often do basic maintenance and improvements which can reduce costs.

You should compare maintenance and improvement costs and premises staff costs at the same time.

Further guidance on effective and collaborative procurement.

Utilities costs

School building types rather than pupil numbers drives the majority of utility costs. You have to heat the whole school and keep the school infrastructure running all the time.

You're benchmarked against schools with similar building characteristics. So looking at utilities per metre squared might be helpful.

This will help you understand if you can:

• be more energy efficient
• make better use of framework agreements to make your costs more efficient

Further guidance on effective and collaborative procurement.

ICT costs

ICT spending can sometimes take the form of a refurbishment or refit which will last a few years at least. So ICT spending won't be even across schools.

You should recognise that this spending was in your ICT development plan for that year.

To make efficiencies in ICT spending, you should think about:

• procuring together with other schools
• using framework agreements to secure the best possible deals for your school

Educational supply costs

Learning resources are essential to your core business. Inadequate professional services can have a direct impact on pupil outcomes.

Schools need:

• educational supplies that are modern and fit for purpose
• access to adequate professional services

Benchmarking can show you where you can change spending priorities within your budget.

To understand whether you're spending enough on educational supplies, you should:

• look at this on a per pupil basis
• check how much of your total expenditure you're allocating per pupil
• consider the quality of your learning resources

Further guidance on effective and collaborative procurement.

Catering costs

Schools take different approaches to whether they outsource catering or bring it in-house.

To find and compare schools with a similar catering operating model, you should look at:

• catering staff costs and catering supplies costs to see which schools use their own staff
• catering income together with catering costs - income shows as negative to differentiate it from costs

Other costs

Cost of finance

Some schools borrow money or have financing costs through leasing agreements. This is always with Department for Education/Education and Skills Funding Agency approval.

If you do this, you will have some costs in this cost heading. Think about how you could renegotiate the terms of your commitment.

Special facilities

This cost category can be very different for each school, and could include but is not limited to:

• swimming pools
• sports centres
• donations paid by the school to a charity
• expenses relating to before and after school clubs

You should:

• check whether this spending looks right for your school
• understand if this spending is cost effective
• look if there are better ways of obtaining these services whilst still improving pupil outcomes