Lime Academy Hartwell: school finances
In deficit
In deficit by £416k, 17% of a year's income: it has spent more over the years than it received.
Latest full year 2023-24, as a academy (accounts return, September–August). Luton · Not applicable · Free schools special.
Academies in a trust don't hold money on their own: LIME TRUST can move money between its schools. The DfE doesn't publish this school's share of the trust's central reserve for this year, so the reserve shown is the school's own.
Earlier years come from this school's return before it became an academy (a different DfE number).
A 2024-25 return is published too, but it covers part of a year or leaves out the income or reserve figure, so the latest complete year is shown.
Reserve at the end of each year, 2021-22 to 2023-24
Income and spending, 2021-22 to 2023-24
Income Spending
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Income | Spending | Balance | Reserve | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-22 | £1.8m | £1.5m | +£235k | £130k | 51 |
2022-23 | £1.9m | £1.4m | +£481k | £3k | 79 |
2023-24 | £2.4m | £2.5m | -£150k | -£416k | 103 |
Compared with similar schools
Similar schools are the 30 special schools outside London closest in size and in the share of pupils on free school meals. Its reserve, as a share of income, is higher than 3% of them. It spends £24,699 a pupil in total; similar schools typically spend £30,964.
This school Middle half of similar schools Similar schools’ median
Show the comparison as a table
| Spending per pupil | This school | Similar schools (median) | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
Teachers | £8,233 | £10,009 | £9,135–£12,005 |
Support staff (e.g. TAs) | £7,291 | £11,863 | £9,881–£13,555 |
Supply staff | £10 | £352 | £136–£1,271 |
Admin and clerical | £631 | £1,290 | £984–£1,654 |
Premises | £1,291 | £1,589 | £1,321–£2,061 |
Energy | £437 | £426 | £312–£535 |
Learning resources & ICT | £641 | £821 | £571–£1,130 |
Bought-in services | £4,107 | £1,105 | £520–£1,800 |
Compare side by side with the 3 most similar schools
Which schools are these?
- Torfield School Large reserves
- Duke of Lancaster School Healthy
- Kingsbury Academy In deficit
- Stocklake Park Community School Large reserves
- Greenfields Specialist School for Communication Large reserves
- Carlton Digby School Heading for deficit
- Ash Lea Academy Heading for deficit
- Cann Bridge School Healthy
- Beckfoot Phoenix Healthy
- Critchill Special School Large reserves
- The Keystone Academy Large reserves
- Mountjoy School Large reserves
Where the money comes from, 2023-24
| Source | Amount | Per pupil |
|---|---|---|
Government grants | £2.4m | £23,039 |
SEN funding (part of grants) | £1.1m | £10,485 |
Self-generated (lettings, catering, donations) | £13k | £126 |
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTA committees.
- Is there a deficit recovery plan agreed with its trust, and when does the school expect to be back in balance?
- What has been cut or changed to close the gap, and how does that affect classes and support staff?
- Spending on bought-in services is £4,107 a pupil, against a typical £1,105 for similar schools. What's behind that?
Check these figures
Every figure here comes from the school's published return to the DfE. Check it on the DfE benchmarking page for this school, and see how the status is worked out.
Admissions, Ofsted and results for Lime Academy Hartwell · All Luton school finances