Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School: school finances
Large reserves
Holds £224k in reserve, 23% of a year's income.
Latest full year 2024-25, as a council-run school (CFR return, April–March). County Durham · Primary · Academy sponsor led.
Earlier years come from this school's return before it became an academy (a different DfE number).
A 2025-26 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, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income and spending, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income Spending
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Income | Spending | Balance | Reserve | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | £710k | £672k | +£38k | £189k | 112 |
2019-20 | £743k | £741k | +£2k | £192k | 103 |
2020-21 | £703k | £729k | -£27k | £165k | 102 |
2021-22 | £735k | £805k | -£70k | £95k | 106 |
2022-23 | £787k | £852k | -£65k | £30k | 106 |
2023-24 | £846k | £805k | +£41k | £71k | 105 |
2024-25 | £969k | £815k | +£153k | £224k | 93 |
Compared with similar schools
Similar schools are the 30 primary 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 90% of them. It spends £8,769 a pupil in total; similar schools typically spend £9,394.
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 | £3,428 | £4,447 | £4,047–£5,029 |
Support staff (e.g. TAs) | £1,427 | £1,834 | £1,399–£2,194 |
Supply staff | £287 | £252 | £36–£460 |
Admin and clerical | £444 | £489 | £355–£654 |
Premises | £527 | £616 | £497–£689 |
Energy | £241 | £199 | £118–£264 |
Learning resources & ICT | £564 | £361 | £282–£464 |
Bought-in services | £665 | £258 | £116–£364 |
Compare side by side with the 3 most similar schools
Which schools are these?
- Greenleys First School Healthy
- St George's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic voluntary academy Healthy
- Warton St Paul's Church of England Primary Academy Healthy
- Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School Healthy
- Grasmere Academy Large reserves
- South Stanley Infant and Nursery School Large reserves
- High Greave Infant School In deficit
- Whitecliffe Academy Heading for deficit
- Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School Healthy
- Runcorn All Saints CofE Primary School Large reserves
- Newstead Primary and Nursery School Large reserves
- St Agnes CofE Primary School Large reserves
Where the money comes from, 2024-25
| Source | Amount | Per pupil |
|---|---|---|
Government grants | £935k | £10,049 |
SEN funding (part of grants) | £42k | £453 |
Pupil premium (part of grants) | £100k | £1,077 |
Self-generated (lettings, catering, donations) | £34k | £367 |
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTA committees.
- What are the reserves set aside for, and when will they be spent on current pupils?
- Could any of the surplus be clawed back under the council's scheme for financing schools?
- Pupil numbers have fallen 17% since 2018-19. How is the school planning for fewer pupils, and the funding that goes with them?
- Spending on bought-in services is £665 a pupil, against a typical £258 for similar schools. What's behind that?
- Spending on learning resources & ict is £564 a pupil, against a typical £361 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 Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School · All County Durham school finances