2023 Academies Benchmarking Report

This is our eleventh annual report, with this issue analysing the 2021/22 financial year data for more than 1,400 academies, and through our report we have summarised the current trends impacting the sector.

This year’s results confirm that this remains a challenging time for everyone working in the education sector, and it is clear that the cost pressures on staffing are set to continue. Educational leaders are facing the difficult job of balancing budgets and maintaining, and ideally improving standards. Energy costs are another focal point for many at the moment. Whilst the outlook here may not be as harsh as predictions last year, the rise in costs for some trusts coming out of fixed contracts remains eye watering.

This year our benchmarking report once again covers over 1,400 academies, with the sample including a mix of our own clients and some other trusts, as in previous years, to ensure we cover all areas of the country. MATs, secondary academies and primary academies are reviewed and, in some areas, we have drilled down further into the MAT data to analyse different sizes of MAT.