Unfunded demands for SEND places and provision are among the key issues placing financial pressures on multi-academy trusts, with more than half expecting to run deficits in the coming year.
The MAT Finance Sector Insight Report 2025 is based on financial data from 274 trusts covering more than 3,300 schools and shows that a third of MATs are expected to hold reserves below 5% of their income this year.
This figure is significant because it is the level that the Department for Education “financially vulnerable”.
Mainstream schools
SEND was a particular area of focus in the report, given the increasing costs, disparities in funding and resources required to support SEND children.
“Properly managing these requirements places significant demands on trusts, both financially and operationally, highlighting the importance of strategic allocation of staff and support resources,” the report said.
If found that levels of investments in support staff costs exceed the SEND funding schools’ received, and trusts that received more funding were better able to manage the disparity.
Variations in special schools’ funding
The report found variations in SEND funding, with special schools receiving “markedly different” levels of funding, depending on the local authority. This created disparities across the sector among schools with similar pupil needs.
The report said: “This variation may reflect differences in local authority funding approaches, pupil profiles, and the mix of individual needs within schools, all of which can make financial planning more complex and point to potential inequities across the system”
Schools with a high proportion of children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs spend the largest amount per pupil and dedicated the largest share of their income to teaching costs, the study found.
“This reflects the intensive teaching staff requirements within SEMH settings, where smaller class sizes and specialist provision are often essential to meeting pupils’ needs,” the authors said.
“TA costs also show wide variation across need types, averaging between 24% and 39% of income. Trusts supporting pupils with needs in the broader need area of Cognition and Learning (BCOG) allocate the highest spend per pupil and the greatest proportion of their income to teaching assistants.”
Teachers v TAs
The report found that across all identified special need types, the combined expenditure on teachers and TAs in special schools specifically, consistently accounted for around 60% to 70% of total costs, though the balance between the two roles varied depending on the setting.
“This underlines the centrality of classroom staffing in special schools’ cost structures, with most resources directed towards direct pupil support,” the study said.
“The remaining proportion must be stretched across leadership, wider support staff, and essential non-pay expenditure, often leaving limited flexibility to respond to emerging pressures to invest strategically.”
Will Jordan, co-founder of IMP Software, which published the report, warned that the MAT sector was under “growing strain” from converging cost pressures.
“The financial outlook MATs have forecast for the next three years is another wake-up call for an overhaul of funding to better reflect the reality they face,” he said.
