Reserves at some of England’s largest academy trusts rise, as accounts state savings were made as a result of Covid lockdowns

Two of England’s largest academy trusts have reported saving money because of the Covid-19 pandemic, as school closures and emergency grants from the government increased their funds -offsetting some rising costs during this challenging period.

Both Outwood Grange Academies Trust and United Learning Trust saw multi-million pound increases in their reserves last year, with the former chain reporting that Covid-related savings had more than covered some increased specific overheads related to coronavirus, newly-published accounts for the last academic year show.

The detail: Outwood Grange

Outwood Grange, based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and which had 36 academies during 2020-21, was the more explicit of the two trusts in its 2020-21 accounts on the overall effect on its finances from Covid during the year.

The trust had reported reductions in costs in its previous set of accounts, for 2019-20, as schools were closed during the national lockdown in the latter part of that year, with the fact that there was another period of closures a year ago then reported as driving savings in 2020-21.

Outwood’s 2020-21 accounts state: “Covid-19 drove operational savings from the national restrictions on pupils attending school in the spring and summer of 2019/20. This position did not reverse as anticipated in 2020/21 due to the ongoing pandemic which led to further restrictions on students attending schools, particularly during the national lockdown between January and March.