Ark Schools

UID 2157·Companies House 05112090·Incorporated April 2004·Compare

Schools

Flags

18 high severity

Finance: 2024/25Ofsted: Jun 2025Performance: 2025/26Workforce: 2025/26Attendance: 2025/26

Total income

£258.3m

30,106 pupils

Avg staff costs

73.0%

of income

Avg reserves

-1.3%

of income

Avg absence

6.7%

Persistent: 18.9%

More metrics

Avg FSM

48.4%

free school meals

Capacity

84%

30,106 / 35,673 places

Trust overview

4 of 39 schools have staff costs above the DfE's 78% review threshold — review against school context.

15 schools are operating in deficit — this may reflect planned investment or require financial planning.

12 of 39 schools had expenditure exceeding income this year.

Overall absence is above the national average in 49% of schools (19 of 39).

15 schools have persistent absence above 20%.

95% of inspected schools are rated Good or Outstanding across sub-judgements.

Reference points from DfE published guidance. Whether any metric warrants action depends on the trust's context and strategy.

At a glance

Trust-wide reserves at 2.0%below 5% threshold29 schools with workforce pressure11 schools in deficit8 schools with absence above 8%4 schools with staff costs above 78%2 schools with declining results2 schools with Ofsted concerns

Ofsted sub-judgements

Quality of education

100% Good+

Outst. 11Good 17

Behaviour & attitudes

93% Good+

Outst. 12Good 14RI 2

Personal development

100% Good+

Outst. 11Good 17

Leadership & management

100% Good+

Outst. 17Good 22

Performance (trust avg)

Key Stage 4

Attainment 8

48.0

+1.8

vs national

Key Stage 2

Expected standard (RWM)

76.4%

+15.4pp

vs national

National averages: 2023/24

Trust details

Address1 Edcity Edcity Walk, London, W12 7TF

Companies House05112090

Incorporated26 April 2004

Trust growth over time

matpulse.co.uk

Schools Pupils

Year	Schools	Pupils	Total income	Total expenditure	Avg staff costs %	Avg reserves %
2021/22	39	29,440	£219.3m	£199.9m	67.6%	2.7%
2022/23	39	29,909	£242.0m	£245.1m	72.3%	0.9%
2023/24	39	30,106	£258.3m	£253.6m	73.0%	-1.3%
2024/25partial	37	28,338	—	—	—	—

Central services — 2023/24

Centralisation

6.7%

of total trust spend

Typical MAT centralisation ranges from 3-7% of total trust spend. Figures below 2% may indicate limited central coordination; above 10% warrants review of value for money.

CS expenditure

£18,065,000

CS staff costs

£16,147,000

CS income

£8,629,000

Admin & clerical£74,000

Teaching staff-£11,751,000

ICT£0

Premises£122,000

Legal & professional£594,000

Auditor costs£182,000

Governance

Accounts to Aug 2025Source: Companies House

8 current directors · Average tenure: 10.8 years

Directors / Trustees (8)

Claire Jayne Musgrave

director·1 year

Richard King

director·2 years

Fiona Jane Forbes

director·4 years

Christina Jean Alexandrou

director·8 years

Gerard Griffin

director·15 years

Lucy Lauris Heller

director·16 years

Anthony Geraint Williams

director·18 years

Stanley Lord Fink

director·19 years

Company Secretary

Kathryn Anna Godfrey

secretary·1 year

23 former officers — most recent departure: Sept 2024

Megan Mannion

secretary·1 year·Resigned Sept 2024

Riaz Ali Shah

director·5 years·Resigned Dec 2022

Elizabeth Dawson

secretary·6 years·Resigned May 2024

Daniel Labbad

director·7 years·Resigned Feb 2023

Joanna Avril Greenslade

director·7 years·Resigned May 2023

Michael Sandall

Member schools (39)

39 schools|33 with risk flags|18 high severity

School	URN	Phase	Risk flags
Ark Academy	135600	All-through	workforce pressure
Ark Acton Academy	146318	Secondary	workforce pressurehigh absence
Ark Alexandra Academy	139821	Secondary	high staff costsin year deficitofsted concernhigh absenceworkforce pressure
Ark All Saints Academy	139718	Secondary	workforce pressure
Ark Atwood Primary Academy	137323	Primary	workforce pressurein year deficit
Ark Ayrton Primary Academy	139713	Primary	workforce pressure
Ark Bentworth Primary Academy	138680	Primary	workforce pressure
Ark Blacklands Primary Academy	141021	Primary	high staff costsworkforce pressure
Ark Blake Academy	147832	Secondary	ofsted concernhigh absence
Ark Bolingbroke Academy	138267	Secondary	workforce pressure
Ark Boulton Academy	140014	Secondary	in year deficitworkforce pressure
Ark Brunel Primary Academy	139645	Primary	workforce pressurein year deficit
Ark Burlington Danes Academy	131752	Secondary	workforce pressure
Ark Byron Primary Academy	142110	Primary	in year deficitworkforce pressureperformance decline
Ark Castledown Primary Academy	144083	Primary	—
Ark Charter Academy	135965	Secondary	workforce pressurehigh absence
Ark Conway Primary Academy	137331	Primary	in year deficitworkforce pressure
Ark Dickens Primary Academy	141020	Primary	workforce pressure
Ark Elvin Academy	141019	Secondary	high absence
Ark Evelyn Grace Academy	135389	Secondary	high absencein year deficitworkforce pressure