Mercia Primary Academy Trust

UID 3900·Companies House 08748904·Incorporated October 2013·Compare

Schools

Flags

1 high severity

Finance: 2025/26Ofsted: Mar 2026Performance: 2025/26Workforce: 2026/27Attendance: 2025/26

Total income

£4.1m

579 pupils

Avg staff costs

68.4%

of income

Avg reserves

31.4%

of income

Avg absence

More metrics

Avg FSM

31.8%

free school meals

Capacity

92%

579 / 630 places

Total admin cost

£136k

£235 per pupil

Trust overview

With 3 schools, trust-wide averages move materially with a single school's results.

All 3 schools with reported data have staff costs below the DfE's 78% review point.

All 3 schools with reported data hold reserves at or above the DfE's 5% reference point.

Reserves above 20% of income in much of the trust — public data does not show whether this reflects planned projects or accumulated headroom.

Trust-average reserves have risen about 9 percentage points over two years of published returns.

Every school with reported data balanced its in-year budget in the latest return.

Absence is at or below the national average in 2 of 3 schools.

2 of 3 inspected schools meet the expected standard or above; 1 have at least one area judged below it. Inspection dates vary — some grades predate current leadership.

2 of these inspections used the new Report Card framework; its scale is not directly comparable with legacy grades.

Generated from published DfE and Ofsted data — year-end snapshots that cannot show in-year plans, restructuring or local context. Reference points are DfE review thresholds, not judgements.

Ofsted & results

Ofsted

67%meeting standard or above

Across 3 graded schools, including 2 under the new Report Card framework. The two frameworks are not directly comparable.

Sub-judgements — earlier framework

Leadership & management

100% Good+

Good 3

Performance (trust avg)

Key Stage 2

Expected standard (RWM)

71.5%

+10.5pp

vs national

National averages: 2023/24

Trust details

AddressMercia Primary Academy Trust, Tamworth, B79 8QZ

Companies House08748904

Incorporated25 October 2013

Report Card inspections (new framework)

About these grades

Grade distribution across 2 schoolsinspected under Ofsted's 5-point scale (from November 2025). Not directly comparable with the earlier 1–4 sub-judgements above.

Curriculum & teaching

Expected standard 1Needs attention 1

Achievement

Expected standard 2

Inclusion

Expected standard 2

Attendance & behaviour

Expected standard 2

Year	Schools	Pupils	Total income	Total expenditure	Avg staff costs %	Avg reserves %
2021/22	3	572	£3.4m	£3.3m	74.6%	20.1%
2022/23	3	581	£3.5m	£3.2m	69.9%	22.0%
2023/24	3	593	£3.8m	£3.4m	68.7%	26.4%
2024/25partial	3	579	£4.1m	£3.6m	68.4%	31.4%
2025/26	3	603	—	—	—	—

Central services

2024/25

Centralisation

4.0%

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

£146,000

CS staff costs

£90,000

CS income

£10,000

Admin & clerical£117,000

Teaching staff£30,000

ICT£0

Premises£0

Legal & professional£0

Auditor costs£17,000

Governance

Source: Companies House

Board of trustees

Accounts to Aug 2025

6 current directors · Average tenure: 7.8 years

Directors / Trustees (6)

Lisa Marie Colclough

director·2 years

Garry Hirons

director·4 years

Alison Dolphin

director·7 years

Allison Hollis

director·7 years

Sue Boden

director·12 years

Richard John Lane

director·12 years

Company Secretary

Tanya Jane Bavin-matthews

secretary·4 years

8 former officers — most recent departure: Feb 2025

Michael Grimley

director·2 years·Resigned Feb 2025

Zoe Alix Dr Schnepp

director·3 years·Resigned Dec 2024

Rachel Mcconnell

secretary·8 years·Resigned Dec 2021

Emma Bryan

director·10 years·Resigned Jun 2018

Michelle Haywood

director·10 years·Resigned Dec 2021

Victor Michael Cornelius Van den bergh

Member schools (3)

3 schools|3 with risk flags|1 high severity

School	URN	Phase	Risk flags
Flax Hill Junior Academy	140523	Primary	workforce pressureofsted concern
Lakeside Primary School	145686	Primary	workforce pressure
Lark Hall Infant & Nursery Academy	140522	Primary	workforce pressure