Spark Education Trust

UID 16169·Companies House 10249712·Incorporated June 2016·Compare

Schools

Flags

6 high severity

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

Total income

£53.9m

7,908 pupils

Avg staff costs

75.0%

of income

Avg reserves

4.7%

of income

Avg absence

5.3%

Persistent: 12.4%

More metrics

Avg FSM

19.9%

free school meals

Capacity

95%

7,908 / 8,306 places

Trust overview

3 of 15 schools have staff costs above the DfE's 78% review threshold — review against school context.

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

4 of 15 schools had expenditure exceeding income this year.

Overall absence is above the national average in 33% of schools (5 of 15).

4 schools have persistent absence above 20%.

All 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 3.7%below 5% threshold6 schools with workforce pressure5 schools with declining results3 schools with staff costs above 78%3 schools in deficit2 schools with absence above 8%

Ofsted sub-judgements

Quality of education

100% Good+

Outst. 1Good 7

Behaviour & attitudes

100% Good+

Outst. 3Good 5

Personal development

100% Good+

Outst. 2Good 6

Leadership & management

100% Good+

Outst. 3Good 12

Performance (trust avg)

Key Stage 4

Attainment 8

49.6

+3.4

vs national

Key Stage 2

Expected standard (RWM)

72.0%

+11.0pp

vs national

National averages: 2023/24

Trust details

AddressWhinstone Primary School Lowfields Avenue, Stockton-On-Tees, TS17 0RJ

Companies House10249712

Incorporated24 June 2016

Trust growth over time

matpulse.co.uk

Schools Pupils

Year	Schools	Pupils	Total income	Total expenditure	Avg staff costs %	Avg reserves %
2021/22	14	7,693	£46.8m	£45.2m	75.8%	11.2%
2022/23	14	7,641	£49.0m	£48.3m	76.8%	7.1%
2023/24	15	7,908	£53.9m	£52.8m	75.0%	4.7%
2024/25partial	15	7,818	—	—	—	—

Central services — 2023/24

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

£2,193,000

CS staff costs

£1,612,000

CS income

£1,194,000

Admin & clerical£292,000

Teaching staff£1,020,000

ICT£8,000

Premises£124,000

Legal & professional£48,000

Auditor costs£34,000

Governance

Accounts to Aug 2025Source: Companies House

10 current directors · Average tenure: 4.1 years · 5 changes in last 12 months

Directors / Trustees (10)

Lucy Fisher

director·< 1 year

Frances Anne Johnson

director·1 year

Christopher Beaumont

director·1 year

Chris Professor Linton

director·1 year

Paula Ann Hegarty

director·1 year

Gary Briston

director·3 years

Sara Louise Marshall

director·5 years

Alan Ankers

director·6 years

Jill Amanda Mcguire

director·9 years

Charlotte Irving

director·9 years

Company Secretary

Katy Riley

secretary·1 year

20 former officers — most recent departure: Nov 2025

Lucy Fisher

director·< 1 year·Resigned Nov 2025

Christopher Minninghan

director·< 1 year·Resigned Nov 2025

Sharon Reed

director·1 year·Resigned Jun 2025

Hugh Martin Hegarty

director·2 years·Resigned Aug 2024

Jonathan Leslie Coates

director·2 years·Resigned Nov 2023

Sara Crawshaw

Member schools (15)

15 schools|13 with risk flags|6 high severity

School	URN	Phase	Risk flags
Bader Primary School	143623	Primary	workforce pressure
Bewley Primary School	147435	Primary	performance declineworkforce pressure
Chandlers Ridge Academy	145287	Primary	performance decline
Conyers School	139318	Secondary	high absence
Egglescliffe School	143063	Secondary	—
Huntcliff School	148335	Secondary	high absence
Junction Farm Primary School	143068	Primary	high staff costsin year deficitworkforce pressure
Kirklevington Primary School	145976	Primary	performance decline
Laurence Jackson School	147724	Secondary	in year deficit
Layfield Primary School	146017	Primary	—
Levendale Primary School	146394	Primary	workforce pressure
Saltburn Primary School	148298	Primary	high staff costsperformance declineworkforce pressure
The Links Primary School	143077	Primary	high staff costsin year deficit
Whinstone Primary School	145223	Primary	performance decline
Whitehouse Primary School	150573	Primary	workforce pressure