Exceed Academies Trust

UID 16492·Companies House 10050238·Incorporated March 2016·Compare

Schools

Flags

26 high severity

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

Total income

£53.3m

5,636 pupils

Avg staff costs

70.8%

of income

Avg reserves

11.6%

of income

Avg absence

More metrics

Avg FSM

49.9%

free school meals

Capacity

92%

5,636 / 6,100 places

Total admin cost

£1.6m

£289 per pupil

Trust overview

All 14 schools with reported data have staff costs below the DfE's 78% review point.

3 of 14 schools hold reserves below the DfE's 5% reference point.

Trust-average reserves have fallen about 4 percentage points over two years of published returns.

Absence is at or below the national average in 7 of 12 schools.

4 schools report persistent absence above 20%, a level the DfE prioritises for additional support.

12 of 14 inspected schools meet the expected standard or above.

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

86%meeting standard or above

Across 14 graded schools, including 2 under the new Report Card framework. The two frameworks are not directly comparable.

Sub-judgements — earlier framework

Quality of education

89% Good+

Outst. 4Good 4RI 1

Behaviour & attitudes

89% Good+

Outst. 5Good 3RI 1

Personal development

100% Good+

Outst. 6Good 3

Leadership & management

93% Good+

Outst. 4Good 9RI 1

Performance (trust avg)

Key Stage 4

Attainment 8

24.8

-21.4

vs national

Key Stage 2

Expected standard (RWM)

57.0%

-4.0pp

vs national

National averages: 2023/24

Trust details

AddressHorton Park Primary School, Bradford, BD5 9LQ

Companies House10050238

Incorporated8 March 2016

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

Exceptional 1Expected standard 1

Achievement

Exceptional 1Strong standard 1

Inclusion

Exceptional 1Strong standard 1

Year	Schools	Pupils	Total income	Total expenditure	Avg staff costs %	Avg reserves %
2021/22	10	4,569	£32.9m	£30.7m	67.1%	14.3%
2022/23	13	5,563	£39.8m	£38.7m	69.9%	22.9%
2023/24	14	5,668	£42.6m	£43.1m	70.3%	11.3%
2024/25partial	14	5,636	£53.3m	£51.4m	70.8%	11.6%
2025/26	14	5,505	—	—	—	—

Central services

2024/25

Centralisation

4.6%

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

£2,453,000

CS staff costs

£1,486,000

CS income

£777,000

Admin & clerical£559,000

Teaching staff£824,000

ICT£65,000

Premises£559,000

Legal & professional£186,000

Auditor costs£39,000

Governance

Source: Companies House

Board of trustees

Accounts to Aug 2025

9 current directors · Average tenure: 5.1 years · 2 changes in last 12 months

Directors / Trustees (9)

Kathryn Anne Cox

director·< 1 year

Umar Farooq Ghafoor

director·1 year

Hearl Roger Lenton

director·3 years

Christopher William Webb

director·3 years

Iain James Gordon

director·6 years

Belinda Claire Fearnley

director·7 years

Jason Edwards

director·7 years

Victoria Caroline Shelton Eaton

director·7 years

Carol Sharon Lambert

director·8 years

Company Secretary

Peter James Taylor

secretary·7 years

12 former officers — most recent departure: Feb 2026

Jonathan Edward Nichols

director·3 years·Resigned Mar 2023

Salma Sultana Rahman

director·4 years·Resigned Oct 2022

Elaine Margaret Hughes

director·8 years·Resigned Feb 2026

Sandra Georgina Dr Whitson

director·8 years·Resigned Dec 2021

Ian Willoughby

director·8 years·Resigned Jul 2019

Jo-Anna Jane Barr

Member schools (14)

14 schools|14 with risk flags|17 high severity

School	URN	Phase	Risk flags
Appleton Academy	145173	All-through	high absenceworkforce pressurein year deficit
Baildon Glen Primary School	149093	Primary	workforce pressurein year deficitperformance declineofsted concern
Bowling Park Primary School	149232	Primary	high absenceworkforce pressure
Bradford Alternative Provision Academy	146851	Not applicable	workforce pressurein year deficit
Cavendish Primary School	149583	Primary	high absenceworkforce pressure
Copthorne Primary School	143096	Primary	workforce pressureperformance decline
Cottingley Village Primary School	148159	Primary	workforce pressurein year deficit
Harden Primary School	140076	Primary	workforce pressure
Holybrook Primary School	145303	Primary	workforce pressurehigh staff costsin year deficit
Horton Grange Primary School	143093	Primary	workforce pressurehigh staff costsin year deficit
Horton Park Primary School	143095	Primary	workforce pressurehigh staff costsin year deficitperformance decline
Knowleswood Primary School	149586	Primary	ofsted concernworkforce pressurehigh absencein year deficit
Oastlers School	149519	Not applicable	high absencehigh staff costsin year deficit
Park Aspire Alternative Provision Academy	150425	Not applicable	high staff costsin year deficitworkforce pressure