Three schools ran a deficit

Of 55 schools maintained by the city council, three ran a deficit budget in the 2016/2017 financial year, up by two from 2014/15.

Academies and free schools do not have to report their finances in the same way. If a school is unable to balance its books it must notify the local authority.

A council spokesman said one of the schools has recovered its deficit position and the other two have deficit recovery plans in place. He said the council has an agreement in place that it does not name schools in press statements without their permission, adding: “The three schools in question have confirmed that they do not want to be named.”

Cllr Lynne Ayres, cabinet member for education, said: “The council actively works with schools (excluding independent academies) to monitor their finances as part of their budget setting process.

“Schools across the city have faced a number of challenges in recent years including increasing pupil numbers and a reduction in funding from central government.

“If a school gets into financial difficulty, we work with them to produce a three year deficit recovery plan and make every effort to ensure that its situation can be improved.”