Chris Trantham

Audit Director and Responsible Individual, Bishop Fleming

Chris has worked with the academy sector since its creation in 2010 and now leads academy operations at Bishop Fleming, overseeing training, development, and an annual programme of sector events. He has worked with more than 40 trusts, advising on growth and helping school trusts shape their strategic journey. Chris is a contributor to the Kreston Academy Benchmarking Report, leading the data analysis that underpins its insights. Each year, he and his team sift through vast amounts of financial information to identify trends and deliver clarity, enabling trust leaders to benchmark effectively and make informed decisions. In addition to his benchmarking work, Chris represents the profession in national forums, including the DfE’s Academy Accounts Direction working group and the counter-fraud working group, and has helped shape sector reporting through DfE good practice guides. His focus on data-driven insight ensures his benchmarking contributions are both rigorous and practical for trust leaders.

1 Breakout sessions: Series two

Kreston Benchmarking Report

Building on their 2026 mainstage session marking the publication of the 14th Academies Benchmark Report, this session will see the Bishop Fleming team revisit the latest benchmarking picture across the academy sector, exploring the key financial and operational trends emerging from the data and what they tell us about the sector’s overall health and resilience. The session will then take a deeper dive into primary-only trusts, expanding upon and updating the analysis published by Bishop Fleming earlier this year on the long-term financial resilience of primary-only trusts. Using the latest available benchmarking data, the session will revisit the original findings, assess how the position has evolved, and explore whether the challenges identified remain consistent across the sector. The analysis continues to highlight the distinctive characteristics of primary-only trusts, including lower income per pupil, lower levels of reserves, pressures associated with fixed cost structures, falling pupil numbers, increasing SEND demands, and more limited opportunities to diversify income streams. Drawing on both the original Bishop Fleming research and the latest benchmarking evidence, the session will consider what these findings mean for the long-term sustainability and financial resilience of primary-only trusts, together with the practical implications for trust leaders as they plan for the future.