School census

Print all pages

Key dates

School census dates 2026 to 2027

Autumn school census: Thursday 1 October 2026
East Sussex County Council census return deadline: Tuesday 13 October 2026

About the census

The School Census collects data for all pupils and applies to primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units.

Data from the School Census will be used by the Department for Education (DfE) in various school funding streams, therefore, it is important that it is completed accurately.

Guidance on completing the school census

Complete the school census explains what data is needed for the School Census and how to submit it.

School Census data items explains data items in more detail.

It is recommended that this document is used as a handbook throughout the year, not only on census day. It covers data collected for the school census and stored in school management information systems (MIS).

East Sussex have provided a brief Checklist [482.5 KB] [doc]to help schools complete the School Census.

School Census data used for Pupil Premium funding

Data from the School Census determines which pupils get the pupil premium grant. For funding rates for the 2026 to 2027 financial year see: Pupil premium: overview

The School Census identifies the following pupils who qualify for the pupil premium grant:

disadvantaged pupils - eligible now or in the past 6 years for free school meals
previously looked-after children
service children

Key Changes for Autumn 2026

Free School Meals (FSM) Verification & Categories: Schools must distinguish between Targeted FSM (standard income-based criteria) and Expanded FSM (Universal Credit households under new criteria).
FSM Last Verified Date: A mandatory new data field requires the exact date eligibility was last checked. All pupils must be rechecked annually (rechecked on or after 1 June 2026 for this academic year) to secure funding.
Managed Moves: New recording requirements mean schools must track and submit start dates, destination school URNs, and specific reason codes for all managed moves dating back to 1 April 2026.
Kinship Care Indicator: A new data field is introduced in the Autumn census to identify pupils living in formal, informal, or unknown kinship care arrangements.
Free Breakfast Club Attendance: Participating schools must record total possible sessions, attended sessions, and specific DfE attendance codes.

Privacy notices

Schools need to send a privacy notice to

the parent or carer of every pupil
all members of teaching and non-teaching staff they employ

This is to inform them that they hold personal data about each pupil or member of staff. They must explain how they intend to use the data and who they may share the data with.

Autumn School Census COLLECT familiarisation

The Department for Education have released a ‘beta’ version of a live 2026 Autumn School Census COLLECT blade which is now available until 4pm on Friday, 25 September.

It is recommended that all schools try to load a file output from their MIS into COLLECT during this time to check that all the required data is being output correctly from their MIS into the Autumn School Census return.

Some checks require reference data which is not yet in place so may trigger incorrectly.

Generating and submitting a return

Once the Autumn 2026 School Census is live on COLLECT, schools need to generate an XML file from their MIS and upload it manually into COLLECT.

COLLECT guides for schools and School Census - Generate and submit your return provide more guidance on how to submit the return and then manage the uploaded data in COLLECT.

DfE should be contacted directly for any COLLECT related technical issues or queries using the DfE COLLECT data collections service request form

A copy of the Summary Report should be sent to the LA via AnyComms+ (School Census – DRIM) or via secure email to cs.datamanagement@eastsussex.gov.uk

Information on sending information securely can be found here: Sending confidential information | Czone

Resolving COLLECT queries and errors

Schools must check their return on COLLECT, correct all errors, investigate all queries, and either:

Amend the data and resubmit it or
Provide suitable notepad explanations in COLLECT.

The Department for Education will not accept a return until all issues have been resolved.

Complete the school census - Check your data provides further guidance on how to validate uploaded data.

The most common queries are:

1877 – take up of school lunches for pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 (plus pupils aged 4 to 6 in year ‘X’) greater than 95%.
2020 – pupil year group is inconsistent with pupil age
3080 – take up of school lunches for pupils in reception (plus pupils aged 4 in year 'X') is 50% or fewer.
4007 – no pupils on roll are in receipt of Tutoring
4015 – no school-arranged Alternative Provision (AP) placements have been provided

The Department for Education has published the ‘School Census Notepad entries’ document - a comprehensive guide on how to resolve each query. Download it from this link: School Census Notepad entries

Questions on managing data in the school MIS

Schools should refer to the Arbor, Bromcom or other relevant MIS online guidance for any queries related to managing data in their MIS system.

Arbor guidance: School Census Guide – Arbor Help Centre

Bromcom guidance: School Census Guide – Bromcom Help Centre

If schools do not buy in MIS support from the LA, they should contact their MIS software supplier.

If schools buy in to Schools ICT MIS support and have queries about how to record the data in their MIS, they should contact the service desk at: support@schoolsict.services or phone: 01273 482519

Schools ICT also offer School Census Return consultancies, working on a school’s "live data". More information can be obtained from their Business Support Team phone: 01323 463133 or e-mail - info@schoolsict.services

Questions on the data required, or about pupils

For any queries about what data is required, schools can contact the Data, Research & Information Management team at: cs.datamanagement@eastsussex.gov.uk