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Spring School Census – Impending deadline…

Census date – Thursday 21st January 2021

Return date – Wednesday 17th February 2021

 

If you are a maintained school or pupil referral unit you should contact your local authority to find out their deadlines for submission.

 

What is the Spring Census used for?

 

  • The Spring Census is used to produce published statistics about your school or academy.
  • The DfE will use the Spring School Census data to inform the funding they give Local Authorities for the early and high needs blocks of DSG funding
  • The Pupil Premium amount for the financial year 2021/22 will be based on the pupils on roll in this census who are, or have been eligible for deprivation free school meals in the past six years, are post looked after, or who are classed as service children. 
  • The DFE will collect information about Nursery pupils in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium and Disability Access Fund Grant in the Spring Census.

 

 

Are you up to date with the changes? – New data items and changes for Spring 2021

From autumn 2020, data will be recorded and returned on all categories of school attendance, rather than just absence.

 

The first collection of this data will occur in the spring 2021 census and will include following new data items:

  • Total number of sessions attending approved educational activity
  • The total number of sessions unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances
  • Total number of sessions not attending in circumstances relating to coronavirus (COVID-19)

 

The first collection of up to 3 reasons per exclusion and new exclusions codes will occur in the spring 2021 census.

 

Schools will need to ensure these new data items have been recorded correctly during the Autumn 2020 term in order for them to populate correctly in the Spring 2021 school census return.

 

If your school’s MIS system has been upgraded and patched correctly, the new data items will pull through automatically in school census.

 

DFE specifications

The DfE are no longer producing pdf booklet guidance, instead guidance is available on the following link:

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census (GOV.UK)

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2020-to-2021-technical-information (GOV.UK)

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