School and Pupil Census Summer 2024
Quick Guide
Important Dates
| Familiarisation Period for test files | Closes at 4pm Friday 10 May 2024 |
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| Summer School Census Day | Thursday 16 May 2024 |
LA Maintained Submission Deadline | Wednesday 12 June 2024 |
LA Maintained Schools must upload and submit to COLLECT no later than Wednesday 12 June 2024. Any LA Maintained school that cannot meet this deadline must email the Intelligence & Analytics Team (I&A) at i&a@norfolk.gov.uk. It is requested that schools submit their data as soon as they can after the Census Day on 16 May so we can begin work on any errors or queries to resolve in time for the 12 June deadline. As well as being the final submission deadline, this is also a deadline for us to get the data approved by.
Academies, please note that the Local Authority (LA) is not able to see or assist with your School Census. Academies with any questions relating to completing the school census should contact the DfE (Department for Education) helpdesk via email edd.helpdesk@education.gsi.gov.uk
Why is this Census Important?
The census is a key source of data used to calculate schools' funding. It is essential that all schools complete the census accurately and in a timely manner to ensure they are funded correctly. Failure to do so could result in a school missing out on funding to which it is entitled or receiving more funding than it is due and having to repay any overpayment.
Changes since the last Census
There have been no changes of note since the Autumn 2023 Pupil Census.
DfE Sign in
Please remember to check you can login to COLLECT before Census Day, using the following link: https://services.signin.education.gov.uk/
| New data items | Early Years data Following the introduction of expanded hours entitlement for working families the Summer 2024 census will be the first-time schools will be asked to submit this data. |
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| Before Census Day | Check you can log into COLLECT using DfE Sign-In | |
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| Check your entry in GIAS (Get Information About Schools) is correct | ||
| Ensure that all relevant pupil data is correct on your MIS | ||
| Upload a file into COLLECT during the familiarisation period. This will enable you to check for any unexpected errors and queries that may not necessarily show up in your Management Information System (MIS). P). Please note this familiarisation period closes 4pm Friday 10th May, and the Census will not show up when you log into COLLECT. The blade will return on Census Day ready for you to upload and submit your return.
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| Census Day | Upload to COLLECT via Secure Access Once you have had your return approved by your Head/ Data manager then: Login to COLLECT via the DfE Sign-in https://services.signin.education.gov.uk/ and upload your xml file. | |
| Check for Errors & Queries Open your return and check for errors and queries within COLLECT. To clear errors, amendments may need to be made within your MI (Management Information) system and a new file uploaded. Queries need checking and amending within COLLECT along with an appropriate note. Please see notepad guidance notes for acceptable wording. | ||
| Submit your file Once you have cleared all errors and attached all notes to queries within COLLECT you can submit your file | ||
| After Census Day | Approval and Authorisation If you are an LA Maintained School, NCC (Norfolk County Council) will check through your Census looking for additional errors. We may contact you if we have any questions regarding this. Once we are happy with your Census file, we will approve it and send it to the DfE to authorise. If there is a problem with the data, the DfE will not approve the file and we will be in touch | |
| Post Approval Checking NCC will continue to run checks on the Census data and may still contact you with queries even after the DfE have approved your file. |
Guidance
Further guidance on submitting your school Census can be found at Norfolk Schools website or on the DfE website at www.gov.uk/guidance/school-census