Key dates
Census date – Thursday 16 January 2025
Return date – Wednesday 12 February 2025
Data to use for pupil age - Saturday 31st August 2024
Term covered for attendance data - Autumn Term (if you navigate to Admin > School Options > Calendar set up you can check the dates that this will concern)
Dates for exclusions - All suspensions and permanent exclusions with start dates between Monday 1st April 2024 and Tuesday 31st December 2024
Unless specific instructions are given by your local authority, you do not have to submit the Census on census day.
The Spring 2024 Census collects information relating to the class activity that all pupils undertake at a selected time on Census Day. The selected time is based on the last digit of a school’s DfE number as follows:
| Last digit of the School DfE number | Selected time |
|---|---|
| 0, 1, or 5 | the selected time is one hour after the start of afternoon school |
| 2, 3 or 6 | the selected time is one hour after the start of morning school |
| 4, 7, 8 or 9 | the selected time is one hour before the end of morning school |
Key changes for this year
NEW items
The school childcare module has been updated to record if:
- a childcare place is available for every parent who wants one
- the childcare provision is open from 8am or earlier (if before school)
- the childcare provision offers childcare covering 8am to 6pm
- the childcare provision is open to at least 6pm (if after school)
- the holiday childcare provider is open from 8am or earlier and to at least 6pm
CHANGES to existing items
- The learner funding and monitoring (FAM code) associated code set has been updated to cover pupils in receipt of ‘tutoring’ following the conclusion of the National Tutoring Programme and 16 to 19 Tuition Fund. Code 01 has been extended to include all schools except nurseries, pupils in years 1 to 14 and enrolment statuses. Code 21 has been removed.
- Pupil SEN type code has been updated to include Down Syndrome.
- Expanded hours has been extended to record up to 15 hours for children from 9 months old with working parents.
- For early years pupil premium receipt, the frequency of collection has been increased to termly and extended to children from 9 months old.
- For early years pupil premium basis for funding, the frequency of collection has been increased to termly and extended to children from 9 months old.
- The disability access fund indicator has been extended to children from 9 months old.
- Attendance reason associated code set has been updated to include new codes effective from 19 August 2024.
- References to T Level transition programme have been changed to T Level foundation year.
- Signposting to offsite childcare, the response code ‘YF’ has been updated from ‘including transport’ to ‘including escort’.
- The ethnicity code set (CS080) has been amended to align with the ONS 2021 census by including ABRI (Asian - British), AWEL (Asian - Welsh), BBRI (Black - British), BWEL (Black - Welsh), and ORAB (Arab). All are main codes except ORAB which is an extended code and covered by the main code of OOTH (Any other ethnic group). The description of WIRT has been updated to ‘Irish Traveller’.
DELETED items
- Learner funding and monitoring (FAM) hours will be discontinued from Autumn 2024.
- Work placement employer ID will be discontinued from Autumn 2024.
- Sessions missed for Authorised, Unauthorised, Educational and Exceptional will be discontinued from spring 2025.
DfE Guidance
DfE guidance about the Census is is published here including the main changes compared to previous years. For DfE guidance on generating and submitting a return see here.
Pupil Asset / Horizons Guidance
You can locate Census specific guidance here
How to enter Learner FAM Code and Learner FAM Hours
How to create a report to show Learner FAM / SLT information