Autumn 2024 – School Census Bulletin

Fileset 2805 has now been released by ESS and is available on the above link and Solus

Hosted Schools – Fileset 2805 was applied to all Hosted Schools on 23rd October 2024

ESS have informed us they have started work on fileset 2805 which will provide version 2024.1.2 of the DfE files for School Census.  We will keep you informed when this fileset becomes available

The updated DfE files correct the issue with Table 12 (Number of suspensions and permanent ..) of the summary report, where incorrect date ranges were used for calculated the numbers for columns.

Update – Fileset 2804 – (Sixth form only)

ESS have released the fileset 2804 – See above link

Reference date 

ESS have sent the following advice.

The reference date follows the normal pattern of being the first Thursday of October.

Thursday the 3rd of October 2024

ESS advise even when a school is waiting for a fileset before they can finalise their return, it is likely to be well worthwhile to carry our dry runs before the end of the census reference day (today).

As many of you will know, correcting mistakes in your data can be considerably easier if this takes place before the end of the census reference day (today) as some data is dated and it can be easier to adjust such data before census reference day becomes history (tomorrow).

Wishing you all a Happy Census Day

We are here if you need any assistance, 01392 385300  –  Scomis@devon.gov.

Update – Fileset 2804 – (Sixth form only)

ESS have not yet released the fileset – Date TBA

We will let you know as soon as this is released.

To stop validation errors 2759 and/or 2923 from being triggered unexpectedly for a sixth form pupil the school will need Fileset 2804 to be applied, as this is the first fileset that includes a change to a SIMS file that will prevent Traineeships from being reported as ‘false’ for sixth form pupils when they should not be reported at all for a sixth form pupil where Traineeships do not apply.

Questions and Answers

ESS have supplied answers to the following question(s)

Question 06 (Relevant to: Schools with pre-2-year-olds only)

Re: Query 1601 (Please check: pupil’s age is out of range for school type)

Does the DfE classify query 1601 as a known issue for their validation, given that it will be triggered in any schools that is now catering for pupils aged between 9 months and less than 2 years who might well be funded by the DfE?

Answer

We have contacted the DfE, and they tell us that they DO NOT and WILL NOT classify query 1601 as a known issue, and that schools are required to provide a notepad entry, as is normal for a query. We understand that the notepad entry is needed for analysis purposes and is not meant to indicate ‘negativity’ in this situation.

Question 05 (Early years schools with 2-year-olds only)

Where I have not already enabled the Save button by entering other date into the census application and then enter data via the first section of the Early Years panel and then enter data into the 2 Year Old Basis for Funding section of that panel, the Save button is not enabled. How can I then save the 2 Year Old Basis for funding data that I have entered?

Answer

If you enter data into another panel of the census application the Save button will be enabled and clicking on Save will save both the other data and the 2 Year Old Basis for funding data. However, if you have no other data to enter that will enable the Save button you will need to leave the census application without saving the 2 Year Old Basis for funding data. When you return to the census application you will be able to enter and save the 2 Year Old Basis for funding data.

Given how rare it will be for a school to encounter this anomaly, and the risk involved in removing the anomaly at such a late stage, we are planning to provide a solution for a future school census.

Question 04 (Secondary, all through and PRU schools with a sixth form only)

I have applied Fileset 2803, but validation errors 2759 and 2912 are still being triggered for Traineeships when sixth form pupils are not involved with Traineeships.

Answer

To stop validation errors 2759 and/or 2923 from being triggered unexpectedly for a sixth form pupil the school will need Fileset 2804 to be applied, as this is the first fileset that includes a change to a SIMS file that will prevent Traineeships from being reported as ‘false’ for sixth form pupils when they should not be reported at all for a sixth form pupil where Traineeship do not apply.

Question 03 (Secondary and other Post-16 schools only)

Why isn’t SIMS collecting information related to the ’16 to 19 tuition fund’ in the FAM (Funding and Monitoring) section of School Census Autumn 2024 when the current (20/09/2024) DfE guidance on GOV.UK indicates that it must be included.

Answer

We have contacted the DfE and they have assured us that no ’16 to 19 tuition fund’ related data will be collected in School Census Autumn 2024. The have also assured us that this incorrect information will be removed from their GOV.UK page next week (week beginning 23/09/2024).

Question 02 (Primary and other Early Years schools only)

If an Eligibility Code is being reported where it is not needed for funding purposes, do I need to find a way to remove it?

Answer

No, it is fine to report an Eligibility Code (formally known as the 30-Hour Code) where it is not needed provided that the hours it could be applied to are set to zero. In reality this is a situation that is only likely to arise for 2-year old’s who would ‘qualify’ for Expanded Hours but won’t receive Expand Hours where they also ‘qualify’ for Funded Hours because of deprivation. In this case the Funded Hours should be entered and the Expanded Hours set to zero. Adherence to these funding rules is checked by the DfE validation.

Question 01 (Schools with Sixth Forms only)

Why do most of my Year 13 leavers have learning aims set to Withdrawn when they actually completed the courses and how do I deal with this?

Answer

The most likely explanation is that both of the following occurred for each of the students who completed their courses, but have their learning aims set to Withdrawn

1. 1. The student left the school, and therefore their courses and learning aims, before the date previously set as their learning aims planned end date. This probably occurred because the wrong end date was used when the student was originally assigned to their classes for delivering their courses and learning aims.
   2. The date of leaving for the student was entered on or after that leaving date. This prevents the ‘Completion Tolerance’ setting for course management from attempting to protect the school from the consequences of an incorrect planned end date.

The best solution is to reflect the expected learning aim completion date when assigning students to classes. However, that solution is not available for Year 13 students who have already completed their learning aims.

Where a Year 13 student has already completed their learning aims, the ‘Use Completion Tolerance to Reset Status’ panel of menu route Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Bulk Update Courses can be helpful. However, you should note that this sets the student’s learning aims planned end so that it in line with the actual learning aims end date. It is possible that such a change of planned end date will hinder the ESFA when they link the leaning aim records for this year with the learning aim records for last year. This concern can be countered in the School Census application by agreeing to set the planned end date in line with the schools chosen authorised return from last year.

An alternative approach is to make modifications directly in the Learning Aims panel of the School Census Autumn 2024 application, but this should be done with the utmost care. If you are considering making use of this functionality, you may want to click the button for ‘Compare with Previous Autumn’ before do so. You can also click the button for ‘Compare with Course Manager’ once you have completed your direct changes, as this can provide you with a record of the modifications you have made for the Census which are not in line with course management data.

I’ve found that when I get myself into a mess in this area the best approach is to start on a new return. Hence, you might want to make sure you are happy with the data in the Learning Aims panel before spending time on entering data in other areas.

I suggest that the data for students who have repeated a year for COVID-19 related reasons should be checked very thoroughly, as this area is quite complex for the reporting of learning aims.

Question 01 (Schools with Sixth Forms only)

Why do most of my Year 13 leavers have learning aims set to Withdrawn when they actually completed the courses and how do I deal with this?

Answer

The most likely explanation is that both of the following occurred for each of the students who completed their courses, but have their learning aims set to Withdrawn

1. 1. The student left the school, and therefore their courses and learning aims, before the date previously set as their learning aims planned end date. This probably occurred because the wrong end date was used when the student was originally assigned to their classes for delivering their courses and learning aims.
   2. The date of leaving for the student was entered on or after that leaving date. This prevents the ‘Completion Tolerance’ setting for course management from attempting to protect the school from the consequences of an incorrect planned end date.

The best solution is to reflect the expected learning aim completion date when assigning students to classes. However, that solution is not available for Year 13 students who have already completed their learning aims.

Where a Year 13 student has already completed their learning aims, the ‘Use Completion Tolerance to Reset Status’ panel of menu route Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Bulk Update Courses can be helpful. However, you should note that this sets the student’s learning aims planned end so that it in line with the actual learning aims end date. It is possible that such a change of planned end date will hinder the ESFA when they link the leaning aim records for this year with the learning aim records for last year. This concern can be countered in the School Census application by agreeing to set the planned end date in line with the schools chosen authorised return from last year.

An alternative approach is to make modifications directly in the Learning Aims panel of the School Census Autumn 2024 application, but this should be done with the utmost care. If you are considering making use of this functionality, you may want to click the button for ‘Compare with Previous Autumn’ before do so. You can also click the button for ‘Compare with Course Manager’ once you have completed your direct changes, as this can provide you with a record of the modifications you have made for the Census which are not in line with course management data.

I’ve found that when I get myself into a mess in this area the best approach is to start on a new return. Hence, you might want to make sure you are happy with the data in the Learning Aims panel before spending time on entering data in other areas.

I suggest that the data for students who have repeated a year for COVID-19 related reasons should be checked very thoroughly, as this area is quite complex for the reporting of learning aims.

DfE Readiness Bulletin 2

ESS have provided a copy of the readiness bulletin number 2 from the DfE because it includes some important messages so we have included a link to the information here:

DfE Summer School Census 2024 Readiness Bulletin no.2

DfE Readiness Bulletin 1

ESS have provided a copy of the first readiness bulletin from the DfE because it includes some important messages so we have included a link to the information here:

DfE Summer School Census 2024 Readiness Bulletin no.1

ESS update in regard to Fileset 2802

ESS have informed us this fileset 2802 is available and will provide version 2024.0.1 Beta of the DfE validation and summary report for School Census Summer 2024.

These Beta files from the DfE will be helpful for dry runs but are not suitable for authorising the return for upload to COLLECT.

Reinstatement from suspension after suspension has been complete

ESS have informed us that where the governing board decides on reinstatement of a pupil from a suspension after the pupil has completed that suspension, the DfE has confirmed that they expect this to be recording in the schools MIS as follows.

1. The record of suspension should be set to reinstatement and will thereby not be reported in School Census.
2. The attendance session codes of E to indicate unable to attend because of a suspension or exclusion should remain and will thereby be reported in School Census.

In this respect the DfE’s approach to reinstated from suspension is in line with its approach to reinstatement from permanent exclusion, in that the permanent exclusion should be set to reinstatement, and is thereby not reported in School Census, while the attendance session set to E are left in place to indicate the pupil did not need to attend for those sessions, and is thereby reported in School Census.

ESS have supplied below screenshots which should help inform early years requirements for Autumn School Census

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 00

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 01

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 02

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 03

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 04

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 05

Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Early Years

Screenshot 06

Early Years Pupil Premium Receipt table of Early Years panel of Routines | Statutory Returns | School Census

Screenshot 07

Early Years Pupil Premium Receipt table of Early Years panel of Routines | Statutory Returns | School Census

Screenshot 08

Early Years Pupil Premium table of Early Years panel of Routines | Statutory Returns | School Census

Screenshot 09

E2 Year Old Basis for Funding table of Early Years panel of Routines | Statutory Returns | School Census

Screenshot 10

DfE Session attendance codes for Academic Year 2024/2025 onwards

ESS hopes the following table will clarify the small impact on School Census Autumn 2024 compared to the significant impact on School Census Spring 2025 and School Census Summer 2025.

NC Year and YTI (Year Taught In) 

ESS have informed us where schools will be funded by the DfE for learners of 2 years and below they may find their administration easier if they make use of more granular NC Year classifications for young children.

Early years data required for School Census Autumn 2024 

ESS hopes the following table will clarify what is required for early years in School Census Autumn 2024.

Early years data required for School Census Autumn 2024 compared to schools census from autumn 2023 to to summer 2025 

ESS hopes the following table will help with any confusion regarding what data the DfE requires for early years in School Census Autumn 2024. The table is based on version 1.5 of the DfE specification for 2023/24 school censuses and version 1.0 of the DfE specifications for 2024/25 school censuses. They will update the table to take account of any changes beyond these versions of the DfE specifications in this area.