Autumn School Census 2026 – Bulletin
This FAQ lists the latest information regarding the School Census.
For Schools wanting the latest documentation for Census and using Bromcom – Click here to jump to the relevant section.
For Schools wanting the latest documentation for Census and using Arbor – Click here to jump to the relevant section.
For Schools wanting the latest documentation for the Post-16 Census – Click here to jump to the relevant section.
For information preparation for the upcoming Census click: How can I prepare data and be ready for the School Census Return?
Census Date: Thursday 1st of October 2026
DfE return date: Wednesday 28th of October 2026
| KNOWN ISSUES: | Please check back on regular basis – Known issues will be posted here |
| 12/08/2026 | Please see changes for the census for 26 |
| 12/08/2026 | BROMCOM – The autumn census is not yet available to run – we will update this guide when Bromcom has been updated. This will also be confirmed on the Bromcom census guide (Currently showing Autumn 2025) Bromcom School Census Homepage – Bromcom – Documentation Centre
ARBOR – Dry run opens on 7/5/2026 |
| 12/08/2026 | BROMCOM – REFRESHING THE STUDENT CACHE – Please ensure that you refresh the student cache before running your summer census return – this will ensure that any recently updated data will be pulled through to your census return – this step is included in our FAQ BROMCOM – Quick Summary Guide – Pre-checks and Generating School Census |
Documentation – Bromcom
All Information released by Bromcom can be found on the Bromcom Census page – School Census – Bromcom
- Thursday 1st of October is census day
- Wednesday 28th of October 2026 is your census submission deadline (unless otherwise advised by your Local Authority)
SCOMIS – Census ‘Quick Summary Guide for Bromcom’ – ‘Pre-checks’ and ‘Generating School Census’ – CLICK HERE
Guides and Webinars
Please find a link to Bromcom’s Census Page & Errors Guide below (Currently showing as Autumn 2025 – this will be updated when they are released)
Census guide and Webinar Autumn 2025 School Census Guide
Post 16 Guide and Webinar Autumn 2025 Post 16 Guide
Errors guide Autumn 2025 Error Resolutions Guide
Documentation – Arbor
- Thursday 1st of October is census day
- Spring Census Dry Run opens 2 weeks before Census Day
- Wednesday 28th of October 2026 is your census submission deadline (unless otherwise advised by your Local Authority)
SCOMIS – Census ‘Quick Summary Guide for Arbor’ – ‘Pre-checks’ and ‘Generating School Census’ – CLICK HERE
Please find a link to Arbor’s Census Pages and Errors Guide below:
Overview census page here and a link to Arbor guide, errors and FAQ’s here.
Census guide – School Census guides – Arbor
Errors guide – School Error guides – Arbor
Documentation – Post 16
Here is all the guidance for Schools completing the Post 16 Census: Autumn Post 16 School Census 2026 Guide