Date: 15th September 2025
School Census Bulletin 1 – Autumn 2025
DfE School Census Date: Thurs 2nd Oct 2025 Return Date: Tues 7th October 2025
As you may be aware, the statutory School Census for the Autumn Term takes place on Thu 2nd October. We strongly recommend that schools begin to prepare for the School Census by ensuring that, so far as possible, pupil databases are up-to-date and the relevant systems / accesses are in place.
Bromcom users : At the time of publishing this bulletin Bromcom advise that the Autumn 2025 Census file has not yet been applied and so incorrect validation errors might appear when generating the census file. Please do not finalise and upload a return until the Autumn 2025 Census file has been applied, please check Scomis / Bromcom school census webpages for latest information.
1. DfE School Funding and Pupil Premium
Following the 2025 Spending Review, the Department for Education plans to publish the 2026-27 national funding formula (NFF) allocations for schools in autumn 2025. Supporting documents which normally include advice on pupil cohorts and census returns that inform funding will be published at the same time.
At the time of publication no information has been released by the DfE in relation to the dedicated schools grant funding allocations nor pupil premium allocations.
Last year the autumn school census informed the schools block of the dedicated schools grant and schools’ pupil premium. It also informed the Universal Infant Free School Meals grant and the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant.
Funding for the Early Years expanded hours entitlement will be based on termly data from the summer and autumn 2025 headcounts and the 2026 spring census.
2. New data items
There are no new data items for this census
3. Changes to data items
- Early Years – Expanded hours has been amended to allow up to 30 hours to be claimed, following the policy change from September 2025. Children aged 9mths to 2yrs with eligible working parents were previously only entitled to claim 15 hours, from 1st September 2025 this has now increased to 30 hours.
- Early Years – in some circumstances, 2-year-olds may be eligible for both the 15-hour funded entitlement for disadvantaged 2-year-olds and the expanded entitlement. In these circumstances, parents must use the disadvantaged entitlement first, then the working parent entitlement up to a maximum of 30 hours in total. For example, a parent eligible for both entitlements and using 25 hours of provision would record 15 hours of disadvantaged entitlement and 10 hours of the working parent entitlement.
- Learner Funding and Monitoring Type – a new code has been created to record English and Maths minimum hours (code EMH)
- Learner Funding and Monitoring Code – new codes have been created to record whether or not a student has minimum classroom teaching hours planned for eligible English and Maths qualifications
- Post 16 Learners – information about traineeships will be discontinued from autumn 2025.
4. FSM auto-award process and reports
Devon County Council is introducing a new scheme for FSM eligibility. Rather than ‘opting in’ by applying for FSM the Council is introducing an ‘opt out’ system that draws on existing public sector and internal county council records to identify and register eligible children for FSM. Families still have the option to decline the support, the new process simply removes the burden of application. Further information is available from Free school meals opt-out auto-award – Support for schools and settings
LA Maintained schools: with regards to recording FSM eligibility in the census;
- Schools will receive a list of pupils eligible for FSM week commencing 29th Sept (census week).
- Please include FSM eligibility in your initial census return
- Schools will receive an updated list on 19th October at the latest, to accommodate the opt-out period for families. If needed (i.e. you have opt-outs),update your MI system and remove the opted-out FSM records from the census (this may require you to submit a new census return)
- EDIT census team will advise when you need to upload an amended return
- We’ll monitor the FSM records (including removal of opt-outs) in your returns
Academies: please follow the first three points above, but please remember we can only check your FSM records in your return once it has been authorised by the DfE. Please monitor your return in COLLECT and check for any DfE comments if it hasn’t yet been authorised. This could be because of COLLECT reports not being run or query notes not meeting DfE requirements.
5. FSM transitional protection changes
Transitional protections have been extended until the end of the 2025/26 school year. All pupils becoming eligible for free school meals under the benefits-based criteria, should continue to receive this entitlement, regardless of any change in household circumstances, including an increase in earnings, or phase of education, until the end of the 2025/26 school year.
From the start of the 2026/27 academic year, it is the Department for Education’s intention that all protections will be discontinued, alongside an extension to the eligibility criteria for free school meals. From this point, households must meet the eligibility criteria to be entitled to free school meals. This means that all Transitionally Protected claims will end and be rechecked for eligibility ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. The DfE will issue further guidance ahead of September 2026.
6. Bromcom users – reminder for previous sims users
Please remember that the following data items are captured in the pupil’s record rather than a panel in the school census routine (as in sims);
Top-up Funding, Post Looked After Arrangements, Early Years pupil premium and Early Years 2yr old basis for funding
In the summer census several schools needed to submit additional returns as the information had not been recorded against the pupil in Bromcom.
7. Early Years Portal – deadline to inform reports needed for census
For this autumn census the early years portal and school census collections are based on different weeks. The early years headcount week is Sun 21st to Sat 27th Sept (week before census).
The EY portal informs the EYPP and EY 2yr old funding reports that you need to complete your census return. New children and parent/carer details need to be submitted by close of Fri 26th September to allow time for the information to be processed centrally.
As the collections are based upon different weeks, comparisons of hours held in the two collections cannot be made. However, we will check that pupils in the EY portal also exist in the school census return.
8. Department for Education (DfE) Sign-in Portal – COLLECT
We are aware, that some schools, have in the past encountered difficulties with their COLLECT access. We therefore ask that you check your COLLECT access by logging in to the DfE Sign in Portal as soon as possible https://services.signin.education.gov.uk/.
9. Further Guidance
Our School Census Quick Guide, Supporting Guide (indicating census data items in Bromcom) and checklist are available at School Census – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk).
Bromcom school census handbooks are available at the Scomis Autumn School Census Bulletin along with a Bromcom pre-checks and list of census data items.
If you have any queries, or if this is your first census, please email census@devon.gov.uk and someone from the Education Information Team will contact you to provide support and guidance.
Kind regards,
Education Information Team (EdIT)