Management Information Sheet
School & Pupil Census Spring 2018
This is a reminder that 2018 Spring Census day is Thursday 18 January 2018. Please ensure that your LA Maintained Schools census files are uploaded and submitted to COLLECT no later than Friday 19 January 2018, to ensure that we can review and approve them before the Autumn Half-term deadline.
If you are a LA maintained school and have any problems meeting this deadline, please email the Intelligence and Analytics Team (I&A) at bi@norfolk.gov.uk, explaining the problems you are having and when you expect to upload your census file.
In addition, the Spring School Census will be used to fund the early years’ block of the dedicated schools grant, as well as pupil premium and universal infant school meals.
Therefore it is important that your return is completed accurately and on time.
Important:
Even though your Management Information System (MIS) indicates there are no errors or queries, you may still have errors or queries in COLLECT. You are recommended to upload your file to COLLECT as early as possible and check for any unexpected errors or queries, using the ALL ERRORS button, to allow time to resolve them before the submission deadline.
All errors must be resolved. All queries must be investigated and resolved, with appropriate Notepad Entries where necessary. This is the area of Census where most problems occur, so please study the “Collect Minimum Notepad Entries†section (including a "Norfolk Common Queries" guide) in the Help & DfE Guidance link for more details.
Please also check the “Free School Meals†section in COLLECT, once uploaded, to ensure that you have only one single, open entry for a pupil, and that any closed entries do not overlap other periods for that pupil. Any duplicates or erroneous data should be deleted or amended accordingly.
For “Class Data Exceptions†(under the Infant Class Sizes legislation) please note that if you hold a valid exception for class sizes exceeding the maximum permitted, then the relevant exception should be indicated in the "Class Section" of the return against the Class affected. The exception cannot be added to the Notepad section as the DfE will not accept this and your return will be rejected.
If you are a LA maintained school and have any problems meeting this deadline, please email the Intelligence and Analytics Team (I&A) at bi@norfolk.gov.uk, explaining the problems you are having and when you expect to upload your census file.
WHY IS THIS CENSUS IMPORTANT?
Data provided in the Spring School Census is used by various organisations for many purposes and is used internally by Norfolk County Council to provide information which may link to planned initiatives within communities.In addition, the Spring School Census will be used to fund the early years’ block of the dedicated schools grant, as well as pupil premium and universal infant school meals.
Therefore it is important that your return is completed accurately and on time.
Early checking:
A ‘familiarisation’ release of the 2018 Spring school census COLLECT blade is available now, until 4pm on Friday 12 January 2018, at which point the blade will be removed and cleared out ready for the live collection on Thursday 18 January 2018. We strongly recommend that all schools take the chance to load a file output from their management information system (MIS) into the COLLECT familiarisation blade, in order to check for any unexpected errors or queries in their data when loaded into COLLECT.Guidance:
Guidance on submitting your school census and links to DfE support documents can be found on the Norfolk Schools website. Please ensure you familiarise yourself with the guidance in advance of the collection date of 18 January 2018, so that you are able to resolve any data errors or queries as described above, in good time.- LA Maintained schools: If you have already referred to the available guidance but still require clarification on a complex issue, please email the I&A team via bi@norfolk.gov.uk. A member of the I&A team will respond to your email as soon as possible. Please note that I&A are not able to assist with queries relating to Secure Access or in respect of your MIS.
- Academies: If you have already referred to the available guidance but still require clarification, you will need to speak to someone in your Academy structure or contact the DfE directly, as I&A will be unable to give guidance/advice on your data or its interpretation/application.
Important:
Even though your Management Information System (MIS) indicates there are no errors or queries, you may still have errors or queries in COLLECT. You are recommended to upload your file to COLLECT as early as possible and check for any unexpected errors or queries, using the ALL ERRORS button, to allow time to resolve them before the submission deadline.
All errors must be resolved. All queries must be investigated and resolved, with appropriate Notepad Entries where necessary. This is the area of Census where most problems occur, so please study the “Collect Minimum Notepad Entries†section (including a "Norfolk Common Queries" guide) in the Help & DfE Guidance link for more details.
Please also check the “Free School Meals†section in COLLECT, once uploaded, to ensure that you have only one single, open entry for a pupil, and that any closed entries do not overlap other periods for that pupil. Any duplicates or erroneous data should be deleted or amended accordingly.
For “Class Data Exceptions†(under the Infant Class Sizes legislation) please note that if you hold a valid exception for class sizes exceeding the maximum permitted, then the relevant exception should be indicated in the "Class Section" of the return against the Class affected. The exception cannot be added to the Notepad section as the DfE will not accept this and your return will be rejected.