School census software
The school census module builds the DfE’s termly school census from the records your school already keeps, checks it against the DfE’s validation rules, and makes the file you upload to COLLECT. The School Workforce Census is built in too.
Census day without the scramble
The school census is one of the main reasons a school needs an MIS. Three times a year, for the DfE school census, schools in England send the DfE details of every pupil on roll, with attendance, free school meals, SEN, suspensions and exclusions. Errors stop the school census return being authorised, and fixing them often means chasing records across the school at the last minute.
Good school census software finds those problems early, from the records staff already keep, and says exactly what to fix. That is what PMC People’s school census module does.
What the school census module does
Built from your records
Pupils, contacts, free school meals, SEN, attendance, suspensions and exclusions, taken from the PMC People modules you use.
The DfE’s checks first
Errors and queries with the DfE’s own rule numbers and what to fix, with a link to each pupil’s record.
Share out the fixing
Download the problems as a spreadsheet, fix them, and check again.
A summary to compare
Pupils by year and sex, free school meals, SEN, first language and more, to check before you upload.
The file for COLLECT
When the checks are clear, download the XML file and upload it to COLLECT.
Every census
Autumn, spring and summer, with the right census days and attendance periods for each.
Pupils who have left
Pupils no longer on roll who had a suspension or attendance to report are included, as the DfE asks.
Every change recorded
Every change and download is in the audit log.
The School Workforce Census
Built into PMC People’s HR side, from staff contracts, roles, qualifications and absences.
Each census, step by step
Check
Open the census to prepare. PMC People gathers it and runs the DfE’s rules, listing errors and queries.
Fix
Follow each pupil’s name to their record, put it right, and check again.
Review
Compare the summary with what you expect, and with last term.
Upload
Download the file and upload it to COLLECT.
Questions about school census software
Which censuses does it cover?
The termly school census (autumn, spring and summer) with the school census module, and the School Workforce Census, which is part of PMC People itself.
Does it check everything COLLECT checks?
It runs the DfE’s rules for the data PMC People holds. Rules for data it doesn’t hold are left to COLLECT.
What other modules does it need?
It needs the Students module, and takes attendance, exclusions and SEN history from the Attendance, Behaviour and SEN modules when they’re installed. See the school modules.
Is it for schools outside England?
The school census is a DfE return for schools in England, and the module follows the DfE’s specification.
More about PMC People as a school MIS
See the census checks in action
The guided tour shows the census checks, the summary and the file for COLLECT.