Department For Education
Every school in England has a statutory duty to complete the school census each term.
If you are a maintained school or pupil referral unit, you should contact your local authority to find out their deadlines for submission.
2022 to 2023 census dates
Autumn census
- census date Thursday 06 October 2022
- return date Wednesday 02 November 2022
Spring census
- census date Thursday 19 January 2023
- return date Wednesday 15 February 2023
Summer census
- census date Thursday 18 May 2023
- return date Wednesday 14 June 2023
Selected time (spring only) - class information
Primary, middle-deemed primary, middle-deemed secondary, secondary and all-through schools need to send us this information.
The selected time is based on the last digit of a schools departmental establishment number. You can find your selected time in the class information section.
Unusual circumstances
Where unusual circumstances such as severe weather conditions or religious observances affect census day, schools may find that the numbers of pupils or staff who are not present on that day are abnormally high.
In these circumstances, where free school meals taken or school lunches taken are affected, a day and time when the situation is regarded as normal is to be substituted. You could use the next normal day, an earlier day in census week or the previous Thursday where that reflects the normal situation. Where other days or times are used, schools must record these for audit purposes.