Summer Census Guidance - May 21st 2026

Summer School Census Thursday 21st May 2026

Dear Colleague,

We hope this message finds you well.

We would like to remind all schools that the Spring School Census date is set for Thursday 21st May 2026. It is crucial to ensure that all necessary data is accurately collected and prepared for submission. The final deadline to return the data to the Department for Education (DfE) is Wednesday 17th June 2026.

Please be aware that your Local Authority may have an earlier submission deadline, so we recommend checking with them to avoid any delays.

Customer support

We will be available to take calls throughout the collection period so please do not hesitate to contact the help desk if you require support.

Log a ticket on the SICTS customer portal https://my.schoolicts.co.uk/

Call us on 0345 222 6802 (option 1)

Email us at helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk

To help us resolve any issues as quickly as possible, please provide any query or error numbers when logging your ticket.

Any further updates will be shared via the MIS specific campaign news feeds on our customer portal (listed under Additional Resources). Customers can also check the news section at https://www.schoolicts.co.uk/latest-news/ .

Consultancy Services – Census Support

Flexible, expert-led support for statutory returns – our Data Services package is a flexible, remote solution designed to support schools through key statutory returns and annual MIS procedures. Whether you need help with one return or all of them, we work alongside your team to ensure data is clean, complete, and submitted correctly saving valuable staff time and ensuring compliance.

Pupil Census (Autumn, Spring, Summer)

All support is delivered remotely by a trained MIS expert.

Preparation and validation

On-hand support during census week

Error resolution and validation support

Guidance on funding, attendance, and enrolment data

Collect upload and notes

Training

We will be running census training sessions on the following dates; please use the links below for more information and to book your place.

Arbor:

Arbor Primary Summer Census – School ICT – Friday 8th May 26, 9.30am – 12.30pm

Arbor Secondary Summer Census – School ICT – Wednesday 13th May 2026, 9.30am – 12.30pm

Bromcom:

If you require training for completing the Census in Bromcom, please contact us as this training will run on demand

SIMS:

SIMS Primary Summer Census – School ICT – Tuesday 28th April 2026, 9.30am – 12.30pm

SIMS Secondary Summer Census – School ICT – Wednesday 29th April 26 – 9.30am – 12.30pm

SIMS Primary Summer Census – School ICT – Tuesday 5th May 2026 – 9.30am – 12.30pm

SIMS Primary Summer Census – School ICT – Tuesday 12th May 2026 – 9.30am – 12.30pm

SIMS Secondary Summer Census – School ICT – Tuesday 12th May 2026 – 1.00pm – 4.00pm

For the full training course schedule, please use this link - https://www.schoolicts.co.uk/online-training/

Webinars

PPG are hosting special SIMS Summer Census webinars for customers. Sessions will run from 21st April through till 28th May and are open to all schools please register via this link – PPG -Summer Census Webinars

These sessions will take the same approach as those delivered in January by PPG and will include an overview of the census in both Next Gen and SIMS7 and some of the top census related issues.

Available Resources

We have updated the customer portal with the latest guidance – https://my.schoolicts.co.uk/

Please select the link to MIS specific guidance below – these links will be updated in real time with any further updates: