School Census returns for Early Years Children

With Autumn Term census date approaching next week for schools there is a need to ensure that schools with early years places report children to the relevant census return which can also include, for some early years children in schools, reporting via the Early Years Census in the Spring term. 

It is vitally important that schools keep the SIMS system up to date, where applicable, for any early year's children that attend as pupils of the school. This data is used to create the statutory school census returns in October, January and May.  

Registered pupils of a school (2, 3 and 4-year-olds where the age range of the school includes these as pupils) must continue to be included in the schools SIMS and Census returns.  

Please find here the DfE Census Guide for Schools with EY provision gives full details of how to complete the Early Years Census

Summary: 

• The school must be aware of its statutory age range to be able to decide which census their early years nursery children should be added to 
• Where the school has 2, 3- and 4-year olds as registered pupils they will need to be included on the Schools Census via SIMS 

• Children attending the nursery class/school who are not within the statutory age range of the school need to be counted as attending a ‘s27 Governor Run provision’ and included in the Early Years Census – an Early Years Census form must be completed via Synergy in the Spring term and these children must not be reported via SIMS and the Schools Census 
• For schools who only have a maintained nursery class, (without a s27 Governor Run provision), the children within the allocated Published Admission Number (PAN) must be included in the School’s Census via SIMS. 
• For schools who have a maintained nursery class and a ‘s27 Governor Run provision’, the children who are pupils of the school (within the Published Admission Number PAN) must be added to the School Census (SIMS). Any children above the PAN will need to be counted as a pupil of the ‘s27 Governor Run provision’ and included in the Early Years Census (Synergy). 
• Where children are registered pupils of the school they must be recorded once only. Where a child attends the maintained nursery as a pupil of the school and also attends a s27 governor run provision (e.g. for a 30 Hours place 15 hours in the maintained setting and 15 hours in the s27 governor run setting), they should be entered on the Schools Census (SIMS) only.  

If schools have any queries regarding the completion of the Census for Early Years children please contact the MIDAS team on 01926 745122 and for s27 Governor Run provision, the Early Years Funding Team at eyfunding@warwickshire.gov.uk