• Census date – Thursday 1st October 2026 "Snapshot date" 
• Return date – Wednesday 28th October 2026
• Attendance collected From Easter Monday 06/04/2026 to Sunday 04/05/2026 before spring bank holiday, and from spring bank holiday Monday 25/05/2026 to 31/07/2026
• Exclusion data - Suspensions & Permanent  Covers Spring and Summer Term 2026 exclusions: From 01/01/26 to 31/07/26 
• Alternative Provision Placements collected from 21/05/2026 to 30/09/2026
• Funding and Monitoring collected from 01/08/2026 to 01/10/2026
• Learning Aims collected from 01/08/2025 to 01/10/2026
• Free School Meals collected from 22/05/2026 to 01/10/2026
• DfE Guidance and full information can be found here
• Changes from the Last census can be found here

Free School Meal (FSM) Information and Guidance

You will already be aware there are significant changes to FSM which will affect this census return, because of this we have added a dedicated section to our knowledge base that we can update with any known changes which will affect your school.  

As i type this there are still changes being made to assist schools in reporting, recording and producing accurate targeted and expanded information so please check the dedicated area regularly for updates.   

Official Arbor guidance - Their census guide includes all the necessary links and detailed instructions on how to navigate the Census area in Arbor - School Census Guide - To help you resolve the most common errors and known queries - click here 

Click here for Video guides on how to complete your school census 

• Census Summary Inspection - This article covers each table that can appear in the School census and provides overviews of the information recorded in the tables.
• School Census FAQ - This guide lists the most common questions that schools ask regarding the School Census.
• Attendance data- See how to check attendance data here: View attendance statistics
• Free School Meal Eligibility - More on managing this here: View FSM students and eligibility dates
• Suspensions and permanent exclusions - See how to manage these here: View behaviour reporting

As always any of our supported schools can call us as often as they need to for help and support with the Census. If this is your first census or you need additional support then please get in touch as soon as possible and we can schedule a remote one-on-one bite-size session with you.

Support@KeystoneMIS.co.uk
01482 238700