• 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

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.  

ParentPay video tutorial

Self service guidance

Many of the references used in the guidance are behind a login page and you will need access to the ParentPay support portal.  Going forward this will be the new way that schools will be communicated to by Parent Pay regarding all things Sims and Sims Next gen so you will need to sign up to access this area.  

Some of the references below will link to the support pages for more detailed information. To access this content, you will need to have a log in to our support portal (https://help.parentpaygroup.com/csm). If you do not yet have a login, please use the Register option to request access.