To clean a SEND register, separate the pupil's current position from the history that explains it. Correct live status and needs, archive superseded plans, record each decision and keep or dispose of records under the school's retention schedule.
Do not shorten the list by deleting evidence. The aim is a trustworthy current view with a traceable route back to earlier provision, reviews and decisions.
This guide is for schools in England and is accurate on 20 July 2026. It supports professional record keeping, but it is not legal advice.
Why SEND register cleaning matters now
Summer rollover is a useful moment to reconcile the register with the MIS, current plans and unresolved actions. September staff need a clear working view, not a museum of every status a pupil has ever held.
Yet history matters. Paragraphs 6.72 and 6.73 of the SEND Code of Practice say SEN provision should be accurate and current, while schools should evidence the support provided over a pupil's time in school and its impact.
The Department for Education's data protection guidance was updated on 9 July 2026. It still requires schools to audit personal data each year and decide what to keep, correct, depersonalise or destroy.
A tidy screen and a sound record are related, but they are not twins. One is what staff need now; the other explains how the school reached that point.
Start with four layers, not one long list
- Current membership: whether the pupil has an EHC plan, receives SEN support, is being monitored locally or is no longer on the active register.
- Current need: the evidence-led description of strengths, barriers and needs that staff must understand now.
- Live work: the current plan, provision, review date, owner and next action.
- History: earlier plans, provision, reviews, status changes, pupil and parent views, decisions and transfer records.
These layers should connect, but they should not overwrite each other. A corrected need does not require rewriting an old review as though staff knew then what they know now.
Use a keep, correct, archive, transfer or destroy decision
Give every questionable item one controlled outcome. Record the owner, evidence, decision date and any follow-up before changing the live register.
| Decision | Use it when | Minimum record |
|---|---|---|
| Keep current | The information is accurate, necessary and actively used | Source checked, owner and next review date |
| Correct | A current fact is wrong, incomplete or misleading | Correct value, source, date and material challenge noted |
| Archive | A plan or decision is superseded but remains needed as evidence | Closed date, reason, successor record and access controls |
| Transfer | The pupil moves and the receiving setting needs the record | Recipient, lawful route, transfer date and traceable receipt |
| Destroy | The retention period has ended and no lawful need remains | Schedule rule, authorisation, date and secure disposal record |
Clean the active register in seven steps
1. Freeze the evidence window
Record the date and systems included. Take a controlled exception list rather than an editable copy of every pupil record. Restrict access to staff who need it.
2. Reconcile the active roll and census status
Compare admissions, leavers and current roll data with the SEND register. For census reporting, the 2026 to 2027 specification continues to use E for an EHC plan and K for SEN support.
A local monitoring label can organise early enquiry, but it is not another statutory census code. Keep the local workflow and the national return distinct.
3. Test the decision, not the desired register size
For each proposed status change, inspect current assessment, teacher evidence, pupil and parent views, provision and review outcomes. Record who made the decision and why.
Improved attainment does not automatically mean SEN support is no longer required. It may show that provision is working. Familiarity is not a reason to retain a status either.
4. Separate the live plan from its predecessors
Identify one current plan with a clear version, owner and review date. Archive older versions with their targets, reviews and decisions intact, subject to retention policy.
Do not merge contradictory versions into a tidier fictional past. A chronology can show that an approach changed, which is often more useful than pretending it never did.
5. Resolve orphan actions
Find referrals, reviews, specialist advice and family communications without an owner or outcome. Close completed work honestly and give every open item a September owner.
6. Apply the school's retention schedule
There is no single statutory retention period for a document merely because it concerns SEND. Broader pupil-record duties, operational need, legal requirements and the school's documented schedule determine the outcome.
The DfE says schools must not keep data longer than necessary. When disposal is due, it must be secure, authorised and documented. Ask the data protection officer when the category or lawful need is unclear.
7. Sample the result
Ask a colleague to open a small sample. Can they identify the current status, need, plan, next action and relevant history without relying on the SENCo's memory?
Finish with an exception report: unresolved status decisions, missing evidence, transfer receipts, retention questions and September review dates.
The connected-data view: history changes the question
Consider a fictional composite pupil whose SEN support status ended after sustained progress. The current register is correct to show them off the active list.
A new attendance pattern and teacher observations now suggest difficulty accessing noisy lessons. An archived plan shows that sensory adjustments previously improved access.
The history does not prove that the earlier need has returned. It changes the professional question to: what current assessment and pupil voice are needed before deciding support?
The action is to gather current evidence, speak with the pupil and family, review classroom access and set a dated decision point. Do not silently restore an old label or delete the old plan because it is no longer current.
What the data cannot prove
Historic status does not establish current need. Attendance or behaviour patterns do not diagnose SEN or explain motive. A complete chronology does not prove that provision was delivered well or caused an outcome.
Data can expose a contradiction or missing step. It cannot replace assessment, consultation, statutory processes, safeguarding action or professional judgement.
How Student Radar supports a controlled clean-up
In Student Radar, the SEND Register shows the current SEND cohort and monitoring list with live plans, urgency cues and next actions.
Authorised staff can use Wonde Hub to check synced MIS context. Register membership changes are recorded through an audited history, and archived plans keep their targets and reviews while leaving the active view.
This supports a current view with traceable evidence. It does not decide whether a pupil has SEN, set the school's retention periods or make professional decisions for the SENCo.
Your final clean-register checklist
- One accurate current status and need description per pupil.
- One clearly identified live plan, owner and review date.
- Superseded plans archived with their evidence and decisions.
- Every status change dated, reasoned and traceable.
- Every open action owned, with a September date.
- Transfers completed securely with a traceable record.
- Retention and destruction decisions matched to policy.
- A colleague has sampled the result and can follow the story.
Use the 12-check SEND register audit to find the exceptions, then apply this clean-up method to resolve them. Pair the result with a usable SEND handover.
To see the current register, plan archive and connected MIS workflow with realistic school data, request a focused SEND walkthrough.
Sources and further reading
- SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years, Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care, January 2015; publication page updated 12 September 2024.
- Data protection in schools: record keeping and management, Department for Education, published 3 February 2023; updated 9 July 2026.
- Data protection in schools: updates, Department for Education, published 3 February 2023; updated 9 July 2026.
- UK GDPR accuracy principle, Information Commissioner's Office, publication and update dates not stated; accessed 20 July 2026.
- UK GDPR storage limitation principle, Information Commissioner's Office, publication and update dates not stated; accessed 20 July 2026.
- School census 2026 to 2027: technical information, Department for Education, published 23 February 2026; updated 20 May 2026.
- Data protection in schools: sharing personal data, Department for Education, published 3 February 2023; updated 9 July 2026.