Before England's autumn school census, check which pupils are on roll, reconcile N, E and K codes with the working SEND register, and give each mismatch an owner. Then rerun the comparison before the headteacher authorises the return.
The 2026 autumn census date is Thursday 1 October. The DfE return date is Wednesday 28 October, although maintained schools and pupil referral units must also follow their local authority's deadline.
This guide is for schools in England and was reviewed on 30 September 2026. It is not legal advice, and a working reconciliation extract is not the statutory school census return.
What should a SENCo check first?
Start with the fields the autumn return actually collects. Pupil SEN provision is required for all pupils on roll on census day. N means no special educational need; E means an education, health and care plan; K means SEN support.
Record N where the pupil has no special educational need. Do not replace a valid N with a blank or map local monitoring to N without reviewing the recorded decision.
Primary and secondary SEN type rankings are collected in the spring census, not the autumn return. They still matter to the school's working records. The first autumn check is whether each on-roll pupil's N, E or K status is accurate.
Keep a local monitoring category separate. A school can monitor an emerging concern before deciding that SEN support is required. Monitoring is a local workflow category, not a DfE SEN provision code.
These checks were reviewed against the DfE's 2026 to 2027 census guidance and technical information on 30 September 2026.
Use this five-check census preflight
Run the checks against one fixed extract and record the time. If the MIS changes while the SENCo is reviewing a different snapshot, two accurate lists can still produce a useless argument.
| Check | Evidence | Owner | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Population | On-roll list, joiners, leavers and census snapshot time | Data manager | One agreed pupil population |
| 2. N, E and K | MIS code, SEND register and recorded decision | SENCo and data manager | Exception list by mismatch type |
| 3. EHC plan status | Live local-authority decision and plan dates | SENCo | Confirmed E cases and dated queries |
| 4. SEN support decision | Assess, plan, do and review record, including family and pupil views | SENCo and teacher | Confirmed K cases and separate plan actions |
| 5. Correction and rerun | Source, reason, actor, date and second-person sample | Assigned editor and checker | Clean rerun or owned exceptions |
1. Fix the pupil population before comparing statuses
Confirm who is on roll on 1 October, then check recent admissions, leavers, dual registrations and any pupils whose status changed after the extract. Use the same pupil identifiers in every comparison.
2. Group N, E and K exceptions before editing
Sort exceptions into clear types: MIS E and register K, MIS K and register monitoring, MIS N and register K, a missing MIS code, or one-sided pupils. Grouping exposes a mapping problem that random pupil-by-pupil edits can hide.
3. Verify E against live EHC plan evidence
Do not infer E from the amount or cost of provision. Check live local-authority status, effective dates and relevant cessation or appeal information. Keep a case open when that evidence is incomplete.
4. Verify K against the recorded SEN support decision
K should follow the school's evidenced decision that the pupil has SEN requiring special educational provision. A pupil receiving an intervention is not automatically K, and a pupil can remain K when a plan-review action is overdue.
5. Record the correction, then rerun the whole comparison
Record the source, reason, date and authorised editor for each correction. Sample records that appeared clean as well as corrected rows. An exception without an owner and due date is merely a small problem waiting for a larger calendar.
On census day, carry the check into COLLECT
Generate the return from the corrected MIS and inspect the summary carefully. The DfE says a file with no validation errors or queries is not guaranteed to contain every required item or to be correct.
Correct all errors. Investigate every query and either amend the data or add the required explanation. Compare the SEN totals with the working register and the previous census, but treat a change as a question, not proof of an error.
The DfE's term-on-term checks include the percentage of pupils with an EHC plan and the percentage with SEN support. The headteacher is responsible for reviewing and authorising the return before submission.
Follow one discrepancy from signal to decision
In a made-up record, the MIS shows K while the working register shows monitoring. The pupil joined in September, the previous school's plan has ended, and classroom adjustments are already being used.
Attendance confirms the pupil is on roll and identifies the sessions staff have observed. The plan history shows what was previously agreed. Teacher evidence and pupil and family views inform the school's assessment.
The professional question is whether the pupil currently has SEN requiring special educational provision. The SENCo records the review outcome. Staff then reconcile the working register and MIS to the authorised decision.
The mismatch alone cannot answer that question. It can show that the return should not be authorised until the evidence and decision are clear.
What the census comparison cannot prove
A matching E or K code does not prove that provision was delivered, that a plan is current or that support is effective. It also cannot diagnose SEN or decide whether a pupil needs an EHC plan.
Keep census accuracy and plan quality connected but separate. Open a plan, provision or review action where needed. Do not change a valid census status merely to make an overdue plan disappear from a report.
Pupil-level extracts contain sensitive information. Limit access, record the purpose and follow the school's retention policy. Keep historical evidence identifiable as historical instead of overwriting it.
How Student Radar supports the audit
In Student Radar, the SEND Register brings together the working SEND cohort, a distinct monitoring workflow, plans, completeness signals and next actions in one working view.
Before relying on a census comparison, confirm which tools are available for your school and which MIS fields its Wonde connection supplies.
A comparison should show its coverage and distinguish one-sided pupils, provision-code differences, need-area differences and unmapped terms. Staff must investigate these exceptions rather than use them as automatic correction instructions.
For any named-pupil CSV, record the purpose, limit access and retain its audit trail. It is a working extract and does not generate, authorise or submit the statutory return.
Student Radar does not decide SEND status or replace the MIS. The SENCo and relevant staff review the evidence, the data manager controls the MIS correction and the headteacher retains the census authorisation responsibility.
Your final SEND sign-off
- The 1 October on-roll population and snapshot time are recorded.
- N is recorded for pupils with no SEN; local monitoring remains separate from census codes.
- Every E case has live EHC plan status evidence.
- Every K case follows a recorded SEN support decision.
- Each correction records its source, reason, actor and date.
- The rerun is clean or unresolved cases have an owner and due date.
- All COLLECT errors are corrected; every query is amended or suitably explained.
- The headteacher has reviewed and authorised the final return.
Use the 12-check SEND register audit to find wider gaps, then apply the controlled register clean-up where history or retention also needs attention.
To discuss the SEND Register and confirm which MIS comparison and audited export tools are available for your school, request a focused SEND walkthrough.
Sources and further reading
- Complete the school census: pupil SEN provision codes, Department for Education, published 30 July 2019; checked 30 September 2026.
- Complete the school census: census dates, Department for Education, published 30 July 2019; checked 30 September 2026.
- Complete the school census: data items 2026 to 2027, Department for Education, published 30 July 2019; checked 30 September 2026.
- Complete the school census: check your data, Department for Education, published 30 July 2019; checked 30 September 2026.
- Complete the school census: generate and submit your return, Department for Education, published 30 July 2019; checked 30 September 2026.
- 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.
- School census 2026 to 2027: technical information, Department for Education, published 23 February 2026; updated 9 September 2026.
- UK GDPR accuracy principle, Information Commissioner's Office, publication and update dates not stated; accessed 30 September 2026.