Annual schools census
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Last updated: 27 September 2004.
Every school is required to supply information to the DfES each January through the Annual Schools Census (ASC), formerly known as “Form 7”.
The Annual Schools Census website offers more detail and links to software suppliers' websites.
In January 2002, as part of the Department's Information Management Strategy, the ASC was expanded to become the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC) which is supplied electronically from each maintained school's Management Information System. The Census continued to collect school level data about classes being taught and staff in schools but it also collected pupil level information for the first time from Maintained Primary, Middle, Secondary and Specials schools [over 7.5 million pupils]. The data items collected in PLASC include a unique pupil number (UPN), pupil name, gender, date of birth, home postcode, ethnic group, first language, free school meal eligibility and special educational needs information.
Any published data has to meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act, so for example the Department does not publish data that could identify an individual. However, analysis of the individual pupil records from PLASC, in conjunction with pupils' Key Stage and examination results, provides the Department, LEAs and researchers with a far greater range of information than was possible with the ASC totals, thereby supporting the drive to raise standards, the more accurate targeting of funding, and the monitoring and development of policy.
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