School workforce census: guides

These guides are to help schools and local authorities:

• understand the purpose of the census
• prepare for the census
• complete their census returns for 2021

The guide for school-employed staff is for:

• schools and nurseries maintained by the local authority
• special schools maintained by the local authority (schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities)
• city technology colleges
• academies
• free schools
• pupil referral units (these provide education for children who can’t go to a mainstream school)
• local authority children’s services

The guide for centrally employed staff explains how local authorities who employ school staff centrally can submit school workforce census data.