The question panels
Contents
Panel 3 - Teaching staff qualifications
Panel 5 - Teaching staff ethnicity
Panel 11 - Headcount of staff religion
Panel 1 - Census Details
To move to the first section, click on 1 Census Details near the top of the screen. This will move the cursor into the first section (as shown in the screen below). The reference date will be automatically set and cannot be changed. A default description has been provided, but this can be updated as necessary to permit more than one return to be attempted, e.g. Dry Run.
Panel 2 - School Information
To move to the next panel click on the label 2 School information at the top of the screen, or scroll down and position the cursor in the box Contact Title. (The previous boxes in this panel will be completed automatically and cannot be changed).
Check the School Details in the School Information panel and use the 'School Detail' button to correct if necessary. Note that County is displayed in the address details but is no longer used by the Census.
Check the other information in the School Information panel and update as necessary - items shown in bright yellow have been obtained from SIMS but may be edited.
When you select your diocesan code please double check that you have not selected the value above or below by mistake.
When this panel has been completed click the 'Calculate All Details' button to obtain information for the remaining panels.
Panel 3 - Teaching staff qualifications
Teaching staff with CCRS
This is a headcount of all staff with the CCRS qualification (Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies). The figure is calculated automatically by SIMS from the staff professional qualifications details. If 'CCRS' is entered as the name of the qualification it will be counted by the Census.
One other qualification is equivalent to CCRS and may also be included:
CTC: Catholic Teachers' Certificate
CTC is not counted automatically by SIMS. The panel will need to be amended manually if any staff hold the CTC.
Teaching staff NPQH
This is a headcount of staff with the NPQH qualification (National Professional Qualification for Headship). Unlike the CCRS headcount, this one is broken down by gender and Catholicity. The figures are calculated automatically by SIMS from the staff professional qualifications details. If 'NPQH' is entered as the name of the qualification it will be counted by the Census.
The four headcounts of staff undertaking the NPQH qualification are not calculated by SIMS and must therefore be entered manually.
Panel 4 - Leadership Group
Questions in this section relate to the following leadership team roles: head teacher; executive head teacher; deputy head teacher; assistant head teacher.
Is acting head teacher a Catholic?
This question should be answered only if there is currently an acting head teacher in the school, otherwise it should be left as 'Not Applicable'.
Current Leadership Team
The leadership team is derived by SIMS. If a member of the team is missing they can be added by clicking on the 'New' button, selecting them from the staff details and assigning the correct role.
Leadership vacancies
Vacancies in the leadership team must be added manually. Under 'Term' enter the number of school terms that the vacancy has been open.
Panel 5 - Teaching staff ethnicity
This panel is calculated by SIMS. If any figures are incorrect it is advisable to make corrections to the staff details themselves rather than simply correcting the Census totals. If staff details are amended the census totals will be updated by pressing the 'Recalculate' button.
Panel 6 - RE Teaching
This panel is not calculated by SIMS and must be entered manually.
Number of specialist RE qualified staff
The number of specialist qualified Religious Education (RE) teachers whose first degree comprised the study of RE in whole or in part.
Number of staff teaching RE
The number of staff whose teaching timetable comprises some RE teaching.
Number of staff with 50% timetabled RE
The number of staff whose teaching timetable comprises at least 50% of RE teaching.
Panel 7 - Pupil ethnicity
This panel is calculated by SIMS. If any figures are incorrect it is advisable to make corrections to the student details themselves rather than simply correcting the Census totals. If student details are amended the census totals will be updated by pressing the 'Recalculate' button.
Important note: When updating pupil ethnicity ensure that the effective date of the change is set to a date before the census date, preferably the date that the pupil started at the school. If the effective date is left as a date after the census date the change will not be detected when the 'Recalculate' button is pressed.
Panel 8 - Pupil withdrawals
This panel is not calculated by SIMS and must be entered manually. From 2021 the total pupils withdrawn from collective worship should also include those withdrawn from RE.
SRE: Sex and relationship education.
Panel 9 - Pupils FSM
This panel is calculated by SIMS.
Eligible for Free School Meals
The number of pupils eligible for free school meals on the census day.
Eligible for Free School Meals Ever 6 (England only)
The number of eligible pupils. For more information on Pupil Premium and Ever 6 FSM click here
.Panel 10 - School uniform
This panel is not calculated by SIMS and must be entered manually.
No school uniform provision for other religions
This answer does not necessarily imply that a school has explicitly made no allowance for other religions in its school uniform policy. It may be applicable where a school has no pupils from other religions.
Panel 11 - Headcount of staff religion
This panel is calculated by SIMS but can be amended.
Help buttons are available for the two support staff figures. When pressed, these display a list of all the relevant support staff categories.
The following staff are excluded from the totals:
- teachers on extended (one or more terms) paid or unpaid leave
- supply staff in post for less than a term
Always ensure that there are the correct figures for Catholic and non-Catholic staff. If the figures for Catholic staff and support staff are shown as zero then the staff lookups may not have been set up correctly.