This page contains the following information for the School Workforce Annual Census return for Autumn 2025.
- Permissions
- Important Dates
- Resolved Issues
- Known Issues
- Welsh Government Links
- Book onto a Live Webinar
- Watch Live Webinar Recordings
- Pre Data Collection Checks
- Generating the SWAC Return
- View Errors
Please note, example screenshots used in this guide are for illustration purposes only and may differ in a live school’s MIS.
Permissions
Access: The permissions required to run and troubleshoot the SWAC return are found in the Census Module of Config>Setup>Roles and Permissions. Each tick box on the right determines which functions are visible/available on the page for users with the selected Role.
See also: How to get started with Roles & Permissions
Important Dates
- Census Date – Tuesday 4th November 2025
- Deadline Date – Wednesday 17th December 2025
- Returns must be submitted to the Local Authority via DEWi. Each Local Authority sets its own deadline for submission of school returns. Please check with the relevant Local Authority for their submission deadline.
Resolved Issues
05/01/2026 CAS-448448-Z7G1F8 – SWAC (Wales) Summary – FTE not calculating correctly
20/11/2025 CAS-448164-S5R8K7 – SWAC Curriculum Panel showing one week timetable hours – should be two week timetable as per WG guidelines
14/11/2025 CAS-446635-J8H0P6 – SWAC Year Group M not selectable in Curriculum Details panel.
12/11/2025 CAS-445952-D4S2Z5 – SWAC – Staff Forename comes before the Middle name, the middle name should come after the forename.
11/11/2025 CAS-446385-Z1J5T6 – Error Report screen shows 0 errors when there are errors.
10/11/2025 CAS-444412-X1W4F6 – 13252Q, Expired roles showing in the census
04/11/2025 CAS-448441-X6F9M5 – Error 13090 being triggered – duplicate curriculum records occurring within the census file, despite no apparent duplicates on staff records.
22/10/2025:
We are currently aware of an issue where the Curriculum Details panel is not displaying the expected timetable information. Please note that the underlying data is still correctly included in the SWAC return file. In the meantime, you can verify its accuracy by using the Data Check report available on the SWAC page.
Known Issues
13/01/2026
- CAS-452948-C1J8Q8 – Curriculum Info does not populate in SWAC (Welsh)
17/12/2025
- CAS-452482-J1S5W0 – Error 13182 – “Years of teaching experience not required for leaver with given staff role.” Leaver staff member with both a teaching and non-teaching role is incorrectly triggering 13182
- CAS-453645-P3K8Q5 – Internally raised – SWAC pulling through Year group name and not NC year group for leaver staff members
15/12/2025
- CAS-453181-T5V5N9 – SWAC – Query 13217 appears on census when staff have leaving dates in staff details, contracts and SWAC Roles pane
Welsh Government Links
This Guide should be used in conjunction with guidance which is made available to all schools via the Welsh Government.
IMPORTANT: It is the school’s responsibility to review the Welsh Government guidance to ensure all required information is submitted as part of the SWAC.
- For the Welsh Government documentation and guidance on SWAC, please see here.
Book onto a Live Webinar
Book onto one of our free SWAC Live Webinars by clicking on the links below;
- Wednesday 22nd October: 9.30am- 10.30am
- Monday 3rd November: 1.30pm – 2.30pm
Book onto How to Generate a Census
- Wednesday 22nd October: 11.00am- 12.00pm
- Monday 3rd November: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
*If using our new training platform, eFront, the course can be found in the Course Catalogue under the ‘Statutory’ category.*
Watch Live Webinar Recordings
Click the links below to watch a recording of the SWAC 2025 sessions. You will be asked to confirm your details before watching the recording.
Pre Data Collection Checks
SWAC collects the following School Details;
- Local Authority Number
- School Number
- School Name
- School Phase
- School Language Category
To check the Local Authority Number, School Number and School Name navigate to Config > Administration > Core Details
In the School Details panel;
- Local Authority Number is displayed as No.
- School Number is displayed as Establishment No.
- School Name is displayed as School Name*
Please note, the example below is for illustration purposes only and the information may differ from the School Details panel within a live school MIS.
The School Name field can be edited directly. If the School Number or Establishment Number are incorrect, these must be updated via Config > Administration > Schools.
Click Save to update any changes made.
To check the School Phase and School Language Category navigate to Config > Administration > Characteristics
In the School Characteristics panel, verify that the School Phase and School Language Categories fields are correct.
Click Save to update any changes made.
SWAC collects a range of information for both current staff and leavers. Below are details of the key Workforce Identifiers collected and where each item can be found within the Staff Profile.
To edit the following information, navigate to the Staff Profile, hover over the Staff Name, and select the pencil icon.
Name Details
Legal First Name, Legal Last Name, and Middle Name(s) can be reviewed and updated in the Name Details tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
Additional Information
Date of Birth, Sex, and National Insurance Number can be reviewed and updated in the Additional Information tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
Employee Details
This section allows a member of staff to be marked as Supply Staff and to indicate whether they should be included in the Census.
For Leaver staff; Leaving Date, Leaving Reason and Leaver Destination must be present and can be reviewed or updated as needed.
Click Save to update any changes made.
Teacher Reference Number
To review and update Teacher Reference Number, navigate to Staff Profile > Background Checks > Qualification Checks
Click Save to update any changes made.
SWAC collects a range of information for both current staff and leavers. Below are details of the key Workforce Characteristics collected and where each item can be found within the Staff Profile.
Ethnicity & Welsh Language
Navigate to Staff Profile > Ethnicity & Religion to review and, if necessary, update Ethnicity and National Identity.
To review and update Welsh Language Ability, Ability to Teach in Welsh and Teaching or Working in Welsh in the Welsh Language tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
Disability Status
Navigate to Staff Profile > Medical Conditions, Dietary Needs & Impairments.
Review the Declared Disability status and category, along with the Impairment and Date Advised fields.
Click Save to update any changes made.
Qualification Checks
To record the following details for a member of staff, navigate to Staff Profile > Background Checks > Qualification Checks
- QTS Status (including date and route)
- NPQH Status (including date)
- HLTA Status
Open the panel by double-clicking it
Click Save to updated any changes made.
SWAC collects information on the Role(s) performed by each member of staff, including both current staff and leavers.
To review or update this information, navigate to Staff Profile > Contracts > SWAC Information.
To add a new role, select the + icon in the top-right corner and choose Add a role.
To edit an existing role, double-click the record.
Ensure the correct Role, FTE and Start Date have been entered.
Click Save to update any changes made.
SWAC collects information on teacher vacancies to identify potential areas of staff shortage in the teaching profession.
To record this information, navigate to Modules > Administration > Recruitment.
To add a new vacancy, select the New button in the top-left corner.
To edit an existing vacancy, double-click the record.
To delete a vacancy, select it by clicking once, then click Delete.
Ensure all fields marked with * are correct, and use the Welsh Medium Ability Required and Appointment Made tick boxes where applicable.
Click Save to update any changes made.
The Staff List page provides a useful overview for identifying and updating any gaps in staff data.
Reports on staff data – such as Ethnicity, SWAC Role or Teacher Reference Number – can be generated quickly by using the Add/Remove Additional Columns function.
In the example below, columns for SWAC Role and Teacher Reference Number have been added, followed by a column filter on SWAC Role set to “Qualified Teacher.” The Teacher Reference Number column can then be sorted or filtered to highlight which teachers are missing a Teacher Reference Number in the MIS.
To export the filtered data, click the green X icon at the top right to download it as a CSV file.
In addition, the Quick Edit and Manual Data Export/Import functions on the Staff List page Actions can be used to update staff data in bulk.
For more information, see How to use Quick Edit and How to use Manual Data Import and Export.
Generating the SWAC Return
To run the SWAC Return, navigate to Modules > Census > School Workforce Annual Census (SWAC).
In the top-right corner of the screen, select the appropriate Year. This field should be correct by default.
Next, click the New button in the top-left to create a new SWAC Return.
The information in the SWAC Census Parameters panel is pre-populated, but please check the information displayed within the School Details panel is accurate.
If any changes to the School Details panel are needed, click either of the Edit buttons.
This will redirect to Config > Administration and either Core Details or Characteristics.
After making any changes, click Save and close the window.
Upon returning to the Census page, click the Refresh button at the top right of the School Details panel to view the updated information and ensure the changes are included in the Census file.
For more information, see How to Update School Details.
Once the details have been confirmed as correct, the Census Return can be generated by clicking the Generate button at the top left.
This process may take a few moments – please wait while it completes.
The following three sections now need to be completed;
1. Curriculum Details for Teachers and Teaching Assistants
This panel displays information pulled directly from the timetable, which is automatically included in the XML after clicking Generate.
- The Reset to Latest Census button automatically populates each panel with data from the most recent census file. The button is hidden if no applicable census data file is available.
- Information can be checked via Staff List Page > Select Staff > Actions > Staff Timetabling > Manage Non-Timetabled Time. For more information, see How to Manage Staff Timetabling
- Use the Add, Edit, and Remove functions as needed.
2.Supply
The Reset to Latest Census button automatically populates each panel with data from the most recent census file. The button is hidden if no applicable census data file is available.
- Use the Add, Edit and Remove functions as needed.
3. Completion Time
The Reset to Latest Census button automatically populates each panel with data from the most recent census file. The button is hidden if no applicable census data file is available.
Use the Add, Edit and Remove functions as needed.
In the pop-up that appears, select the Role* of the person completing the Census from the drop down, then in the Time Spent field enter the time in hours taken to complete the Census and click Save.
Note: If multiple people have spent time on the Census, multiple entries can be added to this panel.
The next step is to validate the Census by clicking the Save & Validate button.
This action will complete the generation of the Census file and initiate the validation process, which will identify any errors or queries within the return.
The validation process may take a few moments – please wait while the process completes.
View Errors
After validation, the system will return to the Census page. The generated file will be visible, along with the following options:
Report – Opens the SWAC Data Check Report. This displays details about Workforce Identifiers, Workforce Characteristics, Role, Curriculum Details, Recruitment Details, Supply Staff and Retention details to allow you to easily identify incorrect data.
View Summary – Displays the summary page for the return. This can be printed and used as a starting point for reviewing data.
View Errors – Lists any errors or queries identified during the validation process. A full list of potential errors and queries can be found in the SWAC Error Resolution Guide.
View File – Allows the generated Census XML file to be viewed and saved. This step is only necessary when submitting the return to the local authority via DEWi
To view the summary file, select the appropriate return – if multiple returns have been generated – and click View Summary, then select if you would like to view the summary in English or in Cymraeg.
This will download the Census Summary file to the local computer, allowing it to be viewed or printed as needed.
Once the School Workforce Annual Census Return has been generated, any errors must be addressed before the return can be authorised and submitted. Select the relevant return and click the View Errors button. The screen will then update, as shown in the example below.
Each Error and Query will now be displayed, ready to be dealt with.
For full guidance on using the error summary screen, along with a comprehensive list of errors and queries see here.
Common individual errors and queries can also be searched in the Help Centre for more detailed resolution guidance. Enter the error or query number into the search bar, then select the relevant guide from the results.
In addition, further guidance provided by the Welsh Government on the School Workforce Annual Census (SWAC) can be accessed here.
Once all errors have been resolved and any outstanding queries reviewed and accepted, it is important to re-run the Census to ensure all updates are included.
After re-running the Census, select the appropriate return (if multiple returns exist) and click the Authorise button.
This process converts the Census Return file into the required XML format for uploading to the DEWi website. Multiple authorised files can be retained, each date-stamped to assist in identifying the correct version for submission.
The Census Return file is now ready for submission and can be exported by clicking the View File button, which will save a copy to the downloads folder on the local machine.
Census Reports
In order to run the Data Check report, a SWAC return must have first been generated.
The Data Check report can be run from within Modules > Census > School Annual Workforce Census (SWAC), by selecting the return from the list and selecting Report.
The Data Check report consists of the following tabs:
- Workforce Identifiers – Teacher Number, Surname, Forename, Middle Names, DOB, Sex, NI Number
- Workforce Characteristics – Teacher Number, Surname, Forename, DOB, Ethnicity, Disability, National Identity, QT Status, QT Date
- Role – Teacher Number, Surname, Forename, DOB, Role, FTE
- Curriculum – Teacher Number, Surname, Forename, DOB, Subject, Hours, Year Group, Lesson Medium
- Recruitment Details – ID, Role, Subject, Year Group, Welsh Medium, Tenure, Vacancy Start Date, Vacancy End Date, No. of Applicants
- Supply Staff – Supply Category, Supply Planned, Supply Term, Supply Days, Supply Cost
- Retention Details – ID, Role, Subject, Year Group, Teaching Experience, Leaver Destination.
Users can:
- Use the Search field to filter data in the tab
- Export the tabs individually to a downloaded Excel file.
In addition, hovering over the column headers displays a menu that can be used to:
- Format the table, including pinning and resizing columns.
- Apply a custom filter
- Filter by pre-determined values
