The Secondary Attendance Data Collection is now available to run.
This page contains the following guidance for completing the Wales Secondary Attendance Data Collection 2026. It will be updated as and when we receive updates from the Welsh Government.
For further information, documentation and links to live training for the Secondary Attendance Data Collection see here.
IMPORTANT: It is the school’s responsibility to review the Welsh Government guidance to ensure all required information is submitted as part of the data collection.
The links below are for the 2024/25 Academic Year, please check back in this area for the 2025/6 guidance once published by the Welsh Government.
- Welsh Government documentation and guidance on Attendance Data Collections can be retrieved here.
- For the Welsh Government Attendance Data Collections FAQ, see here.
Important Dates
Attendance Data is required for the period covering the 2025/2026 Academic Year, specifically from 1st September 2025 up to and including 22nd May 2026.
Schools must submit their completed returns via the DEWi system no later than Friday 24th June 2026.
THE SCREENSHOTS USED IN THE GUIDE ARE FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY AND MAY DIFFER IN A LIVE SCHOOL’S MIS.
- Expand each item for guidance on preparing the Secondary Attendance Data in Bromcom.
- To print this as a checklist, click ‘Collapse All’ (button on the right), then right-click the page and select ‘Print’.
- To print this as a full guide, click ‘Expand All’, then right-click the page and select ‘Print’.
Pre Data Collection Checks
Data is required for all pupils of statutory school age who have been on roll during the reporting period and for whom registration status is C (Current Single), M (Current Main Dual) or S (Current Subsidiary Dual).
Leavers within the academic year being reported on should also be included. No data should be provided for Guest pupils.
All pupils of statutory school age who are, or have been, on roll in the establishment during the period 1 September 2025 up to and including 22 May 2026. This includes:
- Pupils on roll on 22 May 2026 who, on 31 August 2025, were aged 5 or older (date of birth on or after 31 August 2020) and 15 or younger (date of birth on or after 1 September 2009)
- Pupils who have been on roll at any time during the period 1 September 2025 up to and including Friday 22 May 2026 but have left the school as of 22 May 2026.
The following School Identifiers are included in the return;
- Local Authority Number
- School Number
- School Name
- School Phase
To check the Local Authority Number, School Number and School Name navigate to: Config>Administration>Core Details
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.
Click Save to update any changes made.
To check School Phase navigate to Config>Administration>Characteristics
Click Save to update any changes made.
For more information, see How to Update School Details and How to Manage School Characteristics
The following Individual Pupil Level Data is collected in the return;
- Unique Pupil Number (UPN)
- Former UPN
- ULN
- Surname
- Forename
- Middle Name(s)
- Date of Birth
- Sex
To review and, if necessary, update the UPN, Former UPN, and ULN, navigate to Student Profile > Enrolment > Key Data.
The Key Data Panel can be found on the right-hand side of the page. Click the Edit button in the top-right corner.
UPN, Former UPN and ULN can be found on the Key Details tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
To review and, if necessary, update Surname, Forename, Middle Name(s), Date of Birth and Sex, navigate to Student Profile > Edit Student Details
All fields can be found on the Basic Details Tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
For more information, see How to View the Student Profile and How to View the Student Details Enrolment Panel>Key Data.
The following Pupil Status data is collected in the return;
- Enrolment Status
- Date of Entry to Current School
- Part Time Indicator
- Pupil National Curriculum Year Group
- Pupil Postcode
To review and, if necessary, update the Enrolment Status and Date of Entry, navigate to Student Profile > Enrolment > Enrolment Status.
Use the + icon to add new information.
Use the pencil edit icon to amend existing information.
Click Save to update any changes made.
To review and, if necessary, update the Part Time Indicator and Pupil National Curriculum Year Group, navigate to Student Profile > Enrolment > Key Data.
The Key Data Panel can be found on the right-hand side of the page. Click the Edit button in the top-right corner.
The Part Time Indicator can be found on the Attendance Modes tab.
Pupil NC Year Group can be found on the Key Details tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
To review and, if necessary, update Pupil Postcode, navigate to Student Profile > Edit Student Contact Details.
Pupil Postcode can be found and updated within the Address tab.
Click Save to update any changes made.
For more information, see How to View the Student Details Enrolment Panel and How to View the Student Profile.
Attendance Data is required for the period covering the 2025/2026 Academic Year, specifically from 1st September 2025 up to and including 22nd May 2026.
The following Attendance Data is collected in the return;
- Sessions Possible: For each pupil on roll. This includes all the half day sessions that a school is open for pupils from 1 September 2025 up to and including 22 May 2026. A half-day session is either a morning or afternoon.
- Sessions Attended: This includes all the half day sessions a pupil has attended from the start of the academic year up to 22 May 2026.
- Sessions Authorised Absence: The total should include all authorised absences which have been recorded for that pupil. An authorised absence is defined in the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010.
- Sessions Unauthorised Absence: The total should include all unauthorised absences which have been recorded for that pupil. An unauthorised absence is any absence not authorised by the school.
- Sessions not Required to Attend: Number of sessions where the pupil is not required to be in school. Sessions not required to attend must be less than or equal to sessions possible.
- Attendance Code: A list of all valid attendance codes used from 1 September 2025 up to and including 22 May 2026 for each pupil. Codes X and Y will also be included although they relate to sessions not required to attend. N.B. codes X and Y have been removed from all percentage of possible sessions tables in the school summary reports.
- Sessions Count: Count of the number of half day sessions that each pupils’ attendance codes were used. Sessions Count must be less than or equal to Sessions Possible
Reporting on Attendance Data
We recommend that you use the following reports to highlight students with gaps in their attendance.
- Reports>Attendance>Attendance Report by Code/Meaning – search for students with an N code.
- Reports>Attendance>Attendance Analysis Exports>Missing Marks – search for students with missing marks.
Both reports should be generated for the date ranges as detailed above.
Use the information in these reports to guide any amendments to Attendance Data via Modules>Attendance>Manage Attendance.
For more information, see How to Access Attendance Reports and How to Manage Attendance.
In addition to Attendance data, the following information for pupils who were
on roll during the data collection period but who have now left is required:
- Date of Leaving: Date pupil left the current school.
- For a Permanently Excluded pupil, the pupil date of leaving will be the day the pupil’s name was removed from the school roll.
The Date of Leaving can be reviewed for the relevant Students using the Student List page.
For more information, see the section on Leavers Report in How to use the Student List page to create reports.
The Student List page provides a useful overview for identifying and updating any gaps in student data.
Reports on student data – such as Date of Birth and Enrolment Status – can be generated quickly. In the example below, a column for Enrolment Status has been added, followed by a column filter set to “Current (single registration at this school)” To export the filtered data, click the green X icon at the top right to download it as a CSV file.
For more information, see How to use the Student List page to create Simple Reports.
In addition, the Quick Edit function on the Student List page can be used to update student data in bulk.
For more information, see How to use Quick Edit in the Student List Page
Attendance Data Collection Process
To run the Census, navigate to Modules > Census > Attendance.
In the top-right of the screen ensure the correct year is selected, this should be correct by default.
Click the top left New button to create a new Attendance Return
Census Parameters & School Details
The Attendance Census Parameters and School Details panels are now displayed. The information in the Attendance Census Parameters panel is prepopulated, but please check the information displayed within the School Details panel is accurate.
The right-hand panel shows the School Details stored in the MIS for the school.
Ensure that the School Details are accurate, paying particular attention to the LA ID and Establishment Number. Additionally, ensure the School Phase and School name are correct. Inaccurate details may result in issues with the Census Return.
All details on the School Details page can be modified by selecting the Edit buttons, which will navigate to either Core Details or Characteristics.
If any changes are made to Core Details or Characteristics, be sure to save them. Upon returning to this 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.
Generating the Return
Once the School Details have been confirmed as correct, the Census can be generated by clicking the Generate button at the top left.
Survey Details
After pressing Generate, the Completion Time panel is displayed.
At least one Role must be added to this panel before continuing.
Click Add to select a Role from the dropdown list and enter the Time Spent in whole hours followed by Save.
Note: There will be one row for each role, and these rows can be edited.
Validate the Census
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.
After validation, the system will return to the Census Attendance page.
The generated file will be visible, along with the following options:
View Summary – Displays the summary page for the return. This can be printed and used as a starting point for reviewing data (available in both English and Welsh).
View Errors – Lists any errors or queries identified during the validation process.
View File – Allows the generated Census XML file to be viewed and saved. This step is only necessary when submitting the return to DEWi.
To view the summary file, select the appropriate return – if multiple returns have been generated – then click View Summary and choose the desired language.
This will download the Census Summary file to the local computer, allowing it to be viewed or printed as needed.
Scroll down to the bottom of the Summary Report to see the DECLARATION which shows the date and time matching the corresponding XML return.
In order to run Reports, an Attendance Return must have first been generated.
In the Attendance panel, select the required Return. Then, in the Reports drop-down, On-Roll Data Check and Leavers Data Check will be displayed.
The two Data Check reports consist of the following tabs and column headers:
- Pupil Identifiers
- UPN, ULN, Former UPN, Surname, Forename, Middle Name, DOB, Sex
- Pupil Status
- On-Roll – UPN, Surname, Forename, DOB, Enrolment, Entry Date, NC Year, Part Time
- Leavers – UPN, Surname, Forename, DOB, Leaving Date, NC Year
- Term 1 – UPN, Surname, Forename, DOB, Sessions Possible, Sessions Not Required, /, \, L
- Term 2 – as above
- Term 3 – as above
Users can:
- Use the Search field to filter data in each tab
- Export the data within each tab to an Excel file.
- Hover over a column header to access filtering options for that column.
Once the Attendance 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 Query and Error will now be displayed, ready to be dealt with.
See below for an explanation of the colour coding in the grid.
- Errors are highlighted in red.
- Queries are highlighted in yellow.
- Errors and queries marked as resolved are highlighted in green.
For full guidance on using the error summary screen, along with a comprehensive list of errors and queries, see here.
In addition, further guidance provided by the Welsh Government on the Secondary Attendance Data Collection can be accessed here.
Once all errors have been resolved and any outstanding queries reviewed and accepted, it is important to re-run the Attendance Return 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 Attendance Return file into the correct 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 Attendance 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.
