Signing off your list of trainees for the initial teacher training census
Each year you need to sign off your list of trainee teachers in Register.
Why the census sign-off is important
If your teacher trainee data is accurate and signed off by the deadline, it will help you:
- receive the correct amount of funding owed to you
- allocate the correct financial support to your trainees when they start their course, if applicable
Your accurate census data also helps the DfE understand new entrants to teacher training in England for each academic year, and to inform future policy.
If you do not sign off your data by the deadline, your organisations data may not be included in the census publication.
Checking your trainee data in the 'Reports' section of Register
Register all your new trainees for the current academic year, if you have not done so already. You can find out how to register trainees under the 'Registering trainees' section in the guidance.
You can check your trainee data is correct by exporting your trainee records as a CSV file from the Reports section in Register. You should carefully check:
- number of trainees - if you have 'zero' or a lower number than you expect, check you've registered all your new trainees for the academic year
- courses - this may impact on any grants or bursaries trainees are able to receive
- start date - the correct start date will help trainees receive funding on time, if applicable
Signing off your trainee data
A senior person from your organisation will need to complete a form to sign off the data. This should not be the same person who entered the data.
Before you start
You should:
- allocate time to check the accuracy of your trainee data
- confirm availability of your senior officer to sign off
How your trainee data will be used
Read the Initial Teacher Training census methodology to find out how your trainee data will be used.
Get help
Email becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk if you have any questions about signing off your new trainee data.