GovWire

SLASC is an annual, statutory census that takes place every January. You must complete statutory censuses by law unless theres a good reason not to.

SLASC collects the following information about registered independent schools:

• their contact details
• the number of pupils on the attendance register
• the number of teaching staff
• the courses of study
• the number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN)
• the number of pupils in local authority care
• annual fees
• details of accommodation
• the number of staff members who have joined or left since the last census
• the schools proprietors

Do not confuse SLASC with the Independent Schools Council annual census, which also takes place in January each year.

Important dates

2025 census dates:

• census day: Thursday 16 January 2025
• deadline for submitting your data: Tuesday 18 February 2025

Submit your data

Youll need to:

• register and log in with DfE Sign-in
• use COLLECT to submit your data

Contact your school or local authority approver if:

• you want to request a DfE Sign-in username or password so you can access COLLECT
• SLASC is not on the list of collections you can see in COLLECT

Get help using DfE Sign-in

If you do not know who your approver is, use the DfE Sign-in request form.

If youve forgotten your password, use DfE Sign-in to reset it. Youll need to click Start now and then Forgotten your password?.

Well only be able to change the status of your data submission to authorised once youve cleared all errors in the data in COLLECT.

Census documents

• SLASC guide
• COLLECT guides

The following technical document is available for software suppliers:

• business and technical specification

Do you need help?

Submitting data

Use the service request form if you have any questions about your data. We aim to answer your question within 5 working days.

Feedback

Use the feedback form if you have any comments about our data collection service, including COLLECT and the helpdesk service.