1. Post 16 Learning Aims and the School Census Autumn 2019
Janet de Maine

2. Useful Links EFA Funding Guidance:
Funding queries
DfE QAN Web Service (QWS):

3. Useful Links
DFE Section 96 Qualifications – QANs approved for funding:
OFQUAL – The Register of Regulated Qualifications:
DfE Census documentation area:

4. Ring Scomis on
Or at
Keep up to date with the Scomis Post 16 Bulletin

5. Dates to Remember! Enumeration Date: 3rd October 2019
Academies return by Wednesday 30th October 2019

6. Post 16 Data collected in the Autumn 2019 Census
Learning aim start date, planned end date and actual end date
Qualification accreditation number and discount code
Core Aim for students on vocational or mixed academic/vocational courses of study
Learning aim status, i.e. current, completed, transferred or withdrawn.
If withdrawn from a learning aim - withdrawal reason
UKPRN for other Post 16 Providers delivering courses for the School
Prior GCSE attainment in Maths and English
Planned Hours of Study (Qualification and Non Qualification)
Full-time employment indicator (on roll pupils only) *
Pupils on a traineeship *
* Unusual scenarios in schools, more common in Colleges.

7. ALL but two of these items are collected directly from Course Manager.
Exceptions are:
Maths and English Prior Attainment can updated from Examinations in Sims if the students sat their GCSE in Maths and English at the school.
Hours of Study can be calculated from Course Manager if the values have been input in the Courses or manually calculated from the timetable.

8. NEW in 2019!
Prior Attainment for GCSE Maths and English – re-collected for last year
Planned qualification and non qualification hours re-collected for
Please read our faq for more details

9. Important Checks in Course Manager

10. Are all the Courses that you are delivering to your Post 16 students showing in Course Manager?
Check that all appropriate courses have been created in Course Manager for the census period and amend any existing courses to accurately reflect what learning aims the students are following.
Courses can be created manually in Tools / Academic Management / Course Manager. Incorrect courses can be made inactive through the same route.
How do I create a new course in Course Manager :
How to change the level of a course in Course Manager:

11. Is the Course Duration correct for each Course?
Course Duration Settings will affect the Planned End Date.
These can be set globally through Tools / Academic Management / Course Manager / Course Manager Settings
OR individually in a course through Tools/Academic Management / Course Manager / Maintain Courses.
Very important to have 2 year duration showing otherwise memberships may be interpreted as retake in the second year.

12. Links to Exams in Panel 3 Correct?
QAN/Discount Code will pull through from here for completed courses.
Check that all Post-16 courses have a link to exams base data (if available).
Panel 3. Examinations
Examination links can be changed if applicable by putting an end date on the previous link and adding a new linked award.

13. Qualification and Discount Code Correct in Panel 4?
QAN/Discount Code also comes from here and must be the same as in Panel 3 for Examinations.
Note: ALL courses need to have a QAN/Discount Code on Panel 4. Classification or they won’t be included in the census.
Can’t find the QAN Code when you try to add it?
Refer to:
In addition if this course is being delivered at another education establishment the UKPRN must be entered here.

14. Learning Aim Provider
Tools / Academic Manager / Course Manager / Maintain Course Classification
Click on New to add a UKPRN
If you don’t know the UKPRN number of your Provider go to

15. UKPRN for Post 16 LA Providers
Once you’ve added the UKPRN you can assign it to the Course through Maintain Course / Section 4 Classification
The UKPRN can be added in Panel 4. Classification of a course.

16. Classes Correct in Panel 6?
If a class is linked here it is assumed that all the students in the class are following the learning aim and will update Panel 7. Membership with their names.
You can add or delete classes in here but make sure you are in the right academic year (you can set this on the home page).
Run Update Course Membership to update the Memberships panel after adding or deleting any classes.

17. Correct Students in Panel 7. Membership?
Students will be showing in here if they belong to a class that has been linked in Panel 6. Classes
Students can be manually added or deleted from here if necessary.
NB if you add a student that is not in a class linked in Panel 6. Classes, make sure that you tick the Protect column for that student after you have added it.
Likewise if you delete a student from here that is in a class linked in Panel 6. Classes, make sure you tick the Protect column and save it before you delete the student.

18. Reason for Withdrawal from Learning Aims

19. Reason for Withdrawal
Reason for Withdrawal is statutory and will be collected for the year as well as the year.
There is a need to be careful about the transition of courses (6 week window) these will be captured in the return– Dfe would still like to know the reason
If withdrawing (not transferred) reason is statutory for all withdrawals regardless of duration.

20. Status and withdrawal Reason appears when you end membership to a class for a student
Check the Status and select a Reason and then click OK.
Reasons are statutory and can’t be amended.

21. Reason for Withdrawal from Learning Aim
Status and Reason will appear on the Course.
Will populate from the change made when you have changed the student’s membership to a class through the student record. Or you can add manually.

22. Extended collection of Learning Aims
Previously Learning Aims were only collected from the census day
Dfe have indicated they want all LA information from the start of the funding year (i.e. 01/08/2019)
All Learning Aims will be collected regardless of duration.
Reason for withdrawal will be required.

23. Post 16 Prior Attainment in Maths & English

24. Post 16 Prior Attainment in Maths & English
Tools / Statutory Returns / Update Prior Attainment
Included in the Summer upgrade.
Post 16 students are listed
Results can be Updated from Exams.
If the student obtained results at another school, these can input manually in the Prior Attainment Panel or imported from a CTF file.
All students who have not attained an A* - C in Maths and English are required to be on a stepping stone or a retake in order to try and attain an A*-C in future.
Those attaining a D should be enrolled on GCSE courses – not stepping stones
Students who do not obtain a A* - C, not exempt and not enrolled on the appropriate courses will lose funding for that student.
All full time students starting their study programme who are not enrolled on or approved IGCSE in these subjects will be removed from lagged student numbers in future years. The institution will lose the basic national funding rate per student for the relevant year. The initial reduction will be in 2018 to 2018 academic year at 2018 to 2018 funding rates.

25. Maths and English Retakes - Exemptions
Exemptions can be input through the Prior Attainment Panel.
Two reasons are applicable.
Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, who are assessed as not able to study either GCSE or stepping stone qualifications;
Students with overseas qualifications that are established as equivalent to GCSE grade 4 or above.
For more detail on this and changes to funding please read:

26. 2 Year A Level Courses

27. 2 Year Linear A Levels Levels are available – GCE2Y for 2 year course
- GCAS1 for 1 year course
Guidance on changing a level in a course can be found here
If schools have opted for to put students on the one year GCAS1 course this year and the students want to go to do the two year linear A level qualification, the advise is to create a new one year learning aim at the level of GCE2Y.

28. 2 Year Linear A Levels Schools take a mixed approach Scenario 1
School entered all students for the GCAS1 qualification last year, some of those students decide to take the GCE2Y qualification.
Transfer the students to the GCE2Y qualification when the decision is made.
If the decision is made after they have taken the GCAS1 qualification – add the students to the GCE2Y course with a one year membership.
Both the GCAS1 and the GCE2Y if both are taken are one year learning aims – they have different qans.

29. 2 Year Linear A Levels Scenario 2
Last year the school recorded all students on a 2 year GCE2Y learning aim. However some of those students have decided they do not want to do the 2nd year and have been entered for the GCAS1 exam.
Transfer those students not carrying on to the second year onto a 1 year learning aim for GCAS1. Use the date that the decision was as the transfer date.
Both the GCAS1 and the GCE2Y if both are taken are one year learning aims – they have different qans.

30. REMINDERS!

31. Reminder for Autumn Census 2019
Ensure the latest fileset has been imported to ensure that the census validation rules are up to date.
Hosted Schools – this will be done automatically for you.
Non hosted schools: Please check the Autumn census bulletin on the Scomis Home page for the latest fileset.

32. Course Manager
Check the Qualification and Non Qualification Hours are correct in each Course.
These can be updated on a course by course basis or globally by updating the levels through Tools / Academic Management / Maintain Course / Course Manager Settings.
This is important if you are using the “Calculate Hours from Courses” process to update the qualification and non qualification hours in Post 16 Programmes of Study.
NB – It’s important to tick the Non Funded column in any non-funded Course which has Post 16 students as members, otherwise the “calculate hours from courses” will also include those hours.

33. Collecting Planned Learning Hours

34. Planned Hours
Planned Hours can be recorded in the Basic tab of a Course.
OR they can be set globally for each level by going to Tools / Academic Management / Course Manager / Course Manager Settings.
If you’ve set the hours globally for a level (say GCE at 130 hours), you can manually change this for a course by opening the course and adjusting it in the Basic panel.

35. Planned Hours
Note : Qualification and Non Qualification Hours should be claimed based on the number of hours the school plan to deliver that learning aim and must be evidenced in the timetable and monitored.

36. Planned Learning Hours
Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Post 16 Programme of Study
Discuss Calculate Hours from Courses and how this works – demonstrate later.
Discuss putting hours in manually.
Hours in here must reflect what the school is planning to deliver and can be adjusted manually if they need to be.

37. Core Learning Aims

38. Set Core Learning Aim
Core Learning Aim can be set through Focus/ Student / Courses
Setting Core Learning Aim is important for Vocational Students because weighting may be attached to their courses which could have an impact on funding

39. Set Core Learning Aim
Membership and Results panel of Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Maintain Course
Core Aim can be set globally in Maintain Course if applicable by right mouse clicking in the first cell on the first row. Change the view from the Census view to a single academic year to see the Core Aim column in a course.
NB Core Learning Aims only need to be set for those students on vocational or mixed academic and vocational learning paths.

40. Post 16 Employment

41. Post 16 Employment
Additional Information panel of Focus | Student | Student Details for Year 12 and 13 students
Information is required for students in part-time (20 hours or more in the school’s timetabled day) or full-time students in employment.

42. Producing the Autumn 2019 Census

43. Produce the Return Routines / Statutory Returns / School Census
(Returns Manager and Returns Operator permissions)
Calculate all details will generate a NEW dialogue box

44. Choose to use Exam Result to determine QAN/Discount Code
(if there is no exam result it will automatically populate the QAN/Discount code from the Course – Maintain Course – Panel 4. Course Classification)
Choose to populate the course end dates from the previous return or Course Manager.
All learning aims must have a QAN / Discount Code in Panel 4 of the course.
Learning aims that are completed must also have a link to the Exam Award.

45. Detailed Reports Create and Validate to see the detailed Reports
Point out Programmes of Study Report, Learning Aims by Status, On Roll and Leavers Learning Aims Reports and Prior Attainment Report.

46. Important checks on Detailed Reports
Check the On Roll and Leavers Learning Aims Detailed Reports
Are all the learning aims correct for the students and the status correct?
Are the retakes showing for those whose prior attainment at GCSE in Maths and/or English was below Grade 4 and were not exempt?
Check the Programme of Student Report
Are all the students hours correct – are they 540 (minimum to be counted as fulltime students) or over?
Check the Learning Aims by Status Report
Are they significantly different from last year, if so, why?
Check the Prior Attainment Report
As above have you checked in the On Roll and Leavers Learning aims report that retakes are showing for those that did not attain the required grade and are not exempt?

47. We’re always here to help
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