There are no changes to the business or customer processes for the SWF Census this year, according to the guidance provided by the Department of Education (Dfe). The only modification required is in the XML generation and the elements used within it. Specifically, the Gender tag has been renamed to Sex to clarify the expected data.
The field used to populate the Sex tag within the SWF Census file is the same as the Gender field from previous years. This field is pulled from the Gender field within the employee’s profile, meaning the gender recorded must be their legally recognized sex. We also provide a Gender Preferred Term for employees who wish to be identified differently from what is recorded in their Gender field. However, this Gender Preferred Term is not submitted to the DfE as it is neither required nor requested by them.
As part of the SWF Census, we now offer tools to help you verify the data within the SWF Census file. These tools include Error and Query lists, as well as Summary Reports, to ensure that the data is accurate and up to date, providing peace of mind to customers returning their Census.
The Sex field within the SWF Census file is derived from the Gender field in the employee’s profile, so the gender recorded must be their legally recognized sex. We offer a Gender Preferred Term for employees who wish to be identified differently, but this field is not required by the DfE and is not included in the SWF Census.