The collection year · 2026–27

R01 to R14, and what each one is really for

Fourteen returns, each restating the whole year. Three of them matter more than the others, and knowing which is most of the job.

Next returnR0219 days left6 October 2026, 18:00

Preparation window

Preparation for R02 normally starts about 10 days out.

Open R02

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Put the deadlines in your own calendar, with the funding year and the source recorded against each one.

Download iCalendar View as data

These dates follow the published monthly pattern and are marked provisional in the Academy until they have been reconciled against the official timetable. Confirm any date that matters against the source. Data Collection Timetable 2026 to 2027.

The collection year

1 August: year starts(Something happens)
R01 to R03: establish the routineConfiguration, enrolment quality, monthly discipline.(Somebody does something)
R04: sets next year's 16 to 19 allocation(A check or a rule)
R06: mid-year position and claim(Somebody does something)
R10: year-end position, still changeable(A check or a rule)
R12: delivery year ends(Something happens)
R13: dry run for the close(Somebody does something)
R14: final hard closeFunding, achievement rates and audit population all fixed.(A check or a rule)

Read this diagram as text

The funding year runs from August to July. A return is made every month, each restating the whole year. R04 in early December carries the student numbers that build next year's 16 to 19 allocation. R10 in early June is commonly the basis of the year-end adult skills position. R12 ends the delivery year. R13 is the dry run. R14 is the final hard close, after which the funding, the achievement rates and the audit population are all fixed.

R01

4 Sept 2026

Period 1, August

The first return of the funding year. Volumes are low, which makes it the cheapest opportunity of the year to find a systemic setup problem before it is repeated eleven more times.

Date provisionalOpen

R02

6 Oct 2026

Period 2, September

The first substantial return of the year. Most of the year's enrolment now exists in the data, so this is where the shape of the year becomes visible.

NextDate provisionalOpen

R03

5 Nov 2026

Period 3, October

The return before the one that sets next year's 16 to 19 allocation. Everything you fix here is one less thing to fix under pressure in December.

Date provisionalOpen

R04

4 Dec 2026

Period 4, November

The most consequential in-year return for 16 to 19 providers. Its student numbers are the basis of next year's allocation, so an error here costs money in a year you have not budgeted yet.

Full explainerDate provisionalOpen

R05

6 Jan 2027

Period 5, December

A quieter return falling around the winter break, which makes the preparation window shorter than the calendar suggests.

Date provisionalOpen

R06

4 Feb 2027

Period 6, January

The mid-year point. Enough of the year has been delivered for the trajectory to be real, and enough remains for the position to be changed.

Date provisionalOpen

R07

4 Mar 2027

Period 7, February

A routine return in the part of the year where consistent monthly discipline pays for itself.

Date provisionalOpen

R08

6 Apr 2027

Period 8, March

Aims that will complete this year are now close enough to their planned end dates that the achievement position begins to be visible.

Date provisionalOpen

R09

6 May 2027

Period 9, April

The last comfortable return before year end. Anything structural you want fixed this year should be started here.

Date provisionalOpen

R10

4 Jun 2027

Period 10, May

The return at which the year's funding outcome becomes clear while there is still time to do something about it. For adult skills, it is commonly the basis of the year-end claim.

Full explainerDate provisionalOpen

R11

6 Jul 2027

Period 11, June

The penultimate month of delivery. Focus moves firmly from earning to recording accurately what has been earned.

Date provisionalOpen

R12

4 Aug 2027

Period 12, July

The end of the funding year. Delivery stops here, but the data does not: the remaining returns exist to make the record accurate.

Date provisionalOpen

R13

6 Sept 2027

Period 13, closing

The rehearsal for the final return. Whatever is wrong here is still fixable, and this is the last time that is true.

Date provisionalOpen

R14

15 Oct 2027

Period 14, final

The final hard close. After it, the funding, the published achievement rates and the audit population for the year are all fixed and cannot be changed.

Full explainerDate provisionalOpen

Other funding years

Rules and dates are set per funding year. Nothing here is carried between years by assumption.

2026–27 (showing)2025–26

The three that get a full explainer

R04

16 to 19 funding is lagged: the allocation for a funding year is built from data returned …

The most consequential in-year return for 16 to 19 providers. Its student numbers are the basis of next year's allocation, so an error here costs money in a year you have not budgeted yet.

Read the explainer

R10

By the end of May most of the year has been delivered, so the funding position is substant…

The return at which the year's funding outcome becomes clear while there is still time to do something about it. For adult skills, it is commonly the basis of the year-end claim.

Read the explainer

R14

R14 is the final hard close for the funding year. After it, nothing about that year can be…

The final hard close. After it, the funding, the published achievement rates and the audit population for the year are all fixed and cannot be changed.

Read the explainer