Period 4, November · 2026–27
R04
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.
Preparation
Preparation for this return normally starts about 25 days out.
Readiness checklist
Generate a checklist scoped to this return, your streams and your role.
Generate itR04 for 2026–27 closes at 6pm UK time on Friday 4 December 2026. This page describes R04 for 2026–27. Get ready for R04 2026 to 2027.
Why R04 matters in 2026 to 2027
R04 for 2026 to 2027 closes at 6pm UK time on Friday 4 December 2026. Source: Data Collection Timetable 2026 to 2027
DfE's guidance for 2026 to 2027 uses R04 data for 16 to 19 allocations, 16 to 19 in-year growth and monitoring, and the Adult Skills Fund review point. Its reference date for 16 to 19 student numbers is 1 November 2026.
- 16 to 19 allocations for 2027 to 2028. DfE is changing the 16 to 19 funding methodology from 2027 to 2028. From that year, allocations will be based solely on student numbers from the start of the previous academic year, as returned in ILR R04 or the school census. For 2027 to 2028, the previous academic year is 2026 to 2027.
Official wording
“We are making a change to the funding methodology from academic year 2027 to 2028. From that year forward, we will base funding allocations solely on student numbers from the start of the previous academic year as returned in ILR R04 or school census”
- 16 to 19 in-year growth for 2026 to 2027. DfE calculates 16 to 19 in-year growth for 2026 to 2027 from R04 student figures, using a 1 November reference date. Growth is awarded on the assumption that the data is accurate: if later returns, usually R14, show it was not, DfE recovers the growth funding.
Official wording
“All references to R04 in this guidance mean the R04 student figure with a 1 November reference date applied.”
“If later data returns (usually the R14) show that the in-year data return used for the growth award is inaccurate, even by a single student, we will recover the relevant growth funding.”
Source: 16 to 19 funding: in-year growth for 2026 to 2027 (August 2026)
- 16 to 19 in-year monitoring. DfE expects every funded institution to have reached at least 30% of its total allocated 16 to 19 programme funding at R04, and will review and, if necessary, adjust allocations where it has not. For contract institutions, R04 delivery below 30% leads to in-year recovery.
Official wording
“We expect all funded institutions to have achieved a minimum outturn of 30% of their total allocated programme funding allocation at R04. Where this threshold has not been met, we will review, and if necessary, adjust allocations.”
“We review ILR R04 performance, and where programme delivery is below 30% of allocated programme funding, we will start recovery”
Source: Advice: Individualised learner record (ILR) funding returns 2026 to 2027
- Adult Skills Fund and Free Courses for Jobs review point. For national Adult Skills Fund and Free Courses for Jobs funding in scope, the December review point measures delivery using the latest validated ILR data at 4 December 2026, the R04 data return. The review can lead to increases or reductions, under the criteria in the rules. Devolved areas run their own processes.
Official wording
“December review point (increases, reductions, and new requests)”
“Delivery information using the latest validated ILR data you provide”
“4 December 2026 (R04 data return)”
Source: Adult Skills Fund funding and performance management rules 2026 to 2027 (annex E)
- Data quality. DfE lists the reports that must be checked before every mandatory ILR return for 16 to 19 funding, and R04 is one of those returns.
Official wording
“The reports that must be checked before every mandatory ILR return for 16 to 19 funding (R04, R06, R10, R13 and R14)”
Source: Advice: Individualised learner record (ILR) funding returns 2026 to 2027
The data collection timetable closes the R04 collection at 6pm on 4 December 2026. The 16 to 19 ILR funding returns guidance gives 5 December 2026 as the R04 latest return date. The dates shown here are the collection close.
What it means in practice
Our practical advice, based on the guidance above. It is not DfE guidance.
- MIS: Submit well before the collection closes, run the 16 to 19 reports DfE lists, and check that starts, leavers and planned hours up to 1 November are recorded.
- Finance: Compare 16 to 19 delivery at R04 with your allocation and the 30% minimum outturn and, for Adult Skills Fund or Free Courses for Jobs contracts in scope, with the December review point.
- Curriculum: Get enrolments, leavers and planned hours to MIS in good time, so R04 shows who is really on programme.
- Senior leaders: R04 data informs 2027 to 2028 16 to 19 allocations and 2026 to 2027 in-year growth, so treat its sign-off as a funding decision as well as a data task.
What this return drives
- Earnings for November.
- The student number count that the following year's 16 to 19 allocation is built from.
- The first substantial view of retention across the year so far.
Why it matters
16 to 19 funding is lagged: the allocation for a funding year is built from data returned in an earlier year. For FE colleges, R04 is the main source of the student numbers. For 2026 to 2027 allocations DfE also compared the R04 numbers with R06. From 2027 to 2028, the 2026 to 2027 rates and formula guidance says allocations will be based solely on student numbers from the start of the previous academic year, as returned in ILR R04 or the school census, so the 2026 to 2027 R04 is the basis for 2027 to 2028.
That makes an R04 error different in kind from other data errors. It does not reduce this year's cash, so nothing goes wrong immediately. It reduces next year's allocation, by which time the cause is a year old and cannot be corrected.
The count is of students recorded as in learning. A student who stopped attending in October but has not been withdrawn is counted, and a student who is attending but was never enrolled properly is not.
The retention factor is not taken from this return: it is calculated from the last full year's R14 data (2024 to 2025 R14 for 2026 to 2027 allocations). Recording leavers accurately still matters, because this year's data becomes the retention evidence for a later allocation.
What changes after it
- The R04 student count used for next year's 16 to 19 allocation is largely set. The 2026 to 2027 guidance does not say whether later returns will revise it for 2027 to 2028 allocations, so check the 2027 to 2028 guidance when it is published.
- Corrections made at later returns improve the accuracy of this year's data but may not restore next year's student numbers.
- The submitted position becomes the reference point for allocation conversations, so the documentation of known issues matters.
What each role should do
MIS or ILR officer
Before
- Confirm every learner recorded as in learning is genuinely still attending.
- Confirm every learner who has left has an actual end date, a completion status and a withdrawal reason.
- Check planned hours against the delivered timetable for every programme, not a sample.
- Check funding models, source of funding and home postcodes for adult provision.
- Run validation early enough that a systemic failure can still be fixed properly.
After
- Keep the submitted file and the funding reports as the record of the position at the reference point.
- Document anything you know is wrong and could not fix, so it is not rediscovered as a surprise later.
Curriculum manager or head of department
Before
- Confirm your register reflects reality: every name on it is attending, and everyone attending is on it.
- Confirm planned hours for your programmes match what is actually being delivered.
- Notify every leaver with their actual last date of attendance, not the date you noticed.
After
- Understand that the numbers submitted are the basis of next year's allocation for your area.
Finance director or finance manager
Before
- Understand that this return drives next year's 16 to 19 allocation rather than this year's cash.
- Agree with MIS what assurance you need before it is submitted.
After
- Use the submitted position as the basis of next year's income planning, and flag the risk if the data was known to be imperfect.
Senior leader, principal or COO
Before
- Ask what assurance exists that the student numbers are right, and who is accountable for them.
After
- Understand that next year's 16 to 19 income has now largely been determined.
Head or director of MIS
Before
- Run the R04 readiness checklist and escalate anything that cannot be resolved in time.
After
- Review what went wrong this year and change the process rather than repeating it.
Checks before you submit
- Every learner in learning is genuinely attending.
- Every leaver has an actual end date, completion status and reason.
- Planned hours reconcile to the delivered timetable for every programme.
- Condition of funding is correctly recorded for students who need English or maths.
- Home postcodes are present and correct for adult provision.
- Funding models and source of funding are correct for every aim.
- Validation is clean, or every remaining error is understood and accepted.
- The funding report reconciles to expectation and any movement is explained.
Sign-off
- Curriculum confirms the learner position for each area.
- MIS confirms data quality checks are complete and errors are resolved or understood.
- Finance confirms it understands the implications for next year's allocation.
- A senior leader accepts the submitted position.
Who signs off
- Curriculum leads, for the accuracy of who is genuinely in learning in their area.
- MIS, for the completeness and validity of the data and the resolution of validation errors.
- Finance, for understanding what the submitted numbers mean for next year's income.
- A senior leader, accepting the submitted position on behalf of the college.
Reports to review
- The validation error report, worked to completion or to an accepted position.
- The funding reports for the period, reconciled against expectation.
- Your own list of learners in learning past their planned end date.
- Your own list of aims that have ended without an outcome.
After submission
- Keep the submitted file, validation output and funding reports together as the evidence of the position.
- Record any known issue with the submitted data and the reason it could not be corrected.
- Brief senior leadership on what the submitted numbers mean for next year's allocation.
What commonly goes wrong
- Learners who left weeks earlier still recorded as continuing, inflating the count.
- Planned hours carried from the plan rather than the delivered timetable.
- Condition of funding not recorded for students who need English or maths.
- Leavers notified by curriculum but not entered before the deadline.
Each of these has a full diagnostic in the error and assurance lookup, with the causes, the investigation, the fix and the control that prevents it.
Sources
These are the official documents this page rests on. Where a figure, a deadline or an exact rule matters, the document is the authority and this page is the explanation.
Content reused from GOV.UK is Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence. FEFunding is not endorsed by the Department for Education.