School data manager

A school data manager looks after the school’s management information system (MIS), keeps pupil and staff records accurate, sends the statutory returns the Department for Education requires and turns assessment and attendance data into reports that leaders and teachers can use. It is a support staff post, usually paid on the NJC pay spine. In a large secondary or a multi-academy trust it can be a full-time, all-year job. In a small primary the same work often forms part of an administrator’s role.

The MIS

Every school in England runs on an MIS. SIMS has been the most common for many years, and Arbor, Bromcom and Scholarpack are now widespread, with many schools having moved systems in the last few years. The MIS holds admissions, contact details, attendance marks, timetables, assessment results, behaviour records, SEN information and staff data. The data manager is usually its main administrator.

Day to day that means setting up new pupils and leavers, fixing errors, managing user access, building reports and keeping the system in step with other software: the parent app, the catering system, the online learning platforms and the exams entries. Anyone who has led a move from one MIS to another is in demand, because many schools found the change harder than the sales pitch suggested.

Census returns and other statutory data

The school census is the return most people associate with the job. Schools in England submit it to the DfE each term, and it drives funding, including pupil premium. Errors can cost the school money, so census weeks are among the busiest of the year. The data manager checks pupil characteristics, SEN and free school meals records, clears the errors and queries the DfE’s system flags, and gets the headteacher’s sign-off.

Other returns run on their own cycles: the school workforce census (staff data) in the autumn, attendance returns, and in primary schools the data from statutory assessments. The school census guidance sets out what each return needs and when. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own returns and systems, so the details differ there.

Assessment, tracking and reporting

The other half of the job is turning raw data into something people can use. That might mean:

• building mark sheets and assessment points for each department
• producing reports for parents
• analysing exam results and comparing groups of pupils
• preparing data for governors, the trust or an Ofsted inspection
• setting up attendance reports for the pastoral team and the attendance officer

How much analysis you do depends on the school. In some, the data manager prepares the figures and a senior leader interprets them. In others, especially trusts with a central data team, the role is closer to an analyst post.

Skills and how people get into it

There is no set qualification. Schools look for confident use of an MIS, strong spreadsheet skills, accuracy and an understanding of data protection. Many data managers started as school administrators or exams officers and took on more of the system over time. Others come from data or admin jobs in other sectors and pick up the education side on the job.

MIS suppliers and local authorities run training courses, and user groups for the main systems are a good source of help. If you are applying from outside education, expect to be asked how you would learn a new system quickly and how you check data for errors.

Data protection takes up more of the job than many people expect. Schools hold sensitive information about children’s health, SEN, family circumstances and safeguarding, and the data manager often helps the school’s data protection officer with subject access requests, retention schedules and who can see what in the MIS. You need the UK GDPR basics, and you need to be careful with exports and spreadsheets that leave the system. Both are part of being trusted with the role.

Pay and conditions

Data manager posts in maintained schools and most academies follow the NJC pay spine. For 2026/27 the spine runs from £25,614 at SCP 3 to £56,293 at SCP 43. Where a data manager sits depends on the school’s job evaluation and how much of the post is analysis or line management, so compare adverts carefully. A trust-wide data lead will sit well above a school-level data officer. The NJC pay spine guide has every point.

Many data posts are all-year because census returns and results analysis fall outside term. Where a post is term-time only, the advertised salary is pro rata, and term-time-only pay explains the sums. Leave on Green Book terms is at least 23 days a year rising to 26 after five years’ continuous service, plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra-statutory days.

Support staff normally join the Local Government Pension Scheme. In 2026/27 the main section charges 6.5 per cent on pay from £29,001 to £47,300.

Where the jobs are advertised

Look on Teaching Vacancies, council job sites and trust careers pages. Trusts increasingly recruit for central data roles that cover several schools, which can mean more travel between sites and more standardised reporting. A school-based post suits people who want to work closely with one staffroom. School business managers often line manage the data role, so ask at interview who you would report to.