ses. Finally, an LA representative must sign off the final return. In practice, the typical approach is to do as little work as possible within the return site, and repeatedly submit fresh files from local sources until the number of remaining validation errors is minimal. After uploading a fresh local file, you can export an error report from the return site, group the error records by reason and/or by child ID, and identify: - which ones can be addressed automatically - which require a change to the CIN export script from the CMS - which need some business support to amend - which cannot be fixed, and will need a comment in the return site and a request to DfE to approve the error. You can then fix as much as possible before resubmitting a fresh file, and repeat this process until very few errors remain. For errors which cannot be cleared, you usually have the option either to make notes against individual child records (e.g. erroneous date which cannot be amended for some local reason), or add return-level comments to DfE explaining the issue (e.g. system change resulted in “extra” activity records for a large number of children). Some LAs will make the majority of local amendments in their CMS and generate fresh files to upload. Other LAs will make more amendments directly on the upload file, using tools like notepad++ (with more detailed search / replace options or the ability to format for xml language) as alternatives to simple text editors. Usually you’ll see common corrections that you can make to multiple records. At the end of the process, make sure to leave time for local sign-off before submitting the return. Service leaders will want to interrogate the data after errors have been cleared, and will welcome the opportunity to address any indications of poor 