The main education registry dataset is the National Pupil Database (NPD). This includes information on all pupils in England, though with gaps in some information for 7% of children attending private schools. Researchers can track information such as school attendance, exclusions and school moves at least termly. Key information on pupil’s academic achievement is available at ages 5 (teacher reports of developmental milestones), 6 (emerging phonics skills), 7 (English/maths test scores), 9 (knowledge of multiplication tables), 11 (English/mathematics test scores), 16 (grades in nine subjects) and 18 (grades in three or four subjects). The NPD has been linked to other administrative dataset. The longest standing is to Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) records, allowing researchers to explore pupil’s entry into (and graduation from) university. Recently, the NPD has also been linked to information on labour market outcomes (known as the “Longitudinal Education Outcomes” – LEO), criminal records (“Ministry of Justice” data) and hospital contacts (known as the “Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data” – ECHILD). These data can be used to explore the link between education and a wide array of future economic, academic, social and health outcomes. They also afford the possibility to investigate how certain factors (e.g. medical conditions; involvement in crime) are linked to educational achievement. Since 2013, England has also curated detailed administrative information on its school workforce, via collection of the Teacher Workforce Census (TWC). This includes details such as teacher’s educational backgrounds, subject specialization, pay and roles within their school. These data have been used to explore issues such as teacher recruitment and retention. Both the NPD and TWC have been linked to sample survey data. This includes the major international studies/assessments, such as PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS and (for teachers) TALIS. The NPD has also been linked to England’s birth cohort studies – most notably the Millenium Cohort Study (MCS). This has tracked young people from birth through to currently age 22 (surveys at 9 months, 3 years, 5, 7, 11, 14, 17 and 22), and thus combines England’s administrative data with detailed information gathered from surveys. Researchers can gain access to the NPD by submitting a written application to the Department for Education, including a project proposal and various data protection requirements. Only accredited researchers may access the data, including completing a one-day course and passing the associated test. Data are accessed through a secure setting.

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