The underlying data provides breakdowns at school level. It supports published statistics between 2002 and 2009. Statistics published before 2010 are available on the UK Government Web Archive. Note: the search function is not available on archived content so please use the filters on the left of each page.

The annual school census data return is mandatory for schools to complete.

Interested parties can now request extracts of data from the NPD using an improved application process accessed through the following website; GOV.UK The first version of the NPD, including information from the first pupil level School Census matched to attainment information, was produced in 2002. The NPD is one of the richest education datasets in the world holding a wide range of information about pupils and students and has provided invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as analysis carried out or commissioned by the department. There are a range of data sources in the NPD providing information about children’s education at different phases. The data includes detailed information about pupils’ test and exam results, prior attainment and progression at each key stage for all state schools in England. The department also holds attainment data for pupils and students in non-maintained special schools, sixth form and further education colleges and (where available) independent schools. The NPD also includes information about the characteristics of pupils in the state sector and non-maintained special schools such as their gender, ethnicity, first language, eligibility for free school meals, awarding of bursary funding for 16-19 year olds, information about special educational needs and detailed information about any absences and exclusions. Extracts of the data from NPD can be shared (under strict terms and conditions) with named bodies and third parties who, for the purpose of promoting the education or well-being of children in England, are:- • Conducting research or analysis • Producing statistics; or • Providing information, advice or guidance. The department wants to encourage more third parties to use the data for these purposes and produce secondary analysis of the data. All applications go through a robust approval process and those granted access are subject to strict terms and conditions on the security, handling and use of the data, including compliance with the Data Protection Act. Anyone requesting access to the most sensitive data will also be required to submit a business case. More information on the application process including the User Guide, Application Form, Security Questionnaire and a full list of data items available can be found from the NPD web page at:- https://www.gov.uk/national-pupil-database-apply-for-a-data-extract

United Kingdom UK: Secondary Education: Pupils: % Female data was reported at 49.596 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 49.805 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: Secondary Education: Pupils: % Female data is updated yearly, averaging 49.195 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.921 % in 2013 and a record low of 48.422 % in 1971. United Kingdom UK: Secondary Education: Pupils: % Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: Education Statistics. Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at secondary level includes enrollments in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

This is the number of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM) as a percentage of all pupils. This includes state-funded nurseries, state-funded primary schools, state-funded secondary schools, Pupil referral units (PRUs), state-funded special schools and non-maintained special schools. General hospital schools are excluded. This includes full time and part time pupils who are sole or dual main registrations, boarding pupils, and pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. The information is based on data collected via the pupil level spring school census, school level annual school census, general hospital schools census and alternative provision census.

Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Private: % of Total Secondary data was reported at 70.828 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 69.494 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Private: % of Total Secondary data is updated yearly, averaging 27.445 % from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2015, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 70.828 % in 2015 and a record low of 24.869 % in 2007. United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Private: % of Total Secondary data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Private enrollment refers to pupils or students enrolled in institutions that are not operated by a public authority but controlled and managed, whether for profit or not, by a private body such as a nongovernmental organization, religious body, special interest group, foundation or business enterprise.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

This is the data of 10 English primary schools, provided during the covid-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. The longitudinal data consists of 452 EYFS pupils at time 1, and 442 children at time 2, after they progress into year 1. Pupil data includes a range of Early Years Goals, demographic data, and reading levels. School level data consists of provision of lessons, activities, resources and contact with home during the lockdowns. The data also includes survey responses from caregivers (t1 n=190, t2 n = 151) to the participating pupils, who provide information on educational practices as home during the lockdowns.

Number of pupils on roll in Calderdale Secondary Schools (Academies and Local Authority Maintained Schools); the data source is the termly school census. Academy data is only available from October 2015 onwards. The dataset for Academies and Local Authority Maintained Schools is being published as one dataset from October 2016. May 2020 is missing because this census was cancelled by the government due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other schools data

Understanding Society (UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, and the survey research organisations Verian Group and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.

Secure Access Dataset:
The Understanding Society: Linked Education Administrative Datasets (National Pupil Database), England, 1995-2018: Secure Access study contains nine files extracted from the National Pupil Database (NPD) for England. These can be linked (within the Secure Access service) to Understanding Society participants using the cross-wave personal identifier (variable pidp). The NPD files include information on pupil background, attainment, school absences and exclusions for all individuals with a valid consent to education linkage collected in Waves 1 and 4 of Understanding Society. This includes consents collected from parents of children aged 4-15 and of young adults aged 16+ and born in 1981 or later. The included files cover Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data on pupil background; pupil attainment data for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) (age 5) and Key Stages (KS) 1 (age 7), KS2 (age 11), KS3 (age 14), KS4 (age 16) and KS5 (ages 17-18); and absences and exclusions (ages 4-18). See documentation for further details.

Related UK Data Archive studies:
The equivalent study to this one that covers Scotland is in preparation.

This study is frequently linked through the pidp variable to one of the main Understanding Society datasets: SN 6614 (End User Licence), SN 6931 (Special Licence) or SN 6676 (Secure Access). A Special Licence dataset containing School Codes for the main Understanding Society study (SN 7182) is also available. Further details can be found on the "http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/series/?sn=2000053" title="Understanding Society series"> Understanding Society series Key data webpage.

The Archive also holds separate (i.e. not linked to Understanding Society) data from the National Pupil Database, available under Secure Access and Safe Room Access conditions. See SNs 7626, 7627 and 7628 (Secure Access) and SNs 7590, 7625, 7600, 7595, 7612 and 7606 (Safe Room Access) for details.

Latest edition information

The third edition (November 2020) includes Understanding Society participants who gave consent at Wave 4 and could be linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD). It includes NPD data up to academic year 2017/18. It also contains Understanding Society participants who gave consent and could be linked at Wave 1 and did not re-consent at Wave 4. NPD data up to academic year 2012/13 is included for these participants.

In 2024/25, approximately 21.4 percent of all pupils at schools in England did not speak English as a first language, compared with 18 percent in 2015/16.

Data shows number of pupils in publicly funded primary and secondary schools by Glasgow Data Zones between the year 2003 and 2012. This information is taken from the September Scottish Pupil Census for the relevant year, of publicly funded schools and hence does not include: Pupils attending grant aided Special Schools; Pupils attending private Independent Schools; Pupils educated outwith the school education system (for example at home) or Adults attending publicly funded secondary schools. The figures are based on the postcodes from where the pupils came from and were submitted for about 99% of pupils in publicly funded primary and secondary schools. More information on the methodology used is included in the metadata among the resouces. (c) Crown copyright, 2014. Data supplied by Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics Website Licence: None

United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data was reported at 1.126 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.067 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data is updated yearly, averaging 1.594 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.386 % in 1979 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2003. United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Over-age students are the percentage of those enrolled who are older than the official school-age range for primary education.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

These data show the percentage of pupils at state funded schools who live more than 2 miles from school (for those aged under 8) or 3 miles from school (for those aged over 8), 2018.

Warning: These data are taken from analysis used to create the GLA London Schools Atlas which is based on data from the DfE National Pupil Database. These rates are taken from the variable 'SC_Pupil.DistCurrSch - Distance in miles from pupil postcode to current school'. This is not exactly the same as the nearest walking distance used for eligibility for local authority funding for free travel to school.

Further information about the NPD data can be found here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-schools-atlas

https://find-npd-data.education.gov.uk/en/datasets/8f8bb519-0d73-4150-997b-f10227d5df31

Next Steps (also known as the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE1)) is a major longitudinal cohort study following a nationally representative group of around 16,000 who were in Year 9 attending state and independent schools in England in 2004, a cohort born in 1989-90.

The first seven sweeps of the study were conducted annually (2004-2010) when the study was funded and managed by the Department for Education (DfE). The study mainly focused on the educational and early labour market experiences of young people.

In 2015 Next Steps was restarted, under the management of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The Next Steps Age 25 survey was aimed at increasing the understanding of the lives of young adults growing up today and the transitions out of education and into early adult life.

The Next Steps Age 32 Survey took place between April 2022 and September 2023 and is the ninth sweep of the study. The Age 32 Survey aimed to provide data for research and policy on the lives of this generation of adults in their early 30s. This sweep also collected information on many wider aspects of cohort members' lives including health and wellbeing, politics and social participation, identity and attitudes as well as capturing personality, resilience, working memory and financial literacy.

Next Steps survey data is also linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD), the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Individualised Learner Records (ILR) and the Student Loans Company (SLC).

There are now two separate studies that began under the LSYPE programme. The second study, Our Future (LSYPE2) (available at the UK Data Service under GN 2000110), began in 2013 and will track a sample of over 13,000 young people annually from ages 13/14 through to age 20.

Further information about Next Steps may be found on the CLS website.

Secure Access datasets:

Secure Access versions of Next Steps have more restrictive access conditions than Safeguarded versions available under the standard End User Licence (see 'Access' section).

Secure Access versions of the Next Steps include:

• sensitive variables from the questionnaire data for Sweeps 1-9. These are available under Secure Access SN 8656.
  
• National Pupil Database (NPD) linked data at Key Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5, England. These are available under SN 7104.
• Linked Individualised Learner Records learner and learning aims datasets for academic years 2005 to 2014, England. These are available under SN 8577.
  
• detailed geographic indicators for Sweep 1 and Sweep 8 (2001 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 8189, geographic indicators for Sweep 8 and 9 (2011 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 8190, and geographic indicators for Sweep 9 (2021 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 9337. The Sweep 1 geography file was previously held under SN 7104.
• Linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for financial years 1997-2022 held under SN 8681.
• Linked Student Loans Company Records for years 2007-2021 held under SN 8848.

When researchers are approved/accredited to access a Secure Access version of Next Steps, the Safeguarded (EUL) version of the study - Next Steps: Sweeps 1-9, 2004-2023 (SN 5545) - will be automatically provided alongside.

SN 7104 - Next Steps: Linked Education Administrative Datasets (National Pupil Database - KS2-KS5), England, 1997-2009: Secure Access includes linked National Pupil Database records on pupils’ attainment at KS2, KS3, KS4 and KS5 and data about the pupil such as free school meal eligibility and Special Education Needs (SEN) status. Information is also available about the school attended at the sampling stage.

For the sixth edition (August 2020), the study has been updated to only include the Linked Education Administrative Datasets (National Pupil Database), England, 2005-2009. The main Next Steps survey sensitive variables, previously available as part of this study, have moved to a new study (SN 8656) or are now available under EUL as part of SN 5545. The 'next_steps_redeposit_dictionary.xlsx' available under both SN 5545 and SN 8656 should be consulted for the location of specific variables.

Class size data in publicly funded primary schools is collected each year as part of the annual pupil census. The data presented here is an extract of data published by the Scottish Government. The data provides a count of pupils in each class in the Glasgow local authority area only and is graduated to school and class type level. 'Class type' gives the stage of pupils in the class or, where more than one stage is present. 'Co' denotes a composite class. Data forms part of a time series and covers the years 2003 - 2013. The class size maxima (2014-03-31T12:00:00) for P1 pupils is 25 and 30 for single stage class P2 or P3 is set out in 'The Education (Lower Class Sizes) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010'. These regulations allow certain exceptions such as pupils who join a class after the end of a placing round and Additional Support Needs pupils who only join a class for part of the time. For P4-P7 class size maxima are set out in teachers terms and conditions of service. For these years there is a normal maximum of 33. Composite classes throughout primary have a class size maximum of 25 These are National Statistics background data. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. Analysis of class size at a national level is available through the following link. Licence: None class-size-2003-13.zip - https://dataservices.open.glasgow.gov.uk/Download/Organisation/728522f0-86da-48c6-8f75-1649934eb8a4/Dataset/aa88cabd-ede8-448f-b8ea-314c852c29fb/File/fd985540-f242-4c1a-a6e4-54fb3f8c4455/Version/d1cdf392-0304-43f3-92de-33a3af8edd19

This is the number of permanent exclusions at state-funded primary schools expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (including sole or dual main registrations and boarding pupils). A permanent exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded and their name removed from the school register. Such a pupil would then be educated at another school or via some other form of provision. The head teacher of a school can exclude a pupil on disciplinary grounds only. Good discipline in schools is essential to ensure that all pupils can benefit from the opportunities provided by education. The decision to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable, and fair. In addition, schools have a statutory duty not to discriminate against pupils on the basis of protected characteristics, such as disability or race. Schools and LAs must arrange alternative provision from the sixth day of the exclusion of pupils of compulsory school age. 'State-funded primary schools' refers to those schools maintained by the local authority, including middle schools deemed as primary and academies. Pupil and exclusion numbers of 1 to 4 are suppressed to protect pupil confidentiality and numbers at national and regional levels are rounded to the nearest 10. Local authority totals across school types are also rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of any suppressed values. Where any number is shown as 0, the original figure was also 0.

Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

This publication combines information from the school census (state-funded schools), school level annual school census (independent schools) and general hospital school census on pupils with special educational needs (SEN).Data at school level including number of pupils by SEN provision and type of need.

Background:
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large-scale, multi-purpose longitudinal dataset providing information about babies born at the beginning of the 21st century, their progress through life, and the families who are bringing them up, for the four countries of the United Kingdom. The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:

• to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will require
• to provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the National Child Development Study, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, held under GN 33229)
• to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and development
• to focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may be
• to emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhood
• to investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when available

Additional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:

• to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)
• to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom, and include disadvantaged areas of England

Further information about the MCS can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies web pages.

The content of MCS studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website.

The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old, the sixth sweep (MCS6) in 2015, when they were fourteen years old, and the seventh sweep (MCS7) in 2018, when they were seventeen years old. End User Licence versions of MCS studies:
The End User Licence (EUL) versions of MCS1, MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5, MCS6 and MCS7 are held under UK Data Archive SNs 4683, 5350, 5795, 6411, 7464, 8156 and 8682 respectively. The longitudinal family file is held under SN 8172.

Sub-sample studies:
Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see EUL SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see EUL SN 5614).


How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:
For information on how to access biomedical data from MCS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.

Secure Access datasets:
Secure Access versions of the MCS have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence or Special Licence (see 'Access data' tab above).

Secure Access versions of the MCS include:

• detailed sensitive variables not available under EUL. These have been grouped thematically and are held under SN 8753 (socio-economic, accommodation and occupational data), SN 8754 (self-reported health, behaviour and fertility), SN 8755 (demographics, language and religion) and SN 8756 (exact participation dates). These files replace previously available studies held under SNs 8456 and 8622-8627
  
• detailed geographical identifier files which are grouped by sweep held under SN 7758 (MCS1), SN 7759 (MCS2), SN 7760 (MCS3), SN 7761 (MCS4), SN 7762 (MCS5 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 7763 (MCS5 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8231 (MCS6 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 8232 (MCS6 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8757 (MCS7), SN 8758 (MCS7 2001 Census Boundaries) and SN 8759 (MCS7 2011 Census Boundaries). These files replace previously available files grouped by geography SN 7049 (Ward level), SN 7050 (Lower Super Output Area level), and SN 7051 (Output Area level)
• linked education administrative datasets for Key Stages 1, 2, 4 and 5 held under SN 8481 (England). This replaces previously available datasets for Key Stage 1 (SN 6862) and Key Stage 2 (SN 7712)
  
• linked education administrative datasets for Key Stage 1 held under SN 7414 (Scotland)
• linked education administrative dataset for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 under SN 9085 (Wales)
  
• linked NHS Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for MCS1 – MCS5 held under SN 8302
• linked Scottish Medical Records data held under SNs 8709, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8713 and 8714;
• Banded Distances to English Grammar Schools for MCS5 held under SN 8394
• linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for England for years 2000-2019 held under SN 9030
• linked Health Administrative Datasets (SAIL) for Wales held under SN 9310
  
• linked Hospital of Birth data held under SN 5724.

The linked education administrative datasets held under SNs 8481,7414 and 9085 may be ordered alongside the MCS detailed geographical identifier files only if sufficient justification is provided in the application.

Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access MCS datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the EUL dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the MCS Series Access web page).

SN 8481 - Millennium Cohort Study: Linked Education Administrative Datasets (National Pupil Database - KS1-KS5), England, 2003-2021: Secure Access

This study includes data files from the Department for Education’s National Pupil Database and the Pupil Level Annual School Census for those cohort members attending a school in England at the time of interview. The following linked NPD data are available:

• Pupil level school census data from N1 (first year nursery 2003/2004) to year 11 (2016/17)
• KS1, KS2, KS4 and KS5 results data for years 2, 6, 11, 12 and 13 respectively
• Absence data from year 1 to year 11

Also included are derived school-level datasets providing information about school characteristics and school changes:

• School characteristics data from N1 to year 11
• School change information from N1 to year 11

Datasets include anonymised School identifiers (URN) and anonymised Local Education Authorities (LEA) to allow comparison of results across LEA and school. The data were obtained only for children whose parents/carers gave consent to data linkage, and who were successfully matched.

This study only includes data for MCS cohort members attending schools in England. Data for Scotland and Wales are available under SNs 7414 and 7415, respectively.

Latest edition information

For the third edition (November