Testing and demonstrating the value of the Growing Up in England (GUiE) dataset

The researchers on this project have been given access to data from the Growing Up in England (GUiE) Wave 1 dataset in the Office for National Statistics' secure research service (SRS). This dataset was created by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) by linking 2011 Census records to attainment data from a bespoke extract of Department for Education (DfE) data - the feasibility All Education Dataset for England (AEDE) - the ONS version of the full AEDE dataset produced by the Department for Education (DfE).

The SRS is a ONS platform, accredited under the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017 by the UK Statistics Authority for the preparation and provision of data for research purposes. It gives accredited or approved researchers secure access to de-identified, unpublished data in order to work on research projects for the public good. All GUiE Wave 1 records have been de-identified with names and addresses and other non-essential information removed. However, this remains sensitive and confidential information that requires careful handling and respect at all times, in line with legal standards and good practice. Privacy details can be found below.

Data Controller: London School of Economics

Project team: Dr Polly Vizard (Primary Investigator); Dr Polina Obolenskaya (Co-Investigator)

Main Project Contact: Dr Polina Obolenskaya. Email: p.obolenskaya@lse.ac.uk. Address: London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Telephone: 020 7849 4958

Data Protection Officer: Rachael Maguire. Email: r.e.maguire@lse.ac.uk. Address: London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Telephone: 020 7849 4622

The Data Protection Officer should be contacted if you want to exercise your rights to access, rectification, erasure, restrict processing, object to processing, and automated processing/profiling. This notice covers the right to be informed under article 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Personal data obtained: The data we are using come from wave 1 of the Growing Up in England dataset created by ONS by linking 2011 Census data to the bespoke extract of the feasibility All Education Dataset for England from the Department of Education (DfE). The AEDE data contains records from children collected at schools and Further Education Colleges, bringing together data from the National Pupil Database and Individualised Learner Records (ILRs).

The ONS has produced analysis of the Growing Up in England (GUiE) Proof of Concept (PoC) dataset - linked dataset of the 2011 Census to an extract of the feasibility All Education Dataset for England, AEDE.

The PoC datasets contains children present in the 2011 Census and enrolled in government-funded education in England at any point between the 2010/11 and 2014/15 period. The cohort covered in the PoC dataset in 2011 are those enrolled in school aged between 13 and 18 years in KS4 or KS5, and contains approximately 2 million children.

The information that we have been provided by ONS states that the Wave 1 of the GUiE dataset which this project uses, has a larger sample size than the PoC dataset, due to the higher age range included and the additional linkage to Further Education records. In Wave 1 of GUiE, the cohort consists of children and young people aged 10 to 25 in 2010/11, followed up to 2014/15 when they are aged 14 to 29 in the educational data, as well as going back to 2001/02. These educational data in AEDE linked with the children and their families’ Census records collected in 2011. ONS linked and de-identified the GUiE Wave 1 dataset of personal identifiers. A unique de-identified ID, created by ONS, links children's and young people education attainment over time.

The wave 1 of the Growing Up in England Dataset contain individual level information on children as well as their families. The individual level information from the education part of the data includes ethnicity, sex, age, language group, and attainment/qualifications. In term of information from the Census part of the GUiE dataset, we have data on family background (household composition, family type, parental employment and education, etc.) as well as children's personal characteristics such as age, ethnicity, county of birth, sex, etc.

For a full list of variables, please contact the ONS.

Purpose and legal basis of processing:

Our request to process the DfE data (NPD/ILRs) is made on the legal basis outlined in the GDPR, Article 6(1)(e) and Article 9(2)(j). That is, our research establishes a task in the public interest, as it is undertaken within the London School of Economics, and the data is necessary for the university to fulfil its function in the public interest (Article 6(1)(e)). As social policy researchers at the LSE it is part of our role to conduct research with a view to furthering academic knowledge and understanding and to informing public debate. This research is in the public interest because of the potential societal benefits. The project will significantly extend understanding of social trends and will improve the coverage and presentation of existing statistical information, as it will address the lack of quantitative evidence on multidimensional disadvantage and educational attainment / participation among RGT children and young people. In terms of processing special category data, the legal basis is Article 9(2)(j) - that is, the research is conducted for archival, research or statistical purposes that are in the public interest.

Our request to process DfE data (above) linked to ONS 2011 Census data (GUiE, wave 1) is made through ONS Research Project Accreditation Application (RAP) which accredits researchers to access unpublished data held by ONS for research purposes. The data is linked and shared on the basis of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017. This is done with the aim to increase public benefit which this project satisfies (as described above). "The Research power in the Act is a permissive gateway to enable public authorities to make information available to researchers for the purpose of research in the public interest, provided a number of conditions are met. There are requirement built into the Research power requiring certain parties involved in the disclosure of this information to be accredited, following a process set out in section 71 of the Act. Before personal information can be shared for research purposes, it must be 'processed' either by an accredited third party or the data-holding public authority itself (in both cases referred to as 'the processor'). In addition to processing data so that personal information is de-identified, a processor will need to have procedures in place for the linking, storing, and curating of data, and other related procedures as appropriate. When the information has been processed, it can be disclosed to an accredited researcher in a secure environment. The accredited processor must take reasonable steps to ensure that any data (or analysis based on the data) that are retained by the researcher, or are published, undergo a disclosure control process to minimise the risk of the data subjects being re-identified or other misuses of the data" (See the Research Code of Practice and Accreditation Criteria). Through the RAP application, the researchers on this project have demonstrated the public good. The data has been de-identified, appropriate procedure for linking, storing and curating of the data by ONS is in place, researchers on this project are Accredited Researchers, and are accessing the data in the ONS secure environment (Secure Research Service), having obtained Approved Researcher training and been through the DSB check.

The researchers have agreed to respect the right to data protection at all times, and will carry out suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject, including ensuring non-disclosive output and the maintenance of data protection measures when using the data.

Data retention:

Our access to the data is via the Office for National Statistics Secure Data Service (SRS) and will expire once our project is complete.

All our analysis will be conducted in the SRS and the ONS will approve all outputs. No record-level data will be shared beyond the research team or with any third parties or international organisations. Aggregate findings only will be published in research papers, presentations, blogs and submissions to peer-reviewed academic journals.

The Department for Education (DfE) has legal powers to collect pupil and student data that schools and Further Educational colleges hold, and to share these data with third parties including researchers, provided they comply with strict confidentiality and security rules, with the Data Protection Act 2018 and with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). More information is available on the government website. No automated decision-making or profiling will be conducted with this data.

The ONS had permission to link 2011 Census to above education data and share on the basis of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017.

If you think your data has been used in this research and you have reason to believe it has been used inappropriately, you have a legal right to complain to the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) by contacting them via their website, or by calling 0303 123 1113.