Growing Up in England
ADR UK, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Education (DfE) are working together to make better use of existing data about children and young people in England. The Growing Up in England (GUIE) dataset will enable a more comprehensive understanding of how factors such as household composition and geography shape outcomes. This will allow researchers to shine light on what does and doesn’t work in supporting children and young people to thrive and give policymakers valuable evidence for developing services that work better for all. There is intention for a future build to include 2021 Census, a review and update of the education component of the data, and linkage reconstruction.
Component datasets and linkage
Growing up in England is formed of the Feasibility All Education Dataset for England which includes the National Pupil Database, Individualised Learner Records and further education data. This has been linked to the 2011 Census which provides de-identified household information, child-level individual characteristics, and geographical data.
| Timeframe | Wave 1: Academic years 2001/2 - 2014/5. Wave 2: Academic years 2010/1 - 2014/5 |
|---|---|
| Update Frequency | Static |
| Population | Level 1, 2, and 3 records for children and young people in predominantly state-funded schools and colleges (Census 2011 linked dataset includes individuals aged 14-19 on 31 August 2015) |
| Coverage | England only |
| Size | ~7 million records |
Examples of research questions
- Is there a relationship between household characteristics and educational attainment?
- What are the underlying drivers of geographical differences in educational attainment?
This list is illustrative only and intended to demonstrate the research potential of the dataset. For research priorities, see the areas of research interest or ADR UK funding opportunity.
Core documentation
User guide
A user guide will be made available soon.
Data dictionary
Data dictionaries are available on the ADR UK Data Catalogue:
- GUIE Wave 1
- GUIE Wave 2 - Children in Need, Children Looked After
- GUIE Wave 2 - Exclusions, Absences and English School Census
Other supporting resources
| Resource | Description |
| All Education Dataset for England information | Read more about the feasibility All Education Dataset for England (AEDE). Note that the AEDE data included in Wave 1 GUIE differs in some respects to what is described in this publication, e.g. HESA data within AEDE is not included in Wave 1 GUIE. |
| 2011 Census information | Find out more about the 2011 Census on the ONS website. |
| Growing up in England publication | The GUIE publication was released in October 2022 and provides information on the datasets that make up GUIE, and how the data was linked. |
Understanding highest educational qualification: The case for using Administrative Data | A blog from the ONS. |
Published research using the data
- AEDE feasibility information: Read more about the feasibility study that linked the All Education Dataset for England to the 2011 Census in this study from the ONS. Note that the AEDE data used in GUIE Wave 1 and 2 only differs in some respects to the data within this feasibility study.
- Case study: ADR UK has funded a study to explore the potential of the data and address an evidence gap on educational experiences of Roma, Gypsy, and Traveller children.
- Who are the children entering care in England?: ONS research which uses GUIE Wave 2 data to explore the characteristics of children entering care in England.
Accessing the data
Access the GUIE dataset via the ONS Secure Research Service. Researchers who are fully accredited under the Digital Economy Act (2017) can apply for access.
View further details and apply for access using the information on the ADR UK Data Catalogue.
Funding opportunity
ADR UK is inviting applications for funding to conduct policy-relevant research using ADR England flagship datasets, including GUIE. Research fellows will address priority research questions, generate insights and demonstrate the value of ADR England data. Find out more about this funding opportunity on the UKRI funding finder.
Find out more
You can find more information about the GUIE dataset on the ADR UK Data Catalogue and the GUIE project page on the ADR UK website.