Policy brief: Understanding the impact of students' health on educational attainment: New evidence from linked administrative data in Northern Ireland

This policy brief explores the impact of students’ physical and mental health on their educational attainment (GCSE outcomes) in Northern Ireland and makes recommendations for policy and practice based on data-driven evidence. 

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Research evidence

The dataset used for this analysis linked the 2011 household census, School Leavers Survey and School Census together. This dataset was used previously but is the first record linkage dataset for education in Northern Ireland. This dataset was the first time a student’s educational attainment was linked to information about themselves, their parents and household, the area in which they resided and the school they attended. The linked data were anonymised, held in the secure data environment within NISRA (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and was only made available to the research team for the purpose of this study. The dataset included the GCSE attainment of Year 12 students in three consecutive academic years (2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013). In total, 61,373 are students included in the study.

Physical health

Physical health was measured in three ways: self-reported health status, the presence of a health condition or disability that limited daily activities, and the presence of a physical health condition that lasted or was expected to last at least 12 months. Across all three measures, a clear relationship between good health and higher educational attainment was evident.

For example, students who reported very good health had higher GCSE attainment, while those reporting very bad health had lower GCSE outcomes. Having a health problem or disability that limits daily activity was also associated with lower GCSE attainment, when compared to having no limitations. Similarly, the presence of a physical health condition that lasted or was expected to last at least 12 months was also associated with poorer GCSE outcomes.

Mental health

In the current study, the presence of a mental health condition had one of the largest impacts on educational attainment among the health indicators included in the analysis. A positive association between good mental health and higher GCSE outcomes was evident. Students with an emotional, psychological or mental health condition had lower GCSE outcomes than students reporting no mental health condition.

Sex and health

The current study also considered the interaction between sex and health to explore whether specific social groups may be at particular risk of educational underachievement. Among students with no physical health condition, female students had higher GCSE attainment outcomes than males. This was also true among the students with a physical health condition: while their overall attainment was lower, females continued to demonstrate better GCSE outcomes than males.

The same pattern was evident among students with no mental health condition: female students had higher attainment than males. Female students also had better GCSE outcomes than males when comparing only those with a mental health condition.

Socio-economic background and health

The current study found that students who are not eligible for free school meals had higher GCSE attainment, regardless of whether they had a physical health condition or not.

However, no evidence was found to suggest that the negative effect of mental health on education outcomes is further compounded by free school meal eligibility. This may suggest that the link between poor mental health and lower attainment transcends across socio-economic backgrounds.

Recommendations for policy and practice

Based on our study, we have three key recommendations for policy and practice.

1. Better use of new and existing data in Northern Ireland.

The current study represents the first instance of education data being linked to administrative data sources that provide insights into the health status of students. Northern Ireland lags behind other parts of the UK where linkages between education and health data are more common and are used to inform policy.

We believe that greater insights could be achieved through more innovative linkage of existing data, which incorporates both education and health data.

2. Increasing the availability of data sources on educational attainment in Northern Ireland.

Students with a physical and/or mental health condition may experience cumulative disadvantage in education over time. However, the absence of data at earlier timepoints of the compulsory education system in Northern Ireland leads to a gap in our knowledge of when this disadvantage emerges. Specifically, the lack of data at primary school level remains a notable omission.

The current lack of pre-GSCE attainment data is a fundamental issue for those aiming to promote and implement evidence-informed policy and practice in Northern Ireland, and for ensuring that all students receive a fair start in education.

We believe that availability of individual-level attainment data at earlier stages of the education system would enable an in-depth understanding of what attainment inequalities emerge and when, along with an understanding of which social groups are most at risk. This would allow for interventions to be effectively targeted.

3. A collaborative approach between government departments in understanding and addressing educational attainment inequalities.

Education and health are often considered separate issues. The use of a holistic framework would provide an opportunity to better understand these inequalities.

We believe that a collaborative approach between government departments is required to ensure educational attainment inequalities are understood and addressed through an inclusive and holistic framework