Children, Education and Skills
Our Children, Education and Skills domain oversees the regulation of data and statistics concerning all stages of education from early years to university and beyond, including statistics on teachers and lecturers, learners, and looked after children.
Education and training, from providing the best start for young people to equipping the workforce, has a profound impact on the society, business and the economy of the countries of the UK. High quality statistics and data to support effective decision making and evaluate policy implementation are crucial.
Our planned work for 2022/23 covers a wide range of topics and statistics.
We recently carried out a routine assessment of the Key Stage 4 Performance statistics produced by the Department for Education (DfE). We published our report in July 2022 and confirmed the retention of National Statistics status in June 2023.
Our two main focus areas for the year are our assessments of the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Level statistics produced by Scottish Government and the Graduate Outcomes Survey produced by Jisc (previously the Higher Education Statistics Agency).
We also continue to monitor developments around high-profile topics including attendance data, sex and gender identity, and teachers.
We advocate the use of new technologies by producers and continue to encourage data access through the Secure Research Service. We will further consider what society’s key questions are in this area and support producers in answering them.
Contact our regulators for this domain Nicky Pearce, Emma Harrison, Luke Boyce, and Molly Dyer for more information.
Planned Work
Project | Geography | Project type | Timescale |
---|---|---|---|
Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (Scottish Government) | Scotland | Assessment | March - October 2023 |
Graduate Outcomes Survey Statistics (Jisc) | United Kingdom | Assessment | Not yet started |
Higher Education Student Statistics (Jisc) | United Kingdom | Compliance check | Not yet started |
Published Correspondence – Children, Education and Skills domain
Correspondence
Ed Humpherson to Alastair McAlpine: Assessment of Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels statistics
28 November 2023
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Alastair McAlpine, Scottish Government
Ed Humpherson to Jonathan Waller: Higher Education Graduate Outcomes Statistics Assessment Request
27 October 2023
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Jonathan Waller, Jisc
Jonathan Waller to Ed Humpherson: Higher Education Graduate Outcomes Statistics Assessment Request
27 October 2023
Jonathan Waller, Jisc to Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation
Ed Humpherson to Ian Knowles: National Statistics designation for the Key Stage 4 statistics
13 June 2023
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Ian Knowles, Department for Education
Graham Archer to Ed Humpherson: Schools’ Costs Funding
10 May 2023
Graham Archer, Department for Education to Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation
Publications
Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics: Key Stage 4 performance statistics for England
13 July 2022
Published in: Assessment Report
Visibility, Vulnerability and Voice: The importance of including children and young people in official statistics
3 March 2022
Published in: Systemic Reviews
Exploring the public value of statistics about post-16 education and skills – UK report
14 July 2020
Published in: Systemic Reviews
Exploring the public value of statistics about post-16 education and skills in England
9 April 2019
Published in: Systemic Reviews
Engaging the audience – exploring statistics beyond the pdf
25 May 2018
Published in: Systemic Reviews
Collaboration is key
11 May 2018
Published in: Systemic Reviews
Publishing statistical reports at 9.30am – Department for Education
5 July 2016
Published in: Exemption Request
News & Events
OSR undertakes important review of Key Stage 4 Statistics
13 July 2022
OSR champions improvements to Children and Young People statistics
3 March 2022
OSR publishes its review of the approach to developing statistical models to award 2020 exam results
2 March 2021
OSR review of approach to developing statistical models designed for awarding 2020 exam results
18 August 2020
Statement from the Office for Statistics Regulation on Grade adjustment in UK exams in 2020
12 August 2020
OSR statement on school funding announcements
15 October 2019
OSR publishes Post-16 Education and Skills Report
9 April 2019