Longitudinal Education Outcomes for Northern Ireland - a data linkage initiative

Longitudinal Education Outcomes Database for Northern Ireland

Department for the Economy (DfE) Analytical Services Division is working with the Administrative Data Research Northern Ireland (ADR NI)[1] team within the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and with Department of Education (DE) to develop a Longitudinal Education Outcomes database for Northern Ireland (LEO NI).

The LEO NI will be a linked, de-identified database comprising post primary schools’ data from DE and apprenticeships, further and higher education data from DfE. Later phases of the project will involve linking employment and earnings data and benefits data.

The LEO NI database will enable research about career paths of individuals from post primary education into training, further and higher education and into the labour market.

LEO Study in Great Britain

The Longitudinal Education Outcomes Study was formally established in Great Britain in 2015, giving England, Scotland and Wales the ability to explore the career paths of individuals from school to work. However, the legislation which underpins the data shares in Great Britain is not in effect in Northern Ireland.

Further information, including statistical releases, are available from the Department for Education (England), Welsh Government and Scottish Government.

LEO NI Progress

The Education Outcomes Linkage (EOL) 2018/19-2021/22 is a longitudinal education database of post primary schools’ data for pupils (aged 14-18) in Northern Ireland. It is the first stage of the development of LEO NI. It links together several datasets held by DE; the Schools Census (including Attendance data), School Leavers Survey and Exams Database.

Access to the EOL dataset is limited to researchers with accredited researcher status under the Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA) and subject to approval by the data providers and the UK Statistics Authority Research Accreditation Panel (RAP).

Examples of projects with RAP approval are:

• Post-primary school size and educational outcomes in Northern Ireland
• Social inequalities in education outcomes in Northern Ireland
• Newcomer children in Northern Ireland: an analysis of the Education Outcomes Linkage dataset.

NISRA ADR NI is receiving applications from accredited researchers to use the EOL 2018/19-2021/22 for research in the public interest. Information on the data sources that contribute to the EOL, a description of variables and how researchers can access the data is available in the EOL 2018/19-2021/22 Guidance Document.

LEO Project Board

The LEO Project Board, comprising representatives from NISRA, the DE, and DfE, held its inaugural meeting in February 2024. The Board has since met in June 2025, and the first stage of LEO NI build is now underway.

Research

DfE post-school Special Educational Needs (SEN) policy fellowship

The UKRI policy fellowships 2025 call was launched on 22 April 2025 and includes a fellowship opportunity hosted by DfE. The Fellow will undertake research using the novel LEO NI dataset to inform the development of post-school SEN policy in Northern Ireland.

The closing date for applications is 15 July 2025 and the fellowship will commence in February 2026.

Public engagement

Public engagement events will take place as the project progresses. Details will be made available via the DfE website.

The Future of Education Data for Research in Northern Ireland

The Education Outcomes Linkage (EOL) Launch Event brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to discuss the potential of linked data to better drive education outcomes.

Contact us

We welcome the views of the public on this project. If you have any comments or wish to make further enquiries, please contact us at analyticalservices@economy-ni.gov.uk.