Getting more information
There are many other sources of educational data and research available directly on line from government departments, from Parliament and from many other organisations, including research centres. They are organised here under three headings:
- Statistical and Research Information about Education from the Department for Education
- Links to other sources of information particularly research
- Links to organisations and sites which provide information on education
Statistical and Research Information about Education from the Department for Education
Research and Statistics Gateway
Major source of on-line data, whose publications are not always press released. Access to statistics and research from both the DfE and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS). Data is available back to 2005.
How to get going on the Research and Statistics Site
Search on Keywords and Publication Types and on Five Subject Categories which further subdivide into many search categories. What’s New lists the latest and forthcoming publications of all types.
What you can find in the various sections
Statistics
The data in the statistics derive in the main from the Annual Schools Census.
Every school is required to supply information to the DfE each January through the Annual Schools Census (ASC), formerly known as “Form 7” and known now as the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC) which is supplied electronically from each maintained school’s Management Information System.
The data items collected in PLASC include a unique pupil number (UPN), pupil name, gender, date of birth, home postcode, ethnic group, first language, free school meal eligibility and special educational needs information.
Performance tables and local statistics can be downloaded from the home page or this section of the website.
Other sources of statistical information found on the Research and Statistics site are:
Statistical First Releases and Statistical Releases - most frequently produced and cover all standard statistics, e.g. the numbers of teachers, schools, pupils, exclusions, etc. The RISE Information Centre catalogues these into topics.
Statistical Bulletins – short analyses of a subject.
Statistical Volumes – cover subject in great depth, recently only on internet.
Time Series – published since 2006, easy access to specific data, e.g. funding per pupil, numbers of teachers, showing changes over number of years.
Economics, Underlying data and Other Statistics - worth browsing .
Research
The DfE commissions research which is regularly published on the site.
Research reports and briefs are reports of research on specific topics. The reports are priced publications from the DfE, the briefs are summaries of the research in a few pages and are free. Both can be downloaded from the research and statistics site. Information about forthcoming research can also be found here.
Links on the DFE research site to other sources of information
On the research and statistics section, Links provides a very useful list of many sources of official education information.
A very useful regular newsletter is provided from this site by the Chief Adviser on School Standards Unit at the DfE and is intended to help keep policy and field staff, practitioners, teacher educators and others with an interest in education up to date with recently published research and opportunities to get involved in research. It also has a list of links to relevant organisations. To be added to the circulation list email research.summaries@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Also on this website is The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS).
This site aims to offer easy access to essential research findings for teachers, governors, parents and all those who support them in the education of school age students. The most recently added research appears to be dated 2008. There is also a link here to the newsletter above.
Also on the standards site is National Teacher Research Panel, which provides resources for practitioners interested in undertaking research in their own schools and classrooms. These include summaries of practitioner research and guidelines for using research as part of CPD activities.
Links to other sources of information particularly research
British Education Index
A searchable database of research papers.
www.leeds.ac.uk/bei/index.html
British Educational Research Association (BERA)
Abstracts of research conferences.
Centre for the use of evidence and research in education (CUREE)
Practice-driven action research, development of tools for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), organisational leadership and teaching and learning.
Current education & children’s services research (CERUK)
A database of current education and children’s services research projects in the UK. CERUK is intended to cover research into children’s services and education – broadly defined to include pre-school, school, FE, HE, adult, lifelong and continuing education and training.
Data.gov.uk
The government is opening up its data for other people to re-use. This is only about non-personal, non-sensitive data – information such as the list of schools, crime rates or the performance of the local council. This preview site is the first step in creating a network of re-useable government data.
Edubase
A list of all schools in England giving information on school capacity, numbers on roll, percentage eligible for free school meals is available as well as location, contact details etc.
Educational Evidence Portal (EEP)
The Educational Evidence Portal brings together research and evidence for educational professionals in one place. This very useful site involves research information from many organisations. As well as education, the site is developing to include relevant aspects of children’s services research too. It is managed by CfBT – the Centre for British Teachers.
Educational and Social Research Council (ESRC)
The UK's leading agency for research funding and training in economic and social sciences addressing economic and social concerns including education.
www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre
Eurostat
Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Commission, produces statistical publications including Key Data on Education.
epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home
Eurydice
Eurydice, the education information network in Europe, produces reliable, readily comparable information on national education systems and policies and produces studies and analyses. Eurydice also has its own database, Eurybase which is a database on education systems in Europe. It provides information on each phase and all aspects of education from pre-school to higher education. Eurostat is also available through Eurydice.
National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
NFER is the UK’s largest independent provider of research, assessment and information services for education, training and children’s services, undertaking around 200 research projects every year, spanning all sectors of education and children’s services. NFER offers many information services and is the base for other centres of information.
NFER also offers a very useful newsletter update which catalogues research from other sources.
National Statistics
A wide-ranging and easy to access source of information. The section Social Trends, for example, has a section on education.
www.statistics.gov.uk/default.asp
The UK Statistics Authority
This is an ‘independent body operating at arm's length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament’.
www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
A rich source of international comparisons of 30 developed countries. Search the main site for education. Two publications on education are of particular interest:
Education at a Glance
A source of comparable and up-to-date indicators on the performance of education systems published every year.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
PISA is an internationally standardised assessment that was jointly developed by participating countries and administered to 15-year-olds in schools. PISA assesses how far students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in society.
Parliamentary sources
Research publications are produced for both Houses of Parliament.
www.parliament.uk/publications/research.cfm
Standard Notes are topical briefings prepared by the House of Commons Library for Members of Parliament. They are published to the internet as they may be of wider interest.
www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/Standard-notes
The Library also prepares longer Research Papers which are available on the Parliament website.
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publications_and_archives/research_papers.cfm
Select Committees
These mirror Government departments. These all party committees carry out investigations into specific topics and call for evidence. As a result their reports may be a rich source of evidence from academics. There are six main committees likely to have some information on education; these may change with a new Government.
www.parliament.uk/business/committees.cfm
The Business, Innovations and Skills Committee
www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills
The Education Committee
www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee
Public Administration Committee
The Public Accounts Committee
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/committee_of_public_accounts.cfm
The Science and Technology Committee
www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee
There are two other sources providing information from Parliament
They Work For You
This site is set up as a means of checking on the activity of MPs in Parliament. It enables searches on the parliamentary website, including written answers, statements and debates. A search engine and an alert when selected words are used can be used to find references to specific topics.
The Education Publishing Company
This publishing company produces printed publications but also several publications available on-line about education, including some which provide an extensive coverage of education issues in Parliament.
The three parliamentary subscription emailed publications are Children's Services Parliamentary Monitor, Education Parliamentary Monitor and Education and Training Parliamentary Monitor.
PRE Online
PRE Online is designed for everyone interested in finding out about the practical applications of the latest research into education. It is especially useful for teachers, headteachers and education students and provides electronic access to a wide selection of research projects, many of which can be applied in any school.
Research for Teachers
Formerly known as Research of the Month, these articles are summaries of full length research studies written specifically for school staff. They include case study examples of how the research works in practice and a list of where to find out more information. RfT is sponsored by the General Teaching Council for England.
Teaching Training Resource Bank
A portal for a wide range of research on topics of relevance to teacher educators, practitioners and student teachers it also provides a free e-librarian service for teacher educators, practitioners and field staff who are looking for specific education research.
University departments
Many universities with a department dealing with education now make their publications available on line. There are also centres which gather information about research carried out by different institutions. Some offer email updates. Here are some of the major sources, but there are many universities with education departments:
Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO)
Researches particularly the effect of the market in education.
Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre)
The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) is part of the Social Science Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London.
Institute of Education
The University of London's Institute of Education site is a good place to go for academic information. The Institute houses several other research centres. Copies of research papers can be downloaded.
Leeds University
Home of the British Education Index.
London School of Economics and Political Science – LSE
There are various centres of interest based here:
Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, CASE
Centre for the Economics of Education
Education Research Group
Warwick University
The Insitute of Education here is a research centre.
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wie/research-new
York University
The Institute for Effective Education here is building a Coalition for Evidence-Based Education (CEBE) - an alliance of researchers, policy makers and practitioners who share an interest in reforming the way research evidence is used in policy and practice to make it more central to education policy and practice.
www.york.ac.uk/iee/coalition.htm
Links to educational organisations and sites which provide information on education
ACE – Advisory Centre for Education
A national charity that provides independent advice for parents and carers of children aged 5-16 in state-funded education. ACE aims to provide the information, support and high-quality advice that parents need to help their children at school.
Audit Commission
Audit Commission reports and data on public services.
BBC News/Education
The BBC’s web site has an excellent Education News section where you can keep up to date with the latest stories or catch TV and radio news broadcasts that you might have missed.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/default.stm
CASE – The Campaign for State Education
CASE – an education campaign group – campaigns for the right of all to the highest quality state education.
www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk
Children’s Services Network (CSN)
The Children’s Services Network (CSN), helps develop, promote and disseminate the role and good practice of local authorities in the delivery of education.
https://member.lgiu.org.uk/csn/Pages/default.aspx
CIPFA - Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy - information and advice about financial management in the public sector.
DirectGov
A site which provides links to all UK public sector bodies associated with education.
www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/fs/en
General Teaching Council
The professional body for teaching in England, provides an opportunity for teachers to shape the development of professional practice and policy, and to maintain and set professional standards.
Governornet
This is part of the DfE website with information for governors.
Guardian Education
Guardian Education site – the latest stories on all aspects of education and a link to the jobs in education section.
Info4local
An information gateway for people working in local public services to get quick and easy access to information from central government departments, agencies and public bodies.
Local Government Association
Local Government Association - national representative organisation for Local Authorities.
National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services
Information about the college, its aims and services.
NDAQ – National Database of Accredited Qualifications
Details of qualifications that are accredited by the regulators of external qualifications in England (Ofqual), Wales (DCELLS) and Northern Ireland (CCEA).
www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk/index.aspx
Newsnow
Newsnow is a news gathering site which has education stories from local and national newspapers.
www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Current+Affairs/Education
OPSI – Office of Public Sector Information
OPSI encourages the re-use of public sector information and provides a wide range of services to the public, information industry, government and the wider public sector relating to finding, using, sharing and trading information.
OFQUAL – Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator
The regulator of qualifications, exams and tests in England.
Official Documents
Official Documents is the official reference facility for Command and departmentally sponsored House of Commons Papers. From May 2005 onwards, all Command Papers and House of Commons Papers, as well as Key Departmental Papers, were available free on the site in PDF format. A selection of key papers published before May 2005 is also available free in the archive.
OFSTED
Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) web site (officially the Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in England) home page. This site has links to individual reports under the appropriate subject headings. OFSTED’s remit is extending across children’s services.
QCDA – Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency
Aims to develop the curriculum, improve and deliver assessments and review and reform qualifications.
Standards Site
The Standards Site covers a range of policy ventures aimed at raising standards of education in schools – links to information on literacy, numeracy, personalised learning, academies etc.
The Stationery Office
The Stationery Office bookshop site – large education section – description of all the books available including all official publications.
Teachernet
General information and links for teachers, but much of the explanatory information is useful for everyone. A useful starting point to get information.
Times Educational Supplement
The TES web site features news stories from the current issue and a searchable archive of back issues.
Training and Development Agency for Schools
A government agency providing training information for the whole school workforce.
UK Education Departments
Education in the rest of the UK (i.e. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) is largely or entirely a devolved responsibility. Official information can be found on these websites:
Department of Education Northern Ireland
Scottish Executive Education and Training
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education
Welsh Assembly Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills