Understanding Society User Support

Dear Sir/Madam,

Together with co-authors I am working on a project about the effect of school closures during the pandemic on student outcomes. Details of the project are here:
https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/covid-19-and-the-impact-of-school-closure

As part of the project, we have obtained the school-level data on attendance collected during the pandemic (COVID-19 attendance data). We have matched this with publicly available information on infection rates, school characteristics and socio-economic characteristics at regional level (LSOA or MSOA). We collected data ourselves on Local Authority (LA) announcements and advice, and central government guidance and legislation when this varies locally. Our idea is to evaluate the importance of variation in these policies on pupil attendance (net of all the other factors) and to evaluate what impact this had on student outcomes.

We have successfully applied to DfE to use the NPD (together with this matched data) for our project on the SRS. I am writing because we would very much like to conduct a similar analysis using Understanding Society (via the SDS). We would be very interested in evaluating whether young people’s attitudes and behaviour (as measured in the self-completion survey) were impacted by enforced absence from school (via the effects of national and regional policies).

To do this, we would need to request that COVID-19 attendance data (at school level) as well as other regional-level information be matched up to relevant waves of the young person’s survey. I don’t know if you include a URN code within the survey (I’m guessing you don’t!) So I was wondering whether you would consider an application where such matching was done for us and then annoymised school identifiers provided. Also, I was wondering if they survey includes any regional information (like LSOA or MSOA codes).

It would be very helpful to have more information before we make a formal application for the data and I would be happy to talk over the phone or online if it would be easier.

Best wishes,

Sandra