Longitudinal Education Outcomes for Northern Ireland - a data linkage initiative
The Longitudinal Education Outcomes for Northern Ireland (LEO NI) database will transform how we understand education outcomes in Northern Ireland.
By linking data through a learner’s journey, it will give policymakers a powerful and holistic view of what drives long-term success. For the first time, we will be able to explore the real impact of factors like attendance, background, and training on outcomes - and design effective interventions. Aligned with UK-wide developments, LEO NI will modernise policymaking with integrated, evidence-based insight.
About LEO NI
The Department for the Education (DE) is working with the Administrative Data Research Northern Ireland (ADR NI) (1) team within the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and with the Department for the Economy (DfE) to develop the LEO NI database.
LEO NI will be a linked, de‑identified database. It will bring together post‑primary school data from DE and apprenticeships, further education and higher education data from DfE. Later phases will include linkage to employment and earnings data and benefits data. This will allow analysis of pathways from school into further study, training and the labour market.
LEO NI is in development and expected to be available in summer 2026.
Research and policy impact
LEO NI will strengthen the evidence base for education and skills policy in Northern Ireland.
A UKRI Policy Fellow, Fran Azpitarte, will be undertaking research using LEO NI data to inform the development of post‑school Special Educational Needs (SEN) policy.
Data linkage and methodology
Details of the matching methodology used by the NISRA Trusted Third Party (TTP), and the resulting linkage between data sources, are available in the LEO NI Matching Report.
Education Outcomes Linkage
An important first step has been the development of the Education Outcomes Linkage (EOL) 2018/19–2021/22 database. It links post‑primary data for pupils aged 14 to 18, including School Census data (including attendance), School Leavers Survey and Exams database.
Access to the EOL is limited to accredited researchers (external link opens in a new window / tab) under the Digital Economy Act 2017 and subject to approval by data providers and the UK Statistics Authority Research Accreditation Panel (RAP).
Contact us
We welcome feedback and enquiries about LEO NI.
Email: statistics@education-ni.gov.uk
1 ADR NI is part of the ESRC funded ADR UK initiative; further details are available at ADR UK