How We Use
Your Data

The Department for Education (DfE) has commissioned Anna Freud, University College London (UCL) and Ipsos UK to collect data for the Growing Up in the 2020s study.

• The Department for Education (DfE) is the government department responsible for education policy and childcare. The DfE has commissioned the Growing Up in the 2020s study and is ultimately responsible for the safe keeping of your data (DfE is the data controller).
• Anna Freud is a world-leading mental health charity for children and families. Anna Freud is responsible for designing and managing the Growing Up in the 2020s study as a whole , but is not directly collecting data from families or teachers.
• UCL (data processor) is London’s leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from over 150 different countries. UCL supports the design and management of the Growing Up in the 2020s study but is not collecting data from families or teachers.
• Ipsos (data processor) is a specialist research agency. Ipsos is a member of the Market Research Society, and as such abides by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct and associated regulations and guidelines. Ipsos is responsible for collecting data from families and teachers for the Growing Up in the 2020s study.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the DfE is the Data Controller for this study. This means that it is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data from this study. Ipsos and UCL are Data Processors.

The legal basis for processing data from this study is ‘public task’.

Personal data collected as part of this study will only be used for research purposes and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Data collected through the study will be analysed in an aggregated form. This means that data from everyone taking part will be looked at together, anonymously, by researchers approved by the Department for Education. The data will be used to better understand the relationships between young people’s experiences as they go through secondary school and their outcomes, including their educational outcomes and their wellbeing. Responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. It will not be possible to identify any individuals taking part in any published papers or reports. The names and contact details of teachers are collected and stored solely for the purpose of sending the surveys and communications. These details will not be shared with DfE or any other organisation beyond Ipsos and they will not be retained in the data file.

Information collected during the study will be stored securely with names and addresses of participants removed and stored separately. Names and contact details will be kept by Ipsos for the purpose of interviewing participants in future waves of this study or for linking the survey data with administrative data, as long as research participants have given appropriate consent.

Government departments and agencies collect information about us and the services we use, such as school and hospitals, to help improve those services. This information is stored in administrative records.  During the survey we will ask young people and their parents/carers whether they are happy to let us securely and confidentially link such records to their study responses.

• Adding information to survey answers from administrative data for both the young person and parents / carers helps the Department for Education and researchers build a more complete picture of young people’s experiences and circumstances.
• It helps us understand the most important factors which affect young people’s development as they move through secondary school and beyond. This will help decision makers to develop better policies.
• It also adds value to the data collected during the personal interviews and online surveys, without taking up any more of your time.

Your linked survey data will be treated as confidential and only be given to approved researchers. Direct identifiers, such as names and addresses, will have been removed.

Your decision about whether to allow us to add information from records will not affect your services, rights, treatment, or any health insurance. It will not affect your benefits or tax. Your information will not be used for any commercial or profit-based purpose and you will not receive any marketing information.

Your survey data is encrypted and transmitted via secure transfer systems, in line with the latest security rules and procedures.

The Department for Education (DfE) already holds details about participation and achievement in school and further education as well as details about the school, college or training centre attended. Where applicable, DfE also hold information about any higher education applications and offer.

Growing up in the 2020s is commissioned by the DfE, and education records for the participating young person and their parents / carers will be added to survey answers as a standard part of the study.

If you do not want this to happen, you can let us know using the contact details provided in the Contact us page.

• Health is an important factor in young people’s education, wellbeing and development. To help us understand this relationship more fully, we will ask permission to add information from NHS records of parents / carers.
• These records include information about admissions or attendances at hospital, visits to a GP or other health professionals, specific conditions, and prescriptions or treatment given.
• As these records are held outside DfE by NHS Digital, we need to ask parents’/carers’ permission to add information from these records to the study data.
• Parents/carers do not have to agree to this, and if they choose not to, they can still stay in the study.
• We plan to ask permission from young people to link their health records when they are in Year 12.

• Understanding how families get on financially is an important part of understanding young people’s experiences.
• We will ask permission to link parents’/carers’ records held by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the study. HMRC records include information on employment, Income Tax, Tax Credits, and Child Benefits. The records also hold information on pensions and National Insurance contributions.
• As these records are held outside DfE by HMRC we need to ask parents’/carers’ permission to add information from these records to the study data.
• Parents/carers do not have to agree to this, and if they choose not to, they can still stay in the study. 
• We plan to ask permission from young people to link their HMRC records when they are in Year 12.

• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records hold information about participation in employment programmes, benefit receipts, and pension schemes.
• Linking these data records to the study would help researchers understand and account for the various situations that our participating families are in.
• As these records are held outside DfE by DWP, we need to ask your permission to add information from these records to the study data.
• During the survey, we will ask permission to link parents’/carers’ DWP records but, again, they do not have to agree to this. If they choose not to, they can still stay in the study.
• We plan to ask permission from young people to link their DWP records when they are in Year 12.