National datasets: What do they tell us about achievement and inclusion?

Until recently, questions about whether the inclusion of students identifi ed as having special educational needs in mainstream schools has an impact on achievement (by others as well as those so identifi ed) have been diffi cult to answer, as the necessary data have not been available. In England, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) now produces a national pupil database (NPD) every year that contains information about the attainments of individuals together with demographic information compiled from information submitted in the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC). These innovations have made it possible to produce a single dataset containing specifi c information about the attainment, socio-economic status (through eligibility for free school meals and post code), ethnicity, gender, age, fi rst language spoken and special educational needs of all students. Every child in the country has been allocated a unique pupil number (UPN), which means that individuals can be tracked over their whole school careers. In theory, the availability of these data now allows questions to be answered about whether placement and provision infl uence performance for individuals and for different groups of children.