SEIAG 04/10 - School Education Information Advisory Group: Census of Population briefing paper
1. This note briefly explains the point that has been reached in planning for the 2011 Census of Population, reviews the education content of the 2001 Census, and invites SEIAG, corporately or through individual members, to let GROS know of any views as to the education information that should be included in the 2011 Census, and by extension the Census test due to take place in 2006.
2011 Census planning
2. Planning is already underway for the next Census of Population which is expected to take place in 2011, and a first round of consultation meetings has been held with interested parties. Some copies of the consultation document will be available at the SEIAG meeting, and further copies will be available subsequently on request.
3. In addition on-line consultation on Census questions is already underway - see
4. The first major milestone on the way to the Census in 2011 will be a Census test, with about 60,000 households interviewed in Scotland, which will take place in Spring 2006. The Test will provide an opportunity to test possible new or altered questions, as well as enumeration procedures and other aspects.
5. Following the Test there will be further rounds of consultation, including on Census output, and a Census dress rehearsal in 2008.
Education content of the 2001 Census
6. There were 3 questions of direct educational interest in the 2001 Census in Scotland. They were (with non-response rates):
- Address to which you travel (Q10 -14.6%);
- How you travel to usual place of study (Q11 -12.6%); and
- Educational Qualifications (Q34 - 6.4%).
7. Of course these questions can be cross-tabulated against age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, geography etc to look at equality and outcome differences between groups of people.
8. A question on whether respondents held professional qualifications (doctor, dentist, nurse , teacher) was asked in England and Wales, but not Scotland, in 2001. The quality of response to this question was disappointing.
9. The travel to place of study question allows de facto school-catchment areas to be determined and links home socio-economic conditions with schools. It could create a link between school exam attainment and social factors. We are aware that HMIE have made fruitful use of the 2001 information on travel to place of study. ONS did not collect information on travel to place of study in 2001, and have come under some criticism for that.
10. Potentially, subject to legal clearances etc., ScotXed data and Scottish examination results could be linked to the Census at an individual level either for the 2011 Census output or as part of a longitudinal study.
11. The mode of travel to place of study question collects school travel methods. There was interest in the overuse of cars for short journeys and reduced exercise among people of school age. Anecdotally, school travel can make up to about 25% of rush hour travel (but obviously this varies from area to area) and such journeys then trigger further travel - perhaps to shops, to visit elderly relatives and so on.
12. The educational qualifications question gets ever more complicated with increased examination types over time. International recommendations for the 2010 round of Censuses may attempt to address educational attainment levels to make the question simpler and facilitate international comparisons - but this will undoubtedly be difficult.
13. More generally there is derived individual level output showing highest qualification level attained and a derived household level education deprivation indicator - A household is defined as educationally deprived if, within the household, no person aged 16 to pensionable age has at least level 2 education (group 1 in Scotland) and no person aged 16-18 is a full-time student. There is also output on student accommodation for students at their term time address.
Questions
14. SEIAG are invited to let GROS know of any views on education content and the 2011 Census. In particular:
(a) Whether the questions on:
- Address to which you travel for study
- Mode of travel to place of study
- Educational qualifications
should be retained in the 2011 Census
(b) Whether the question on educational qualifications (which currently asks respondents to examine 8 groups of broadly equivalent level qualifications and tick all that they have) should be replaced by a simpler classification of highest stage of education completed
(c) Whether a question on professional qualifications should be introduced in Scotland in 2011.
Comments on any other issues will also be welcome. Comments can be sent by email to Ian.Mate@gro-scotland.gsi.gov.uk or by telephone to Ian at 0131 314 4295.
GROS Statistics Division
December 2004