Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) - England
The LEO dataset is a flagship ADR UK-enabled dataset that links education, employment, tax and benefit records, allowing researchers to understand how education pathways shape long-term outcomes. It provides a unique, longitudinal view of approximately 42 million learners in England, supporting research on social mobility, skills, employment and inequality.
Approximately 42 million learners in England
Tax and benefit records extended to 2023–24
Oldest individuals observed up to age 40
In 2025–26, LEO was further enhanced through the release of Iteration 2.1. This update added three additional years of labour market data for individuals already included in Iteration 2, extending tax and benefit records to 2023–24 and enabling researchers to observe outcomes for the oldest individuals in LEO up to age 40.
ADR UK-funded work with the Department for Education introduced new derived variables to make LEO easier and more efficient to use. These include measures of persistent disadvantage and additional needs based on free school meal eligibility and special educational needs records. By providing these variables as standard, the enhancements reduce the need for researchers to construct their own measures from detailed personal data, improving consistency across research projects while supporting data minimisation. Further developments are also improving access and usability.
Synthetic data
A synthetic version of LEO has been created to help researchers understand the structure and potential of the dataset before applying for secure access, while shared SQL code supports more efficient preparation of LEO extracts within the ONS Secure Research Service.
Future plans include continued development of research-ready resources and improvements informed by researcher feedback, supporting wider and more effective use of LEO for public benefit.
