About the Data Service

The Data Service is an independently managed organisation, established and funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and supported by the Skills Funding Agency to act as a single, central point of information for further education.

We offer a number of products and services that are critical to the further education system. These include the systems to facilitate the collection of Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data, plus tools to support this collection. We publish data and datasets that are used to support planning and performance reporting within further education. Some of our key reports include a regular Statistical First Release on Post 16 Education, and Qualification Success Rate reports. We offer a dedicated support for our customers which includes a customer account management team and a Service Desk.

Our purpose is to deliver initiatives of the information authority by managing the collection, transformation and dissemination of all further education data, and to be responsive to the changing data needs of the sector.

We are part of the Information Management Services business unit which is located within the Skills Funding Agency. Our service is shared by the Skills Funding Agency (including the National Apprenticeship Service), and the Young People’s Learning Agency.

Through our governance arrangements, we aim to be an exemplar of progress towards sector self-management and sector self-governance.