What is OpenSAFELY Schools? An introduction from the Bennett Institute

At the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, we are excited to introduce OpenSAFELY Schools, a new initiative extending the OpenSAFELY platform from healthcare into the education sector.

Expanding our reach

OpenSAFELY has successfully enabled researchers to securely analyse sensitive NHS health records. Building upon this robust foundation, OpenSAFELY Schools brings the same principles of secure, privacy-focused data analysis to education.

This ambitious project is a collaboration between the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) and our team at the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science (BI). Additionally, we have partnered with expert collaborators from Evidence Based Education, the Institute of Education at UCL, and Faculty AI.

Why education?

Our primary goal with OpenSAFELY Schools is clear: to improve children's educational experiences. Teaching delivery significantly influences educational outcomes, yet most rigorous studies are US-based. This raises uncertainty about applicability in England, despite the wealth of data available here.

OpenSAFELY Schools aims to overcome several challenges:

• Technical barriers restricting data access
• Lack of standardisation in datasets
• Concerns around data governance and privacy

With this platform, researchers will tackle crucial educational questions, such as:

• Does scheduling maths lessons in the afternoon enhance student performance?
• How does assigning top-performing teachers to lower-ability groups influence overall achievement?

Our long-term vision is for OpenSAFELY Schools to help position the UK as a global leader in educational research by developing the world's largest and most advanced dataset for teacher training.

A unique dataset

A key strength of OpenSAFELY Schools is its unique dataset from the education sector. The NIoT was established by four major Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) that use standardised data systems, collectively managing 170 schools, 6,500 teachers, and 115,000 pupils. This comprehensive, standardised dataset provides a rare opportunity for robust, UK-centric educational research.

Privacy is paramount. Like the original OpenSAFELY platform in healthcare, OpenSAFELY Schools ensures sensitive pupil, attainment, and HR data remains confidential and secure, never disclosing information about individual pupils or teachers.

Looking ahead

Through OpenSAFELY Schools, we aim to:

• Promote standardised, open, and reproducible research practices
• Facilitate code reuse across different studies
• Maintain the highest privacy and data governance standards

We are enthusiastic about the potential of this platform to transform educational research in the UK, providing educators and policymakers with the insights needed to enhance teaching and improve student outcomes.

Stay tuned as we share progress and findings from this project.