Theme 5: health, education and social care

Using linked data to explore relationships between health, education and social care

Theme lead

Professor Ruth Gilbert

Aim

To increase our understanding of how health conditions and social disadvantage impact on school attainment and attendance.

Background

Attendance at school is fundamental to children’s current and future health and wellbeing through enabling them to learn, socialise with peers, engage with their community, and achieve their potential.

Young people with chronic health conditions can miss substantial schooling due to illness, but we don’t know enough about the relationship between absence and school attainment in these groups.