Next Steps: Sweeps 1-9, 2004-2023

<p><span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> (also known as the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE1)) is a major longitudinal cohort study following a nationally representative group of around 16,000 who were in Year 9 attending state and independent schools in England in 2004, a cohort born in 1989-90.<br><br>The first seven sweeps of the study were conducted annually (2004-2010) when the study was funded and managed by the Department for Education (DfE). The study mainly focused on the educational and early labour market experiences of young people.<br><br>In 2015 <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> was restarted, under the management of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> Age 25 survey was aimed at increasing the understanding of the lives of young adults growing up today and the transitions out of education and into early adult life.<br><br>The <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> Age 32 Survey took place between April 2022 and September 2023 and is the ninth sweep of the study. The Age 32 Survey aimed to provide data for research and policy on the lives of this generation of adults in their early 30s. This sweep also collected information on many wider aspects of cohort members' lives including health and wellbeing, politics and social participation, identity and attitudes as well as capturing personality, resilience, working memory and financial literacy.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> survey data is also linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD), the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Individualised Learner Records (ILR) and the Student Loans Company (SLC).<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Polygenic Indices<br></span>Polygenic indices are available under Special Licence SN 9438. Derived summary scores have been created that combine the estimated effects of many different genes on a specific trait or characteristic, such as a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease, asthma, substance abuse, or mental health disorders, for example. These polygenic scores can be combined with existing survey data to offer a more nuanced understanding of how cohort members' outcomes may be shaped. <br><br>There are now two separate studies that began under the LSYPE programme. The second study, <span style="font-style: italic;">Our Future</span> (LSYPE2) (available at the UK Data Service under GN 2000110), began in 2013 and will track a sample of over 13,000 young people annually from ages 13/14 through to age 20.<br><br>Further information about <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> may be found on the <a class="external" href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/next-steps/" title="Centre for Longitudinal Studies" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CLS</a> website.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Secure Access datasets:</span></p><p>Secure Access versions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> have more restrictive access conditions than Safeguarded versions available under the standard Safeguarded Licence (see 'Access' section).<br><br>Secure Access versions of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span> include:</p><ul><li>sensitive variables from the questionnaire data for Sweeps 1-9. These are available under Secure Access SN 8656.   <br></li><li>National Pupil Database (NPD) linked data at Key Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5, England. These are available under SN 7104.</li><li>Linked Individualised Learner Records learner and learning aims datasets for academic years 2005 to 2014, England.  These are available under SN 8577.<br></li><li>detailed geographic indicators for Sweep 1 and Sweep 8 (2001 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 8189, geographic indicators for Sweep 8 and 9 (2011 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 8190, and geographic indicators for Sweep 9 (2021 Census Boundaries) are available under SN 9337. The Sweep 1 geography file was previously held under SN 7104.</li><li>Linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for financial years 1997-2022 held under SN 8681.</li><li>Linked Student Loans Company Records for years 2007-2021 held under SN 8848.</li></ul><p>When researchers are approved/accredited to access a Secure Access version of<span style="font-style: italic;"> Next Steps</span>, the Safeguarded (EUL) version of the study - <span style="font-style: italic;">Next Steps</span>: Sweeps 1-9, 2004-2023 (SN 5545) - will be automatically provided alongside.<br><br></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;">SN 5545 - Next Steps: Sweeps 1-9, 2004-2023</span> includes the main <span>
Next Steps</span> survey data from Sweep 1 (age 14) to Sweep 9 (age 32).<br>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Latest edition information</span><br>For the eighteenth edition (February 2025), the Sweep 9 Derived Variables data file has been updated with some newly derived variables categorised under the household (W9DCHNO12, W9DTOTCH, W9DTOTOWNCH) and education (W9DAQLVLH, W9DVQLVLH) sections. The Longitudinal data file have been updated with changes to the weight variables. Three out of the four weights in the previous version have been removed. W9FINWTALLB has been renamed to W9FINWT in line with previous sweeps. The user guide has been updated to reflect these changes. Furthermore, the derived variables user guide has been merged into the main user guide and can be accessed via Appendix 1.</p>