Mnemonic: in_full_time_education
Applicability: Person
Type: Standard variable
Definition
Indicates whether a person aged 5 years and over was in full-time education on Census Day, 21 March 2021. This includes schoolchildren and adults in full-time education.
Schoolchildren and students in full-time education studying away from home are treated as usually resident at their term-time address.
Classification
Total number of categories: 3
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Student |
| 2 | Not a student |
| -8 | Does not apply* |
*Children aged 4 years and under.
Question asked
Are you a schoolchild or student in full-time education?
- Yes
- No
The question and options that people could choose from were the same in Census 2021 and the 2011 Census.
Background
Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.
Why we ask the question
The answer helps communities by allowing local and central government to plan services and set aside resources for their area. They base their plans on the number of people living in their area, so it's important that they know how many schoolchildren and students are in the local community.
The census first asked this question in 1851.
Comparability with the 2011 Census
Broadly comparable
We have removed the category “Schoolchild or full-time student” for Census 2021 and replaced it with “Student”. In the 2011 Census people aged 4 years and over were asked to answer the question, in Census 2021 people aged 5 years and over were asked to answer the question.
What does broadly comparable mean?
A variable that is broadly comparable means that it can be generally compared with the same variable used in the 2011 Census. However, changes may have been made to the question or options that people could choose from or how write-in answers are classified.
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons
Broadly comparable
The variable produced for England and Wales, people aged five years and over were asked to answer the question. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, people aged four years and over were asked to answer the question.
What does broadly comparable mean?
A variable that is broadly comparable means that outputs from Census 2021 in England and Wales can generally be compared with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Differences in how the data were collected or presented may reduce the ability to fully harmonise on outputs, but some harmonisation is still expected.
Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.
Census 2021 data that uses this variable
We use variables from Census 2021 data to show findings in different ways.
You can:
- get the schoolchild or full-time student indicator dataset
- view schoolchild or full-time student indicator data on a map
- view schoolchild or full-time student indicator data for an area on Nomis (an Office for National Statistics service)
Other datasets that use this variable
- Origin and destination of people who moved from a student term-time or boarding school address in the UK in the year before the Census by age by sex and by student status
- Origin and destination of people who moved from a student term-time or boarding school address in the UK in the year before the Census by NS-SEC by sex and by student status
- Origin and destination of people who moved from a student term-time or boarding school address in the UK in the year before the census by ethnic group by sex and by student status
- Origin and destination of people who moved from a student term-time or boarding school address in the UK in the year before the census by passport held by sex and by student status
- Full-time students by age