Improving the Individualised Learner Record (ILR)

One of the ongoing priorities for the information authority is to identify failings and implement improvements to the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) Specification and to make the data collection process more transparent to suppliers of information.

Having established sector ownership of the ILR, we published a transparent change process in March 2008. This included clear assessment criteria, which will be applied to other data collections and processes over time. The timescales in which these changes take place can be seen below.

We travelled the country and talked extensively to providers about what changes could be made to improve their stability and planning. Their feedback was used to inform our decisions.

ILR Timetable Improvements

Earlier Publication of the ILR Specification

The ILR Specification has been published earlier in 2008 and 2009 - it was published in November. We hope to do this again in 2010. The proposed changes to the 2011/12 ILR will be considered and decided on at the information authority board meeting on 39 September 2010, and 2011/12 ILR Specification will be published on 26 November 2010. The earlier publication date allows providers and software suppliers/ writers more time to get their systems ready for the new round of data collection.

View the ILR change timetables:

• 2008/09 ILR change timetable
• 2009/10 ILR change timetable
• 2010/11 ILR change timetable
• 2011/12 ILR change timetable

Earlier Close for Final Outcome Data (F05)

The date of the final return for the Learner Responsive 2008/09 ILR, F05, was brought forward to 15 January 2010. The purpose of this change was to enable the LSC and its successor bodies to meet the needs of the FE system for earlier allocations for 2010/11. A hard close of F05 on 15 January underpinned the production of consistent end-year management information across stakeholders.

In addition, the information authority board has also approved the F05 date to be moved forward even further for the 2009/10 ILR. The closing date for 2009/10 F05 will be the fourth Monday in November 2010 (22 November 2010), and the same for future years. This change was made following a request from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to bring forward the F05 close date to allow the publication of FE achievement data in a similar timeframe to that for schools and the higher education sector.