Guidance to support implementation of the updated HESA Care Experienced Data Flag

NEW FLAG TO ENHANCE DATA PICTURE ON CARE EXPERIENCED STUDENTS

Working with the Office for Students, HESA has revised the data flag to identify and record students who have experience of being in care.  This will help to provide a more accurate picture of the care experienced student body by capturing a broader range of information.   

HESA flags, where student characteristics are recorded upon entry to HE, help providers to understand the make-up of their student body and to measure the success of their interventions at different stages of the student lifecycle.  They are also crucial for understanding student outcomes, by characteristic, at a national level. The new ‘care leaver’ flag can be found HERE.

In order to support institutions with the implementation of these changes we have created the following resources:

1. OfS Blog: The following link  will direct you to a blog by OfS explaining the rationale for the changes: OfS Blog- Care experienced students in higher education: Building a fuller (data) picture.
2. NNECL Webinar: NNECL recently hosted a webinar with input from colleagues at OfS, HESA & UCAS. The webinar provided further understanding about the changes and guidance on how institutions can implement these changes effectively. You can watch the recording of the webinar using the link below and we have also provided a written update of the Q&A section as a downloadable document below, including responses to questions we were unable to cover in the time available.  We recommend sharing this webinar with colleagues in data teams and senior management. 
3. NNECL Decision Tree; NNECL has developed the decision tree below to assist HEIs in implementing the changes and ensuring they are capturing data on their care experienced students correctly. 

NNECL Webinar: Update to HESA Care Experienced Data Flag