The Covid Cohort Study

Lead Research Organisation: University College London
Department Name: Learning and Leadership

Abstract

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected socioeconomic inequalities in life chances, in terms of short-term effects on educational attainment and well-being, and long-term educational and career outcomes? This study will provide immediate findings to this and related research questions about the impact of the pandemic on educational inequality by SES, gender and ethnicity by designing, analysing, reporting on, and archiving two annual waves of a high-quality new cohort study of pupils in year 11 in academic year 2020-21 across England. This brand new resource will collect data from pupils, parents and schools, augmented with administrative data from DfE's NPD and other sources. Moreover, it will provide the start of a long-term resource for the research community to explore medium/long-term effects as participants move into further and higher education, and the labour market (with planned LEO consent questions).

Led by Dr Jake Anders, with Professor Lindsey Macmillan and Dr Gill Wyness (UCL CEPEO), Professors Lisa Calderwood and Alissa Goodman (UCL CLS) and Carl Cullinane (Sutton Trust), with Kantar as lead fieldwork agency, the team combines world-leading expertise in educational inequalities, social mobility, analysis of longitudinal data, and the design and management of cohort studies. Our bid is supported by key stakeholders, including DfE, ADR UK, EEF, TASO, OfS, and HEAT to ensure co-production of policy-relevant evidence. This study will fill an important gap in understanding of the medium and long term effects of COVID-19 on young people completing their education and moving into the labour market at this unprecedented time.
 
Description The COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study is a major national longitudinal study examining the unequal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life chances of a generation of young people. The study is the largest of its kind, capturing the experiences of young people through the pandemic and beyond. COSMO provides vital evidence how the pandemic has affected young people's education and well-being, as well as longer-term impacts, following their journeys through education and into the workplace. COSMO continues to be supported by key stakeholders, including DfE, ADR UK, EEF, TASO, OfS, and HEAT to ensure the co-production of policy-relevant evidence. This study is filling an important gap in understanding the medium- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on young people completing their education and moving into the labour market in an unprecedented time.

Specifically, this award funded the first wave of data collection, the documentation and deposit of that data, along with analysis, write-up, publication and dissemination of key findings from that data, intended to inform policy and practitioner audiences and stimulate further interest in the data by the research community. Wave 1 of data collection achieved a representative sample of over 13,000 young people in Year 11 in the academic year 2020-21 across England, with fieldwork beginning in autumn 2021, when the cohort started Year 12 or equivalent, surveying these young people, along with their parents. Briefings have been produced focussing on Lockdown Learning, Education recovery and catch-up, Future plans and aspirations, Mental health and well-being, and Health impacts and behaviours, with further such briefings planned using Wave 1 data (which will also be built on in briefings following the availability of Wave 2 data). The data from Wave 1 are available for researchers to download from the UK Data Service website. Consent was collected to link the data to the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, among other administrative datasets that can enhance the value of the study data.
Exploitation Route The data from Wave 1 of the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study are available for researchers to download from the UK Data Service website. Consent was collected to link the data to the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, among other administrative datasets that can enhance the value of the survey data collected. COSMO, therefore, provides a rich resource for researchers to understand the experiences of a unique cohort of young people, whose education was disrupted by the pandemic with very little time to catch up before making key transitions at the end of compulsory schooling. The briefings directly produced by the COSMO team have provided immediate findings about the impact of the pandemic on educational inequality by SES, gender and ethnicity, which inform the design of education policy and practice, and have been welcomed as such by a range of governmental and third-sector stakeholders.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Education

Healthcare

Government

Democracy and Justice

URL https://www.cosmostudy.uk
 
Description Despite being relatively newly available datasets, COSMO Wave 1 and 2 data and evidence have had considerable use outside of academia, particularly in policy debates around ongoing support for the generation whose secondary education was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study's impact is summarised here, with details recorded in the 'Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients and the Public'. Evidence from COSMO has fed into multiple UK parliamentary inquiries, including the APPG on Young Carers and Adult Carer's inquiry into the experience of young carers, the APPG for Youth Employment's inquiry into mental health, the House of Commons Education Select Committee inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils, and the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee's inquiry into digital exclusion and the cost of living. COSMO evidence has also been cited by MPs in parliamentary debates on the educational attainment gap for the 'COVID' generation, young people's mental health, and students' rising cost of living. ONS published its own analysis of COSMO data on the experiences of GCSE students during the coronavirus pandemic in England, by income-related deprivation. Behind the scenes, Government has used COSMO evidence to inform their thinking and approach. For instance, Number 10 and Department for Education both indicated that COSMO evidence helped them make the case internally to reverse the proposed cut in National Tutoring Programme subsidies for the 2023-24 academic year. Think tanks are using COSMO evidence and data to inform their work. The Resolution Foundation, an influential UK think tank tackling inequalities in living standards, analysed COSMO data for their flagship investigation into the relationship between young people's mental health and their work outcomes. The Centre for Social Justice also cited COSMO findings on mental health in its flagship report, 'Two nations: the state of poverty in the UK'. The study's influence has reached beyond UK borders. The Flemish Government commissioned a review of the state of youth work in Europe on the occasion of Belgium's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which drew on COSMO findings on the post-18 opportunities and aspirations of this generation. The COSMO team is actively engaging with organisations outside of academia to further the use and impact of the study. The team have showcased the findings to Widening Participation professionals, and invited guest commentary on the findings from third sector organisations including Sport England and the Mental Health Foundation. Within academia, COSMO has become a vital part of the UK data infrastructure landscape, as a leading scientific resource for the investigation of the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing cost-of-living crisis on educational inequality, wellbeing and social mobility.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Societal

Policy & public services

 
Description Citation in TWO NATIONS: THE STATE OF POVERTY IN THE UK from The Centre for Social Justice
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/two-nations
 
Description Citation in Taking Stock. Where are we now? Youth Work in Contemporary Europe from Flemish Government, Department for Culture, Youth and Media
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://www.vlaanderen.be/publicaties/taking-stock-where-are-we-now-youth-work-in-contemporary-europ...
 
Description Evidence to House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee inquiry 'Digital exclusion and the cost of living'
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://committees.parliament.uk/event/17498/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/
 
Description Influence on Government decision to extend subsidies for the National Tutoring Programme for 2023-24
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is a scheme that provides support for pupils and students most affected by disruption to their education as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2023/24 academic year is the fourth and final year of the NTP. In the 2023/24 academic year, the Department for Education (DfE) provided core funding for the NTP directly to schools to enable them to decide how best to provide tutoring for their pupils. There are 3 routes to providing tuition: academic mentors, tuition partners and school-led tutoring. DfE estimates that 35.6% of schools participated in the NTP in the 2023-24 academic year, and at least 345,606 NTP course starts had been made by pupils during this time period.
URL https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-tutoring-programme
 
Description ONS analysis: Deprivation inequalities in the experiences of GCSE students during coronavirus (COVID-19)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
Impact ONS analyses were used by government to develop support for school pupils during the Covid-19 pandemic.
URL https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/articles/deprivationinequa...
 
Description Use of COSMO data and evidence in the Resolution Foundation's report, We've only just begun: Action to improve young people's mental health, education and employment
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/
 
Description Written evidence to the APPG for Youth Employment for their inquiry into mental health
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/dev/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/APPG-Mental-Health-Inquiry-2023_-R...
 
Description Written evidence to the APPG on Young Carers and Young Adult Carers for their inquiry into experiences of young carers
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://carers.org/all-party-parliamentary-group-appg-for-young-carers-and-young-adult-carers/appg-o...
 
Description Written evidence to the HoC Education Committee to their inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/118503/pdf/
 
Description COSMO Wave 1 Boost
Amount £158,155 (GBP)
Organisation The Sutton Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2021 
End 05/2022
 
Description Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities study (COSMO): Wave 2
Amount £1,902,132 (GBP)
Funding ID ES/X00015X/1 
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2022 
End 07/2023
 
Description Strengthening policy impact from the COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities study (COSMO)
Amount £8,000 (GBP)
Organisation University College London 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2023 
End 07/2023
 
Title COSMO Wave 1 Questionnaires 
Description The questionnaires allow data users to get a better understanding of measurement via providing wording used to obtain responses, as well a better understanding of the data via showing routing for each question. Both the young person and parent questionnaires are available to those who download the data from UKDS, as well as on the study website. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The questionnaires support researchers who wish to use the data, as well as other researchers who wish to design studies for the COSMO age group. 
URL https://cosmostudy.uk/about/study-design-and-data-collection
 
Title COSMO Wave 1 Technical Report 
Description This document describes the design, development and conduct of COSMO Wave 1 which took part between 2021-2022. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact COSMO Wave 1 provides high-quality data for scientific investigations across young people and their parents' experiences during the pandemic, and the technical report is a valuable resource for the research and policy-making communities in England and elsewhere. 
URL https://cosmostudy.uk/assets/9000_cosmo_wave_1_technical_report.pdf
 
Title COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study: Wave 1, 2021-2022 
Description The COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study (COSMO) is the first wave of a planned longitudinal cohort study, a collaboration between UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO), the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), and the Sutton Trust. The overarching aim of COSMO is to provide a representative data resource to support research into how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the life chances of pupils with different characteristics, in terms of short-term effects on educational attainment, and long-term educational and career outcomes. The topics covered by COSMO include, but are not limited to, young people's education experiences during the pandemic, cancelled assessments and education and career aspirations. They have also been asked for consent for linking their survey data to their administrative data held by organisations such as the UK Department for Education (DfE). Linked data is planned to be made available to researchers through the ONS Secure Research Service.Young people who were in Year 11 in the 2020-2021 academic year were drawn as a clustered and stratified random sample from the National Pupil Database held by the DfE, as well as from a separate sample of independent schools from DfE's Get Information about Schools database. The parents/guardians of the sampled young people were also invited to take part in COSMO. Data from parents/guardians complement the data collected from young people.

Data collection in Wave 1 was carried out between September 2021 and April 2022. Young people and parents/guardians were first invited to a web survey. In addition to receiving online reminders, some non-respondents were followed up via face-to-face visits over the winter and throughout spring.Further information about the study may be found on the UCL COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study (COSMO) webpage.

 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Wave 1 of data collection achieved a representative sample of over 13,000 young people in Year 11 in the academic year 2020-21 across England, with fieldwork beginning in autumn 2021, when the cohort started Year 12 or equivalent, surveying these young people, along with their parents. Briefings have been produced focussing on Lockdown Learning, Education recovery and catch-up, Future plans and aspirations, Mental health and well-being, and Health impacts and behaviours, with further such briefings planned using Wave 1 data (which will also be built on in briefings following the availability of Wave 2 data). The data from Wave 1 are available for researchers to download from the UK Data Service website. Consent was collected to link the data to the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, among other administrative datasets that can enhance the value of the study data. 
URL https://beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/datacatalogue/doi/?id=9000#0
 
Description ADR UK 
Organisation Administrative Data Research Network
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution In COSMO Wave 1 we have included consent questions for data linkage to the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) datasets. This will, in the future, allow for the follow-up of COSMO participants in LEO, including employment and earnings data. This will allow for long-term follow-up of these outcomes of members of our cohort, making use of the linked administrative data environment supported by ADR UK.
Collaborator Contribution As part of this collaboration, ADR UK has provided advice and guidance on the consent questions used and has agreed to work with us and relevant data owners to facilitate data linkage.
Impact The consent questions regarding linkage to LEO's constituent datasets in COSMO were informed by advice and guidance from ADR UK staff in order to ensure that this consent will allow for data linkage.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Department for Education 
Organisation Department for Education
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We have liaised with civil servants at the Department for Education at key points throughout COSMO in order to ensure the design and analysis carried out in the study supported policy-relevant findings, insofar as this does not conflict with other scientific considerations.
Collaborator Contribution The Department for Education has provided letters of support for the continuation of COSMO and, through these letters of support, committed to engagement in our planning, analysis, and reporting of analyses and findings from COSMO. They are members of the project's advisory group, engaged extensively with feedback on questionnaire design, and further such activities. DfE's support has also meant we are able to mention this support on fieldwork documentation with an expectation that this is positive for respondent participation. The support was also crucial for attaining DfE approval to use the National Pupil Database as a sampling frame, with significant positive effects on the quality/representativeness of the study.
Impact Key outcomes from this collaboration have included significant co-design and co-production of elements of the study, notably the questionnaires. We anticipate this will increase the policy relevance of analyses and reporting from the study compare to what would have been possible without this collaboration.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Education Endowment Foundation 
Organisation Education Endowment Foundation
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution In COSMO Wave 1 we have included a consent question for data linkage to data held by the Education Endowment Foundation. This will, in the future, allow for the identification of COSMO participants who received support from National Tutoring Programme tuition partners, in order to allow for complementary evaluation of this programme to that which EEF are carrying out themselves. In particular, with more information regarding inequalities in uptake as well as on the impact of the programme.
Collaborator Contribution As part of this collaboration, the Education Endowment Foundation has provided advice and guidance on the consent question used and has agreed to work with us in the future to facilitate data linkage for the purposes of understanding NTP tuition partners participation among the COSMO cohort.
Impact The consent questions regarding linkage to EEF data in COSMO were informed by advice and guidance from EEF staff in order to ensure that this consent will allow for data linkage.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Sutton Trust 
Organisation The Sutton Trust
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We are working closely with Sutton Trust throughout the course of COSMO, including them in all relevant scientific, management and communication meetings. The project's full-time research fellow is also spending time on placement with Sutton Trust throughout the project in service of our collaborative aims.
Collaborator Contribution The Trust's staffing contribution includes Associate Director of Research and Policy Carl Cullinane as a Co-Investigator on the project, at no cost to UKRI. It also includes expertise from the Trust's team across research, communications and policy/public affairs. The Trust has a significant media profile, with a demonstrated record of impact and communicating complex research findings to wide audiences, including a track record of front-page newspaper coverage and high-profile broadcast news items. We have been particularly prominent since the beginning of the pandemic in drawing public attention to the impact of Covid-19 on education. As well as leading on communication, we are leading on the policy and advocacy implications of the study findings, leveraging our experience and relationships with parliamentarians, ministers and policymakers across the political spectrum to maximise the policy impact of the study. The Trust provides the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility, and regularly meets ministers and advisers both within the Department for Education and the Number 10 policy unit. The Trust brings significant value-added to the study through its relationships and profile, through media coverage, events, links with schools, universities and employers, and policy advocacy. The Trust also intends to fund activities such as events, report design and printing costs from its own finances, along with other costs, where it is deemed that this would significantly benefit the impact of the study.
Impact The design and initial communications around the project have benefited from Sutton Trust expertise, including on policy relevance of questionnaire content, launch communications, design of participant- and researcher-facing branding for the study, among other aspects.
Start Year 2021
 
Description CONSULTATION - COSMO Wave 2 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact From 1 February 2022 to 3 March 2022 CEPEO conducted an online consultation survey on the content and design of the second wave of the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study in England. 48 responses were received from stakeholders in academia, the government and the third sector. Whilst the majority of submissions were from academia, a significant amount, (21%) of submissions were from government. Marketing the consultation included email and social media campaigns which have further promoted the study and led to several offers of collaboration and idea exchanges.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/centre-education-policy-and-equalising-opp...
 
Description COSMO social media (X and Linkedin) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The COSMO study shares findings, evidence and updates on the data via social media, namely X and Linkedin. On X, the study has 1,412 as of March 2024. In 2023, the channel has 2,231 link clicks, 561 retweets and 1,122 likes. On Linkedin, the study has 334 followers as of March 2024.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022,2023,2024
 
Description COSMO website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The COSMO website presents insights and learning from the study in an engaging and accessible way to a variety of audiences. It also provides resources for data users interested in analysing COSMO data. The website to date has had 25,000 visitors, 62,000 pageviews, and the reports have been viewed 26,000 times. The most viewed report was the briefing on mental health and wellbeing.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022,2023,2024
URL https://cosmostudy.uk/
 
Description Discussion of COSMO findings and data availability with members of ifo Institute for Economic Research 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Meetings with members of ifo, which is of one of Germany's largest economic think tanks, about findings from COSMO and the data available from it. Sparked discussions about potential future use of the data for comparative research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Discussion of findings with Department for Education civil servants 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion of key findings from COSMO Wave 1 with analysts from UK Department for Education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Launch media release and associated activity 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact A collaborative media release between UCL, Sutton Trust, and UKRI/ESRC was issued for 23 April 2022 in order to raise awareness of the launch of COSMO among the general public (particularly hoping to reach potential participants to increase familiarity if invited to participate) and policymakers. We achieved coverage in the national press ( https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/23/social-mobility-study-to-assess-lockdown-effect-on-teenagers-in-england and print edition page 11) and specialist press.
https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/he/student-trends/2021/4/Longitudinal-study-to-track-outcomes-of-Covid-19-cohort.html
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/study-to-track-covid-long-term-impact-on-pupils-life-chances/
https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/67324-major-new-cohort-study-to-track-the-pandemic-s-effect-on-the-life-chances-of-a-generation-of-young-people
https://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/article/major-study-to-track-impact-of-pandemic-on-school-pupils-life-chances
While we did not seek to direct solicit requests to participate (due to the probability sample design) a number were forthcoming based on the press coverage, indicating that we did manage to reach the intended audience in this respect.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2021/apr/pandemics-effect-year-11-students-life-chances-be-tracked-ma...
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource as part of LSE Social Policy seminar series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation of COSMO findings and data resource to attendees at LSE Social Policy seminar series, which attract participants from beyond academia. Led to discussions about aspects of the findings and of the data available.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource as part of Oxford Department of Education seminar series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation of COSMO findings and data resource to attendees at Oxford Department of Education seminar series. Led to discussions about aspects of the findings and of the data available.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource as part of UCL/Beijing Normal University celebration event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource to large international audience as part of UCL/Beijing Normal University celebration event.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/events/2022/sep/ioe-and-bnu-120th-anniversary
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource as part of workshop between UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities and ONS Analytical Hub 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact ONS Analytical Hub visited UCL to discuss various areas of shared interest, including findings from COSMO and potential future interest in using COSMO as part of further research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource as part of workshop between UCL Social Research Institute and IAB 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Presentation of findings and data available from COSMO as part of workshop with UCL colleagues and members of IAB (Germany's Institute for Employment Research), which has led to discussions about potential collaborative research in future.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource to OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Met with members of the OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE; https://www.oecd.org/wise/) to discuss areas of mutual interest including presentation of COSMO findings and as data resource.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation to Scottish Government 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact We hosted a workshop on inequalities in education, inviting policy makers from Department for Education and Scottish Government. The findings from this research project were presented as part of the introduction to the problems that we were discussing throughout the day. We also had a session introducing the COSMO data set.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Press release: Lost potential at age 16 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Sutton Trust publication on lost potential using COSMO data explores the progress during secondary school of pupils with the same grades on entry, but different socio-economic backgrounds. The research found that able disadvantaged pupils dropped back by a grade per subject at GCSE. The report was covered in the Independent, Mail, Mirror, Evening Standard, and Sky News, as well as an op-ed by Sir Peter Lampl in the Spectator. The research is the most viewed report from 2023 on the Sutton Trust website.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion/all-news-opinion/british-talent-squandered-through-economic...
 
Description Symposium on International Cohorts Showcase: New Longitudinal Studies in the UK at Society for Lifecourse and Longitudinal Studies 2022 conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact International Cohorts Showcase: New Longitudinal Studies in the UK: Symposium at Society for Lifecourse and Longitudinal Studies conference 2022.

Three presentations as below:

Children of the 2020s: A New Birth Cohort Study of the Early Environmental Influences on Children's Early
Educational and Socioemotional Outcomes
Presenter: Marialivia Bernardi, University College London
Co-authors: Pasco Fearon, Lisa Calderwood, Laurel Fish, Alissa Goodman, University College London;
Sandra Mathers, University of Oxford; Sarah Knibbs, Ipsos MORI

A Feasibility Study for a New UK-Wide Birth Cohort in the 2020s: The Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study (ELC-FS)
Presenter: Lisa Calderwood, University College London
Co-authors: Alissa Goodman, Pasco Fearon, University College London

A New Youth Cohort Study on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young People's Education and
Wellbeing: The COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study (COSMO)
Presenter: Tugba Adali, University College London
Co-authors: Jake Anders, Lisa Calderwood, Xin Shao, University College London
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022