Unique learner numbers
Identifying yourself as a unique individual
Your name, when you were born, where you live, what you've done and what you got out of it are all things that identify you as a unique individual.
You share this information with schools, colleges, examination bodies and employers. This starts at your very first day at school and continues throughout your life.
Reducing the amount of forms you have to fill in
Each new move means filling out another form and going through it all over again. And each school or college you go to has to spend money on dealing with these forms - money that could be better spent on something more useful - such as your education.
The Government is developing a system that will reduce the number of times you're asked to provide the same information. You won’t get away from form filling entirely, but life could start to get a little easier.
Who will be managing the system?
The Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP) service, which is operated by the Learning Skills Council (LSC), will be managing the system for learners who are 14 years and over and are registering for relevant qualifications.
Your unique learner number
Your unique learner number will be a 10 digit number that will remain with you to record your lifelong educational achievements and qualifications.
It will be issued by the Learner Registration Scheme that will be run by MIAP.
What information will I need to provide?
We're not asking you for anything new, or anything that you don’t already let us have.
The main bits of information that we'll use to get your unique learner number are your first name, family name, date of birth, gender and postcode.
We want to make sure that the information about you is accurate and doesn't get mixed up with other people’s information, so we may sometimes use other information to improve the security of your data.
This might include your email address, previous family name, place of birth or the first school you attended.
How will I benefit from having a unique learner number?
Your unique learner number will help to improve the service you get from the organisations that provide your education.
It will be used to link all your learning achievements, exam results and qualifications into one online learner record. This information is already held in computer based systems, but at the moment you can’t get at it, so you have to fill in forms and produce evidence before you can move to another course or job.
Your unique learner number will allow you to look at all your information yourself through the online learner record service. It will also make it easier for careers services to give you good advice and guidance about education and training opportunities to help you take that important next step.
Who can see my personal information?
MIAP will allow organisations listed in section 537A of the Education Act to use your unique learner number to share participation and achievement data in a consistent and approved way, using good information management practice.
All organisations that will have access to your information will be registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. This means that your personal information won't be passed to organisations for marketing or sales purposes.
How do I opt out of sharing my data?
You can opt out of sharing your participation and achievement data with organisations listed in section 537A of the Education Act by calling the MIAP help desk on 0845 6022589 or by contact our Student Support and Information Services (SSIS ) Department.
