In its response to the government’s consultation on making the NPD publicly available, the ODI warned that the database’s publication would present an “unacceptable risk of individuals being identified”. It might be possible to combine the NPD with other available datasets to pick out individuals, the ODI said.
The NPD contains data on nursery and school pupils dating back to 1995. Asked for a comment, the DfE said: “The consultation proposes amending the regulations so more organisations can conduct research for the benefit of professionals and the wider public.”