Provider's Self-Assessment Toolkit for ILR Data
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Department for Education have introduced the Interrogation Tool (ILT), a sophisticated data analysis platform designed to scrutinise and interpret learner and learning delivery data. The ILT serves as a vital tool in providing detailed insights into education funding and learner outcomes by enabling comprehensive querying and interrogation of complex datasets related to education provision and financial allocations.
The ILT offers a wide range of functionalities, including:
- Allowing users to access, query, and analyse large volumes of learner data and learning delivery records to monitor and evaluate funding compliance and educational performance.
- Supporting the identification of anomalies, trends, and patterns within learning delivery and funding data, which aids in decision-making and policy formulation.
- Offering a user-friendly interface and analytical tools that make it easier for stakeholders to extract meaningful, actionable intelligence from raw data.
- Enhancing transparency and accountability in how education funding is distributed and utilized, by enabling detailed examination of learner participation and funding flows.
The ILT is instrumental in ensuring that public funds are efficiently and effectively allocated by providing evidence-based insights drawn from learner and provider data. This supports regulatory compliance, audit preparation, and targeted intervention where required.
The ILT, known as the Individual Learner Record (ILR) Data Analysis Tool, will process data for all funding years from 2021 to 2022 onwards. For the 2023 to 2024 funding year, the tool has new functionality to offer.
To use the ILR Data Analysis Tool, organisations must first request the creation of a new organisation if they have not registered yet. The tool is applicable for colleges, independent training providers, employer-providers, and other organisations. Providers are responsible for implementing processes to ensure they return timely and accurate data in their Individual Learner Records (ILRs).
The ILR Data Analysis Tool interrogates individual learner record (ILR) data and produces reports on this data. It is an essential tool for funding audits and reviews by various organisations, including accounting firms, external and internal auditors. Providers are encouraged to use the ILR Data Analysis Tool regularly to reduce the risk of overclaiming funds from the ESFA and the potential need for fund repayment.
For further support with the ILR Data Analysis Tool, contact the helpdesk. The user guide, which is for providers who are required to maintain data and ensure it is complete and accurate, can be found within the tool's settings tab. A desktop version of the ILR Data Analysis Tool is available for funding years from 2016 to 2017 through to 2021 to 2022.
With the closure of the ESFA on 31 March 2025, all activity has moved to the Department for Education. The ILT continues to play a crucial role in providing insights into education funding and learner outcomes under the department's stewardship.
The Interrogation Tool (ILT) supports online education by allowing users to access, query, and analyze large volumes of learner data and learning delivery records, enhancing transparency and accountability in both education funding and learning performance. The tool also helps providers ensure they return accurate data in their Individual Learner Records (ILRs) to reduce the risk of overclaiming funds and the potential need for fund repayment.
