Navigating numbers – the ONS data education programme - Office for National Statistics
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:17
Navigating numbers – the ONS data education programme - Office for National Statistics
Navigating numbers – the ONS data education programme
Find out how to use the toolkits in our data education programme.
In this section
How we created “Navigating numbers”
Gender pay gap data toolkit
Inflation data toolkit
Census toolkit
Health and well-being data toolkit
Business, industry and trade data toolkit
Other resources
We have developed a data education programme for students aged 16 years and over, in further education or sixth form. Its aim is to make the public more aware of what we do at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
“Navigating numbers: how data are used to create statistics” includes a series of five classroom toolkits. Each toolkit is centred around an ONS tool or dataset that relates to a part of everyday life.
These toolkits are free for teachers to reuse, subject to the
Open Government Licence
. Any use should include a reference to the ONS as the source of the information in the resources.
Created with the support of the Association of Colleges (AoC), these toolkits will help students understand how and why we use the public’s data to produce statistics.
AoC is a not-for-profit organisation set up by further education colleges to act as their collective voice.
To get you started, we've created a helpful teachers' guide to Navigating numbers.
Resources
Download the teachers' guide presentation slides
Download the teachers' guide toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores the concept of gender pay gaps, considering how and why they are measured. Students can use the
Gender pay gap explorer tool
and data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) dataset. This will allow them to see trends and patterns in the data.
The gender pay gap data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
sociology
geography
Resources
Download the gender pay gap presentation slides
Download the gender pay gap student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit looks at how inflation is measured and what the data are used for. Students can use the
Shopping prices comparison tool
and data from the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) dataset. They can use them to explore the implications of inflation for consumers, businesses and policy-makers. The inflation data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
sociology
business
Resources
Download the inflation presentation slides
Download the inflation student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores the census and its significance in understanding population dynamics. Students can use the
Census maps tool
,
Build a custom area profile tool
and access raw data from the census. They can:
discover how statistical inferences are made about populations
compare different places
look at change over time in the same place
consider the role of census data in decision-making
The census toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
business
sociology
geography
Resources
Download the census presentation slides
Download the census student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit investigates the complexities of measuring health and well-being. Students can use the
Health index tool
and access the raw data that are used to calculate it. This will allow them to analyse and interpret health and well-being trends and patterns within a local area or across different regions.
The health and well-being data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
geography
sociology
business
Resources
Download the health and well-being presentation slides
Download the health and well-being student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores important economic indicators and trends in the UK economy. Students can use the
World trade explorer
and access a range of raw data about different economic indicators. These can help them to analyse and interpret trends and patterns within the UK economy. They can also explore the economic relationships between the UK and other countries.
The business, industry and trade data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
geography
sociology
business
Resources
Download the business, industry and trade presentation slides
Download the business, industry and trade student toolkit
Back to table of contents
We have produced a series of videos to help with learning about data. The videos and web pages answer some of the questions your students might have about what we do at the ONS.
Find out more about who we are and what we do
.
Back to table of contents
Related downloads
Gender pay gap student toolkit (909.9 kB pdf)
Inflation student toolkit (760.5 kB pdf)
Census student toolkit (1.0 MB pdf)
Health and well-being student toolkit (1.2 MB pdf)
Business, industry and trade student toolkit (605.9 kB pdf)
Teachers' guide toolkit (838.3 kB pdf)
Navigating numbers – the ONS data education programme
Find out how to use the toolkits in our data education programme.
In this section
How we created “Navigating numbers”
Gender pay gap data toolkit
Inflation data toolkit
Census toolkit
Health and well-being data toolkit
Business, industry and trade data toolkit
Other resources
We have developed a data education programme for students aged 16 years and over, in further education or sixth form. Its aim is to make the public more aware of what we do at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
“Navigating numbers: how data are used to create statistics” includes a series of five classroom toolkits. Each toolkit is centred around an ONS tool or dataset that relates to a part of everyday life.
These toolkits are free for teachers to reuse, subject to the
Open Government Licence
. Any use should include a reference to the ONS as the source of the information in the resources.
Created with the support of the Association of Colleges (AoC), these toolkits will help students understand how and why we use the public’s data to produce statistics.
AoC is a not-for-profit organisation set up by further education colleges to act as their collective voice.
To get you started, we've created a helpful teachers' guide to Navigating numbers.
Resources
Download the teachers' guide presentation slides
Download the teachers' guide toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores the concept of gender pay gaps, considering how and why they are measured. Students can use the
Gender pay gap explorer tool
and data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) dataset. This will allow them to see trends and patterns in the data.
The gender pay gap data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
sociology
geography
Resources
Download the gender pay gap presentation slides
Download the gender pay gap student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit looks at how inflation is measured and what the data are used for. Students can use the
Shopping prices comparison tool
and data from the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) dataset. They can use them to explore the implications of inflation for consumers, businesses and policy-makers. The inflation data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
sociology
business
Resources
Download the inflation presentation slides
Download the inflation student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores the census and its significance in understanding population dynamics. Students can use the
Census maps tool
,
Build a custom area profile tool
and access raw data from the census. They can:
discover how statistical inferences are made about populations
compare different places
look at change over time in the same place
consider the role of census data in decision-making
The census toolkit can be used for lessons in:
maths
business
sociology
geography
Resources
Download the census presentation slides
Download the census student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit investigates the complexities of measuring health and well-being. Students can use the
Health index tool
and access the raw data that are used to calculate it. This will allow them to analyse and interpret health and well-being trends and patterns within a local area or across different regions.
The health and well-being data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
geography
sociology
business
Resources
Download the health and well-being presentation slides
Download the health and well-being student toolkit
Back to table of contents
This toolkit explores important economic indicators and trends in the UK economy. Students can use the
World trade explorer
and access a range of raw data about different economic indicators. These can help them to analyse and interpret trends and patterns within the UK economy. They can also explore the economic relationships between the UK and other countries.
The business, industry and trade data toolkit can be used for lessons in:
geography
sociology
business
Resources
Download the business, industry and trade presentation slides
Download the business, industry and trade student toolkit
Back to table of contents
We have produced a series of videos to help with learning about data. The videos and web pages answer some of the questions your students might have about what we do at the ONS.
Find out more about who we are and what we do
.
Back to table of contents
Related downloads
Gender pay gap student toolkit (909.9 kB pdf)
Inflation student toolkit (760.5 kB pdf)
Census student toolkit (1.0 MB pdf)
Health and well-being student toolkit (1.2 MB pdf)
Business, industry and trade student toolkit (605.9 kB pdf)
Teachers' guide toolkit (838.3 kB pdf)