The project aimed to follow up participants of the Manchester Language Study (MLS) when they were in their final year of primary education (Year 6). Participants were on average 11 years of age and had originally been recruited as part of the MLS when they were 7 years of age (Year 2) and were attending language units in England. The project aims included: a) determining sensitive markers for developmental language disorders (DLD), b) examining literacy abilities of children with DLD, c) investigating social difficulties and victimization and d) documenting changes in educational placements, National Curriculum assessment outcomes and the long‐term educational needs of children with DLD. The Manchester Language Study (MLS) began in 1995 and spans approximately 20 years from childhood to early adulthood. This collection includes data related to the MLS cohort which was gathered during their final year of primary education (prior to the transition to secondary education). The data for the MLS cohort at the time of recruitment (7 years of age) is published and available in ReShare (publication reference 853746, link provided under Related resources). The data for the MLS cohort in early adulthood is also published and available in ReShare (publication reference 852066, link provided under Related resources).

A group of 242 children identified and recruited at 7 years was contacted again when the children were in their final year of primary school (Year 6). The recruitment involved researchers contacting Local Authority Education Departments, Special Educational Needs Coordinators and language unit teachers directly in order to invite MLS participants to this phase of the study. In total, 200 of the original 242 (83%) participated, 50 (25%) of whom were girls. Twenty-four children (12%) had exposure to languages other than English at home. Following informed written consent from families, children were visited at school and given self-report questionnaires, individually, in a quiet room or area. A battery of psycholinguistic tests was also completed as part of this phase of the study. All psycholinguistic tests for each child were administered by the same researcher and each child was tested individually (where possible in a separate room). In nearly all cases, testing was completed in 1 day at the child’s pace and with normal school breaks. Teachers were sent questionnaires approximately 2 weeks before the child’s assessment and asked to complete and return them to the researcher during the visit. It was stated clearly that the researcher would be able to answer queries about the questionnaires at that time.