Australian Government - MyChild.gov.auA Snapshot of Early Childhood Development in Australia
The Australian Government’s A Snapshot of Early Childhood Development in Australia Australian Early Development Index National Report 2009, has been released.
The report provides a picture of how children are developing in their early years. Based on a teacher completed checklist of children in their first year of full-time schooling, the AEDI measures five areas of early childhood development; physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge.
The AEDI can be used by communities and governments to inform actions and investments across early childhood education, health and community services.
The report shows that the majority of Australian children are doing well on each of five key developmental measures but highlights that there are children who are entering full-time school developmentally vulnerable.
Data for the AEDI was collected between May and July this year on over 261,000 Australian children or 98% of children in the age demographic. It has been endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments as a national progress measure of early childhood development.
To access the full report and to read more about the AEDI visit the AEDI website.