MyChild

Australian Early Development Index data released

On 14 April 2011 the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, Peter Garrett released new information from the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI), which now enables 96 per cent of Australian communities to view online an AEDI community map and a community profile for local children.

The AEDI results give governments and communities a snapshot of how children have developed by the time they start school. This information provides a common ground on which people can work together, and can help build and strengthen communities to give children the best start in life. Together with other socio-demographic and community indicators the AEDI provides the evidence to strengthen collaborations between local governments, schools, early childhood services and local agencies to support children and families.

The AEDI online maps and community profiles are available at: www.aedi.org.au along with a range of materials to help people understand the AEDI and how to work with the results.

What is the AEDI?

The AEDI is a population measure of young children's development. Like a census, it involves collecting information to help create a snapshot of children's development in communities across Australia. Teachers complete a checklist for children in their first year of full-time school. The checklist measures five key areas, or domains, of early childhood development:

• physical health and wellbeing
• social competence
• emotional maturity
• language and cognitive skills (school-based)
• communication skills and general knowledge

As a population measure, the AEDI examines early childhood development across the whole community. By moving the focus of effort from the individual child to all children in the community we can make a bigger difference in supporting efforts to create optimal early childhood development.

For further information about the AEDI please visit the AEDI website at: www.aedi.org.au