For Parents
What is the AEDI?
The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a nation-wide population measure that looks at the development of young children.
The AEDI helps schools, communities and governments to pinpoint the services and resources that young children and their families need to provide children with the best possible start in life. The AEDI measures five areas of early childhood development:
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physical health and wellbeing
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social competence
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emotional maturity
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language and cognitive skills (school-based)
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communication skills and general knowledge.
The AEDI is designed as a population measure. This means it looks at whole groups of children in the community - not individuals. Research shows that moving the focus of effort from the individual child to all children in the community can make a bigger difference in supporting efforts to create optimal early childhood development.
The AEDI was first implemented nationally in 2009 when information was collected on 261,147 Australian children. The 2009 results provided information that is being used to influence early childhood initiatives in communities across Australia.
Data policy and protocol
Individual children cannot be identified in the AEDI results. While individual names and details are supplied for data collection, the names of individual children are not retained in the AEDI data set. Additionally, the web-based data entry system is a secure site for data entry. More information regarding access to AEDI data (including the AEDI data protocol) can be found here.
AEDI 2012
Schools (both government and non-government) will be taking part in the second national implementation of the AEDI in 2012. Teachers of children in the first year of full-time primary school will complete the AEDI Checklists between May - July 2012.
Teachers complete the checklist - like a survey or questionnaire - based on their knowledge and observations of children. The AEDI is not a test and it does not require children to be taken out of class. Although information for the AEDI is collected by children's teachers, the results are reported for the communities in which children live, not where they go to school. This means individual children cannot be identified in the AEDI results.
A Parent Information Letter will be provided to all parents and guardians of children in their first year of full-time school who will be surveyed for the AEDI in 2012. The Parent Information Letter outlines the AEDI data collection process and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The Parent Information Letter is available for download into the ten most commonly spoken languages here.
The results are expected to be released in 2013 and will give each community in Australia a snapshot of how children have developed by the time they start school.
The 2012 AEDI and future cycles will enable us to build on the momentum and enhance the AEDI's capacity to contribute to better early childhood outcomes for Australian children.
For answers to frequently asked questions please visit the FAQs page of the website.
