• Home
• About the AEDI
• For communities
• For schools
• For parents
• National implementation
• AEDI results
• Publications
• FAQ's
• Mailing list
• Links
• Media
• Contact us

A national snapshot of early childhood development

The importance of early childhood development

It is now well known that what happens to children in the early years has consequences right through the course of their lives. The quality of a child´s earliest environments and the availability of appropriate experiences at the right stages of development are crucial in shaping their development.

The AEDI provides a measure of children´s development at the time they start school. By understanding children´s development at school entry, communities can begin to examine the ecological or environmental factors that may be influencing child development outcomes in their community.

Parents and family are significant influences throughout childhood, but other environmental influences, such as peers and the school environment, also play a role. The larger social, structural, economic, political and cultural environment impacts on the resources available to families and to children. The character of the communities in which children live, including the economic climate and accessibility of appropriate services, have significant influence on children´s development.

Why do communities need population level information about early childhood development?

Building a solid foundation for children in the early years provides the best chance for children to have optimal health, wellbeing and educational success. The foundations built in the early years will impact on children right through the course of their lives.

The AEDI delivers essential information about the foundations built in the early years across the whole community and the social environment in the following ways:

• AEDI results are mapped to provide communities with a picture of the early childhood development strengths and vulnerabilities in each community and on each of the developmental areas.
• AEDI helps communities understand how their local children are doing developmentally and compared to children nationally and in other communities.

The AEDI provides communities with the opportunity to strengthen collaborations between schools, early childhood services, and local agencies. Along with a range of other community indicators and information, the AEDI can be used by communities to plan and evaluate place based initiatives for children so that all children get the best possible start in life.

There are a number of important reasons why communities need access to population level information about early childhood development outcomes. These significant factors indicate the changing circumstances or environments for children, and include:

• Major international and local social and economic changes.
• Changes in families and in family circumstances.
• Changes in the conditions under which children are growing up.
• Service delivery issues problems in meeting child and family needs.
• Worsening developmental outcomes.
• New knowledge of factors affecting child development and family functioning.
• Evidence of the efficacy and cost effectiveness of early intervention.

For more information see  ´Supporting young children and their families: Why we need to rethink services and policies´, Centre for Community Child Health, Working Paper, July 2007.