Reload images Reload Images Understanding the AEDI results Blue Mountains LGA – Key Stakeholders 16 September 2013

The AEDI results provide important information about the development of Australia’s children as they start school.

How can we make a difference?

Teachers complete a checklist for children in their first year of formal full-time school. The checklist measures five key areas, or domains, of child development: physical health and wellbeing social competence emotional maturity language and cognitive skills (school-based) communication skills and general knowledge. For a full description of the AEDI visit How is the information collected?

An AEDI score (0 – 10) is allotted for each domain which will place each child in the following categories relative to other children in Australia in 2012: Developmentally ‘on track’ Developmentally ‘at risk’ Developmentally ‘vulnerable’ For this reason the AEDI is a relative measure How are AEDI results calculated?

Understanding the AEDI: numbers and proportions Numbers: the actual number of children developmentally vulnerable (e.g. 10 children) Proportion: a percentage of children developmentally vulnerable (e.g. 10 children out of 20 = 50%) Why is it important to consider both the proportion of children developmentally vulnerable and the number of children this represents? A high proportion does not necessarily mean a large number of children. Similarly, a low proportion in a large community may still equate to a large number of children.

Understanding the 2012 AEDI results The best way to understand the 2012 AEDI results is to compare how well children in a community are doing relative to other children both within their community and across Australia. With each successive AEDI data collection ( ) there is an opportunity to track how Australian children are progressing over time.

2009 – 2012 comparative results If children are doing better... On track Developmentally Vulnerable Developmentally at risk On track Vulnerable Developmentally at risk Cut off same as Larger proportion of children are on track Smaller proportion of children are developmentally vulnerable AEDI domain score

289,973 children 16,425 teachers 7,417 schools Overall, the majority of Australian children are doing well on each of the five developmental domains. 22.0% (23.6% ) of children vulnerable on one or more domains. NSW – 19.9% (21.3% ) 10.8% (11.8% ) of children vulnerable on two or more domains. NSW – 9.2% (10.3% )

2009 & 2012 comparative results National developmental vulnerability on one or more domain/s 23.6%22.0% Indigenous developmental vulnerability on one or more domain/s 47.4%43.2% Developmentally vulnerable boys30.2%28.2% Developmentally vulnerable girls16.8%15.7% Developmental vulnerability on language and cognitive skills domain 8.9%6.8%

Significant decrease in vulnerability Decrease in vulnerability but not significant Significant increase in vulnerability Increase in vulnerability but not significant No change in vulnerability Domain Comparative result Physical health and wellbeing Social competence Emotional maturity Language and cognitive skills (school-based) Communications and general knowledge Vulnerable on 1 or more domains Vulnerable on 2 or more domains

Five domains of development

Comparative Results for All Developmental Domains and DV1/DV2 – Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains Local District Overview Domain Percentage of children on track % Percentage of children developmentally vulnerable Physical health and wellbeing 87.7% 802 (82.3%) % 45 (5.5%) 45 Social competence 84.3% (84.4%)4.8% 44 (4.7%) 38 Emotional maturity 85.6% (82.2%)4.2% 38 (6.1%) 49 Language and cognitive skills (school-based) 92.8% (90.9%)2.1% 19 (3.5%) 28 Communication skills and general knowledge 87.5% (84.3%)2.9% 27 (3.6%) 29 BLUE MOUNTAINS Summary of 2012 (2009) AEDI results for Blue Mountains Community- 956 (900) ch’n surveyed (NOTE: Consider % of children Developmentally AT Risk for more detailed analysis)

2012 Summary Table for Blue Mountains

2009 Summary Table for Blue Mountains Mount Victoria/ Mount Wilson was not reported in 2012 due to failure to meet privacy guidelines (i.e. > 15 chn, > 2 teachers, 80% of ERP) 2009

Local Communities – Blue Mountains Snapshot

Graph – Blue Mountains LGA: Katoomba ABS Variables

Mapped AEDI results for Blue Mountains Emotional Maturity

Consider other data: ABS – proportion of the labour force unemployed

Comparative AEDI results Tool – Blue Mountains % developmentally vulnerable on emotional maturity

Where we were ……. where we are now!

Using the AEDI Website Information for Communities

How is the AEDI being used to improve outcomes for children & families? South Australia: Hearing children’s voices 10&width=727 Fathers Need Play Time Too 12&width= &width= &width=729

What has been tried and has it worked? Examples of strategies developed in these and other communities Bankstown/Fairfield/Liverpool - Booklets San Remo/Kariong - invitations Northern Sydney – Neurons to Naplan & Beyond Other states – DVD Healthy Brain Healthy Child

Where can I find the results? AEDI results are publicly reported via: National report Online maps Community Profiles School Profiles – go to _School_Profile/

Australian Early Development Index For further information, please visit… (02) /