AEDC on SCOUT

AEDC school profiles provide in-depth information about the cohort of children captured in the AEDC data collection for a school in a single year. The report provides information on Kindergarten children considered to be developmentally vulnerable, at risk or on track in 5 domains measured by the AEDC.

The Australian Government funds the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

How will this report benefit me?

AEDC results can be used to inform school improvement planning, strategic thinking, community collaborations and school policies.

The School Profile Addendum includes trend data for all collections that the school participated in, as well as state/territory and national results to enable comparison.

What does the AEDC dashboard report provide?

AEDC School Profiles are provided at the individual school level and contain information as listed below.

Page 2 - 4: provides demographics, early education experiences, special needs and transition to school.

Page 5 – 6: Overall AEDC domain results for your school's present outcomes in each domain for children enrolled at your school during the data collection period.

Page 7: Developmentally vulnerable children (on one or more domains and two or more domains) present trends in the summary indicators (the percentage of children who are developmentally vulnerable on one or more domain(s) and the percentage of children developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains) from 2009 to 2021.

School level domain outcomes compared to state and national results

Page 8: This page presents outcomes for the physical and wellbeing domain. This domain measures children’s physical readiness for the school day, physical independence, and gross and fine motor skills.

Page 9: This page presents outcomes for the social competence. This domain measures children’s overall social competence, responsibility and respect, approach to learning and readiness to explore new things

Page 10: This page presents outcomes for the emotional maturity. This domain measures children’s pro-social and helping behaviours and absence of anxious and fearful behaviour, aggressive behaviour and hyperactivity and inattention.

Page 11: This page presents outcomes for the Language and cognitive skills (school based). This domain measures children’s basic literacy, advanced literacy, basic numeracy, and interest in literacy, numeracy and memory.

Page 12: This page presents outcomes for the communication and general knowledge domain. This domain measures children’s communication skills and general knowledge based on broad developmental competencies and skills measured in the school context.

Page 13: this page presents Summary indicators of developmental vulnerability on ‘one or more’ and on ‘two or more’ domains

Page 14: This page presents a quick summary of all domain outcomes comparing each to national and state outcomes.

How can I use the AEDC dashboard report to support my planning, practice and Policy?

about children in their first year of full-time school who were measured by the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument. Results include details about the number and percentage of children considered to be developmentally vulnerable, at risk or on track in each of the five AEDC domains.

To preserve confidentiality, schools with fewer than six children participating in the AEDC will not be provided with a School Profile. However, results for these children will be included in Community Profiles and the National Report.

Schools may choose to share and discuss their AEDC results with key stakeholders within their school community. These stakeholders include:

• school staff
• early years teachers
• early years partnerships
• early childhood service providers
• local secondary schools
• local government
• school community (e.g. school council)
• school principal networks/clusters

What should I look for?

Schools are encouraged to view School Profiles alongside community and national level AEDC results to contextualise school results in the broader context of changes shaping early childhood development in Australia.

Data at the community and national level, in a report, as tables, maps or graphs, can also be accessed via the AEDC Data Explorer.

Where does this data come from?

The AEDC data collection is held every three years, with the ​2021 AEDC data collection being the ​fifth collection and the sixth collection scheduled for 2024. The census involves teachers of children in their first year of full-time school completing a research tool, the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument. The Instrument collects data on five key areas of early childhood development called ‘domains’. These include:

• Physical health and well being
• Social competence
• Emotional maturity
• Language and cognitive skills (school-based)
• Communication skills and general knowledge

The AEDC domains have been shown to predict later health, wellbeing and academic success.

Data analysis is completed by the Data management Agency contracted by the Australian Government.

How frequently is the data updated?

The data is updated once every three years after AEDC publishes the national reports (usually in March/April of the year after the data collection is completed).