The Australian Bureau of Statistics
Steps that need to be taken to achieve set outcomes and objectives.
The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a population measure of young children's development based on a teacher-completed checklist (the AEDI Checklist).
A teacher-completed checklist which consists of more than 100 questions measuring five developmental domains.
A geographic area made up of AEDI local communities, usually a region’s local government area.
Geographic representation of the AEDI results for developmental vulnerability at a local level.
The optimal conditions for children or families that are not currently being reached within the community.
How children develop throughout their lifespan.
Children who score below the 10th percentile (in the lowest 10 per cent) of the national AEDI population are classified as 'developmentally vulnerable'. These children demonstrate a much lower than average ability in the developmental competencies measured in that domain.
The five developmental domains measured by the AEDI are:
The green shading represents the five ranges of developmental vulnerability. Areas shaded in lighter greens have lower proportions of developmentally vulnerable children and areas shaded in darker greens have higher proportions of developmentally vulnerable children, compared to the national AEDI population.
A small area locality within an AEDI community, usually a suburb.
The national AEDI population is made up of all the children who participated in the AEDI nationally in 2009, i.e. 261,203 children in their first year of full-time school.
Children who score above the 25th percentile (in the top 75 per cent) of the national AEDI population are classified as 'on track'.
The pie chart labelled 'proportion spread' shows how data are spread across a community. The size of each slice of the pie corresponds to the proportion of local communities within that range.
As a population measure, the AEDI places the focus on all children in the community; it 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.
Factors which predict good outcomes for children by alleviating the influence of risk. Examples of protective factors for children's development include close parent child relationships and attendance at preschool.
Children who have good early experiences are more likely to have good outcomes – they are more likely to grow up to be healthy and well-adjusted.
A collection of AEDI communities, usually a statistical division within a state or territory.
Factors which predict poor outcomes for children. Examples of risk factors for children's development include poverty and lack of health services.
One risk factor alone is unlikely to lead to a bad outcome; however, children who experience a number of risk factors in the early years are much more likely to have problematic outcomes.
Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) are a set of measures, derived from census information, that summarise different aspects of socio-economic conditions in an area.The Index for Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage, which is used in AEDI results, looks at census information that reflects disadvantage, such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment, and jobs in relatively unskilled occupations. Every geographical area in Australia is given a SEIFA score that ranks the 'disadvantage' of the area, compared with other areas in Australia.