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Understanding how children are developing when they start school can help schools and early childhood services focus their efforts and planning to meet the needs of children and families.
The AEDC provides a snapshot of how children have developed when they start school. It's also a reliable predictor of children’s wellbeing and education outcomes. Children who are thriving when they start school are likely to continue to do well. Once children fall behind in their learning they are more likely to stay behind.
The 2018 AEDC results show that 23.9% of South Australia’s children are developmentally vulnerable on 1 or more of the AEDC domains and 13% are developmentally vulnerable on 2 or more domains.
Why the AEDC is important
Education leaders and educators can use AEDC data and resources:
- in planning for improvement, transitions, whole school approaches and community partnerships
- to inform your actions under the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and Principals, Australian Curriculum, National Quality Standard and Early Years Learning Framework
- to know how children are developing by the time they start school
- to help identify community strengths, challenges and opportunities
- as evidence in grant applications.
Each school’s data contributes to a complete community profile. Having a complete profile ensures the AEDC remains a reliable source of evidence. This evidence is used at national, state and community levels to inform policy, programs and services, to better meet the needs of children and families.
Find out more about the important role of schools.
Using the AEDC in improvement planning
The AEDC can be used as a reliable evidence source alongside other data to inform your school or early childhood service planning.
Using the AEDC results to inform your improvement planning can lead to positive outcomes for children. The Lower Mid North local education partnership of government schools and preschools experienced this.
In response to their 2012 AEDC results, the local education partnership implemented actions focussed on supported playgroups across a number of local communities. This planned approach has contributed to a reduction in the percentage of children developmentally vulnerable in this region in their 2018 AEDC results.
If you have an AEDC story to share, please email Education.AEDCTeam [at] sa.gov.au.
Find out more about improvement planning
Read the AEDC user guide: schools.
Improvement planning information for:
- Government schools and preschools
- members of the Association of Independent Schools SA
- Catholic schools continuous improvement framework
Read stories from schools and communities.
Accessing AEDC data
The AEDC results are available at a national, state, community and school level.
Schools that participate in the collection receive an AEDC school profile. The profile includes population level school results and information to help understand, use and share the data effectively.
South Australian Catholic and Independent schools can access their AEDC school profile by contacting the AEDC helpdesk on 1800 092 548 or helpdesk [at] aedc.gov.au.
Department for Education schools can access their AEDC school profile through the Schools and Preschool Performance Reporting System (SPeRS).
School profiles are for school use only and are not publically available.
The AEDC data explorer is a free interactive data visualisation tool. This tool enables you to tailor how you see AEDC results for the community you are interested in. You can also download the guide to the AEDC data explorer.
Data is summarised in community profiles alongside other relevant demographic data to provide an overview of the contexts of children in each community
The reporting, publication or analysis of AEDC data and results must be in accordance with the AEDC data guidelines.
Understanding the AEDC
The AEDC provides schools with information about children’s holistic development.
The AEDC helps schools consider local issues that are likely to impact children’s development and wellbeing, and in turn the school and school community.
This information can help communities understand the environments and experiences that are shaping children’s development in the early years. Find out more about working with communities.
The AEDC measures 5 important areas of early childhood development called domains. Find out more about the domains.
Watch the understanding the data video
Resources
There are a range of resources to help understand and use the AEDC effectively in your planning and practice.
Get started by reading about:
This package of materials has been developed by a collaboration led by the Western Australia Department of Education, with the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, Catholic Education Western Australia, the South Australian Department for Education, the New South Wales Department of Education and the Telethon Kids Institute.
Below, you'll find:
- domain and curriculum guides to help align your responses to school and community AEDC results with the National Quality Standards, Early Years Learning Framework, Australian Curriculum and Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and Principals.
This guide supports early childhood education and care services and schools to gain a deeper understanding of the AEDC physical health and wellbeing domain. The guide can be used to inform early childhood and curriculum planning, quality improvement and strengthen partnerships with families and the community. Download domain guide: physical health and wellbeing (PDF 3MB) This guide supports early childhood education and care services and schools to gain a deeper understanding of the AEDC social competence domain. The guide can be used to inform early childhood and curriculum planning, quality improvement and strengthen partnerships with families and the community. This guide supports early childhood education and care services and schools to gain a deeper understanding of the AEDC emotional maturity domain. The guide can be used to inform early childhood and curriculum planning, quality improvement and strengthen partnerships with families and the community. This guide supports early childhood education and care services and schools to gain a deeper understanding of the AEDC language and cognitive skills domain. The guide can be used to inform early childhood and curriculum planning, quality improvement and strengthen partnerships with families and the community. Download domain guide: language and cognitive skills (school-based) (PDF 3.2MB) This guide supports early childhood education and care services and schools to gain a deeper understanding of the AEDC communication skills and general knowledge domain. The guide can be used to inform early childhood and curriculum planning, quality improvement and strengthen partnerships with families and the community. Download domain guide: communication skills and general knowledge (PDF 2.1MB) This guide provides connections to key curriculum documents for the AEDC physical health and wellbeing domain. Download curriculum connections: physical health and wellbeing (PDF 3MB) This guide provides connections to key curriculum documents for the AEDC social competence domain. Download curriculum connections: social competence (PDF 2MB) This guide provides connections to key curriculum documents for the AEDC emotional maturity domain. Download curriculum connections: emotional maturity (PDF 2.8MB) This guide provides connections to key curriculum documents for the AEDC language and cognitive skills domain. Download curriculum connections: language and cognitive skills (school-based) (PDF 3.2MB) This guide provides connections to key curriculum documents for the AEDC communication skills and general knowledge domain. Download curriculum connections: communication skills and general knowledge (PDF 2.1MB) This fact sheet provides examples of behaviours through which adults can support children’s development of physical health and wellbeing. Supporting early childhood development guide: physical health and wellbeing This fact sheet provides examples of behaviours through which adults can support children’s development of social competence. Supporting early childhood development guide: social competence This fact sheet provides examples of behaviours through which adults can support children’s development of emotional maturity. Supporting early childhood development guide: emotional maturity This fact sheet provides examples of behaviours through which adults can support children’s development of language and cognitive skills (school-based). Supporting early childhood development guide: language and cognitive skills (school-based) This fact sheet provides examples of behaviours through which adults can support children’s development of communication skills and general knowledge. Supporting early childhood development guide: communication skills and general knowledge
Domain guides
AEDC domain guide: physical health and wellbeing
AEDC domain guide: social competence
AEDC domain guide: emotional maturity
AEDC domain guide: language and cognitive skills (school-based)
AEDC domain guide: communication skills and general knowledge
Key curriculum connections
AEDC key curriculum connections: physical health and wellbeing
AEDC key curriculum connections: social competence
AEDC key curriculum connections: emotional maturity
AEDC key curriculum connections: language and cognitive skills (school-based)
AEDC key curriculum connections: communication skills and general knowledge
Supporting early childhood development guides
Supporting early childhood development guide: physical health and wellbeing
Supporting early childhood development guide: social competence
Supporting early childhood development guide: emotional maturity
Supporting early childhood development guide: language and cognitive skills (school-based)
Supporting early childhood development guide: communication skills and general knowledge
Further resources are available for early childhood educators and teachers and principals.
How the AEDC team can help
The AEDC team can:
- help understand your community results
- help understand demographic factors that may be making a difference
- support using the AEDC data.
Contact
SA AEDC State Coordinator
Email: Education.AEDCTeam [at] sa.gov.au