Australian Government - MyChild.gov.auAustralian Early Development Index
The Australian Early Development Index is designed to present a population-level picture of how children in a community are developing by the time they reach school age.
What is the Australian Early Development Index?
The AEDI is a tool that measures the health and development of children in a geographical area. Data will be collected from different communities to determine how children in that community are growing compared with other children around Australia.
The AEDI information is collected through a checklist completed by teachers of children in their first year of formal schooling to measure children’s development before starting school. It includes over 100 questions relating to physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge.
Is the Australian Early Development Index culturally inclusive?
The AEDI Indigenous Adaptation Study and the Language Backgrounds Other than English (LBOTE) Adaptation Study are reviewing the AEDI questions, processes and materials to ensure that they are broadly culturally inclusive and relevant for Indigenous and LBOTE populations.
How will this help my community?
The information generated from the data collected will identify areas that need support to help children fulfill their potential. The AEDI results for a community are provided as an AEDI community profile, presented in maps and tables and is now available on the AEDI website (www.aedi.org.au).
This means that governments can determine which communities would benefit from further investment in early years learning or early intervention programs to improve the wellbeing and school readiness of children.
The AEDI also gives communities the opportunity to strengthen relationships between schools, early childhood services and other local organisations to support local children and families.
The AEDI Community Profiles were released in May 2010 to help communities understand how their children are developing in the years before school. The AEDI Local Champions Program will also assist communities to respond to their AEDI results. The local champions will work with a number of communities in need in each state and territory, providing on the ground resources and support to local community groups and service providers in the early childhood sector.
For more information about the Australian Early Development Index please visit the program website at www.aedi.org.au.