[upbeat music]
[Image description – There is a title and three logos on a red background. The title is “Why is the AEDC important?” and three logos are for Comprehensive Monitoring project, Australian Early Development Census – and Australian Government Initiative, and Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training.]
Sarah Kelly, Principal St Roberts’ Newton
[Image description – Sarah is in a primary school classroom.]
The AEDC data can help us understand what our strengths are, what our vulnerabilities are in a community, in our schools and look at what do we need next. If we don't have that data set, there's people with the best intention creating programs for schools, but are they connected to what we need?
As educators we're best placed to speak around where children are sitting physically in terms of development, emotionally, how they are communicating with us, what language skills they're using. Our teachers live and breathe that every day.
Dr Chris Cooper, Paediatrician, Geelong Paediatric Group
[Image description – Dr Cooper is in a primary school classroom]
I'm a paediatrician who works as a clinician, I work on the front lines. I see lots of vulnerable children in my clinics with developmental, behavioural problems and medical problems.
The AEDC data is very valuable for us. It gives us an outcome measure. It allows us to lobby for extra services, and in fact, that's what we've done with a recent service that we've gotten up and going in the north of Geelong.
Paul Hon, Senior Education Improvement Leader, Loddon Campaspe Region
[Image description – Paul is in an office]
Go back to 2014 when the Principal, at the time, a great Principal, had concerns about the oral language skills of the kids coming into Prep. So we got together with early childhood personnel from the Department of Education and also from the Shire, and we just explored what the issues might have been. And we looked for data sets so that it was more than just gut feeling, and so that we could actually base our hunches – sorry, we could test our hunches based on the data. And that's where we went to the AEDC.
And that really helped us explore what some of the issues were for these kids. And it was more than just oral language. There was whole aspects around, you know, the emotional, social, the physical health and wellbeing.
Dr Chris Cooper
The AEDC data, I find unique. There's a dearth of data out there that that informs our practice, that informs service provision. And really the AEDC data is unique in that it's the only data that's recognized right across Australia.
And making sure that we get really good uptake above 90% at least of all kids surveyed and reliable data coming through is, is going to be key. Rest assured anyone who's participating in this data collection, it's a valuable exercise for us clinicians at the coalface, for teachers and schools, to see how their kids are presenting.
Sarah Kelly
It gives you that understanding now at my level as a Principal of seeing how these data sets really track with our school programs. So if our community has that data set to draw from then all the decisions they make a more informed.
Paul Hon
You know, I think the AEDC, along with other data sets really helps you understand the context and make some qualified decisions about how you allocate resources in schools in the interest of kids as they come through that gate.
[upbeat music]
Image description – There are three logos on a white background. Logos for Comprehensive Monitoring project, Australian Early Development Census – and Australian Government Initiative, and Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training.
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Updated