Community news

Building a national picture of child health

From May 2024, our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). 

The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) that provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. 

The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years. Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information. 

The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities, and governments to better understand children's and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need. AEDC data is reported at a school, community, state/territory and national level. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool. Some teachers have found that completing the AEDC made them more aware of the needs of individual children and their class and that the data was useful for planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however, the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the AEDC and how it is being used to help children and families visit: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, you can contact 

Jaqui Hanstein, jhanstein@smc.tas.edu.au

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