The first Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) was released on 10 December. The AEDI is a population measure of how young Australian children are developing in their early years. The AEDI measured children’s developmental progress across five domains in mid-2009.
The five domains were:
- physical health and well being
- social competence
- emotional maturity
- language and cognitive skills
- communication skills and general knowledge.
The AEDI will be a useful tool for developing policy and refining service delivery for the department, our non-government partners and communities.
Victoria and New South Wales were the highest performing states. Queensland was seventh out of eight jurisdictions measured. Queensland has a range of existing and planned measures to address key areas for action, including universal kindergarten access and family support initiatives led by our department.
Visit http://www.rch.org.au/aedi/index.cfm?doc_id=13051 [6] for details. More information: Emma King 3898 0742