The AEDI is a national collection of information on young children's development in Australia. Data are collected every three years about children in Prep and the results provide a snapshot at a community level of how children are developing by the time they reach school.
The AEDI is based on scores from a teacher-completed checklist consisting of over 100 questions in 5 developmental domains:
These domains are closely linked to predictors of good adult health, education and social outcomes.
Government and community organisations use the information gathered to assist planning for social and community services in the early years. Since the release of the first national AEDI data, communities all around Australia have used the AEDI to inform their efforts in supporting young children and families to get the best start in life.
Data from the first national AEDI collection in 2009, which provides information on more than 261,000 children in their first year of full-time school across Australia, are available through a national report, community profiles and community maps on the AEDI website 
.
The next national collection will take place in all schools from May to July 2012, with results expected to be publicly released in 2013. Prep teachers across Queensland will be asked to complete a checklist for each child in their class.
Your child's school may be participating in the national collection of the AEDI in May to July this year. Your child's teacher will complete a checklist - like a survey or questionnaire - based on their knowledge and observations of your child. The AEDI is not a test and it does not require your child to be taken out of class.
The findings are collated at a community level and your child can not be identified in any results. Your child's information will be kept secure at all times. For more information, view the AEDI fact sheet 
.
If you do not wish for information about your child to be collected, please contact your child's school.
The AEDI data collection system is now live. The system is now available for schools to commence checklist completion. Start checklists for your Prep students.
School participation in the AEDI is critical to the AEDI's success. The ongoing collection of the AEDI will ensure that governments, communities and schools continue to have the information they need to make a difference in the lives of young children and their families.
Schools have received an information pack in March 2012 outlining the arrangements for the 2012 data collection.
Schools which participate in the 2012 AEDI data collection will be provided with funding for teacher relief to enable teachers to complete the checklists. Funding is also available for Indigenous cultural consultants who assist teachers complete checklists for Indigenous children.
Participating in the AEDI data collection can contribute to continuing professional development requirements for the purposes of teacher registration with the Queensland College of Teachers. Further information for Prep teachers is available in the Prep teachers fact sheet 132k. For more information on continuing professional development, view the Queensland College of Teachers website .
View your school's 2009 results .
Further information on the 2012 AEDI collection is available from the national AEDI website via email or by telephone on 1800 092 548.
The AEDI has been reviewed to ensure it is culturally appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children through consultation with Indigenous stakeholders across Australia.
However, to ensure the checklist is completed with an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's development it is recommended that the checklist be completed with an Indigenous Cultural Consultant (ICC). The ICC's role is to support teachers with the AEDI Checklist because of their particular understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's ways of learning and behaving.
An ICC is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander staff member at the school. Relief funding will be provided for each AEDI Checklist completed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with an ICC and for the ICC to complete the one-hour AEDI training.
For more information about completing AEDI Checklists for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, a video has been created to demonstrate how the ICC role could be utilised.
Additionally, please see the fact sheet about completing the AEDI checklist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children 311k.
The AEDI website has an interactive training module . Completing this training will provide teachers and other community members with an understanding of their community's 2009 AEDI data and then how to use this information to engage with their local community and plan actions to better support local children and their families.
Information for teachers about recording this training as continuing professional development for the purposes of teacher registration with the Queensland College of Teachers can be found in the continuing professional development for all teachers fact sheet 85k. For more information on continuing professional development, view the Queensland College of Teachers resources .
The Australian Government and State and Territory Governments are working in partnership with The Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Community Child Health in Melbourne, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, to deliver the AEDI. The Social Research Centre, Melbourne, will manage the data collection. The Queensland Government is working in collaboration with Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) and Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) to implement the AEDI in Queensland.
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Access keys |
Other languages
© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2009.