Data collection and release
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (Australian Government) published national, state and community level data collection outcomes in Term 1 2022. Schools in flood-affected areas are not expected to prioritise reviewing this report until a time that suits based on capacity.
AEDC reports include details about the number and percentage of children considered to be developmentally vulnerable, at-risk or on track in each of the five AEDC domains. They also include comparison data of AEDC collections in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018.
You can download the state and national level reports from the AEDC National website. Community-level data can be accessed through the AEDC data explorer.
All primary schools with 6 or more kindergarten students who participated in the data collection received a copy of their AEDC school profile which outlines outcomes for 2021 kindergarten students who participated in the data collection.
AEDC NSW is offering community grants to fund initiatives in response to the AEDC data. Find out more about the AEDC NSW community grants program.
AEDC data collection process
All school sectors participate in the data collection. Kindergarten teachers complete the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (AvEDI) for each child in their class, using a secure data entry system.
Teachers complete the instrument based on their knowledge and observations of children in their class. Children are not required to be present while teachers complete the AvEDI and schools participating in the collection receive funding for teacher relief time.
Since 2009 NSW has maintained a participation rate of over 95% at the state level in all collection cycles.
The AEDC 2021 Key steps to data collection video (9:31) provides an overview of the AEDC data collection process.
Narrator
Welcome to the 2021 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).
The AEDC is a nationwide census of early childhood development in Australia which takes place every three years.
The fifth AEDC data collection will take place in your school in Term 2 2021 between 3rd May to 25th June 2021.
The AEDC collects data about five key areas of child development – physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based), communication skills and general knowledge.
As the data collection approaches, it is important to be prepared so that you can ensure the process runs smoothly at your school.
This video provides a general overview of [11 key steps] that will support NSW school principals and teachers to prepare for the 2021 AEDC data collection.
Each primary school will receive an AEDC School Leader and Teacher Pack by the end of March 2021.
Step 1. Review the information
Information packs will be posted to principals in all NSW primary school by the end of March 2021.
The AEDC School Leader Pack is for the principal and the nominated AEDC School Coordinator. It contains all the information to help plan for and participate in the AEDC data collection as well as a comprehensive set of resources to inform your school community about the AEDC.
Principals should distribute the Teacher Pack to kindergarten teachers. The Teacher Pack contain valuable information to prepare for the data collection including teacher training material and the Guide to complete the Instrument.
The pack you receive contains valuable information to guide you prior to and during the data collection.
The information pack will also support teachers who will complete the instrument. Therefore, it is important to utilise the packs when planning to participate in the AEDC.
If your school has not received your information pack by the end of March,
Please contact the AEDC helpdesk on 1800 092 548 to arrange for the School Leader and Teachers pack to be sent to you.
Teachers, please check with your principal if you have not received your information pack.
Step 2. Use your activate code to activate your school
Your principal will be provided with an activation code in the welcome letter included in the school leader pack. You will receive the pack by the end of March 2021.
To activate your school, you will be required to visit the data collection website and enter your 8-digit activation code.
School activation should take no longer than 5 minutes. School activation is open from the 19 March 2021.
More information will be available on the School activation fact sheet that you will receive in March 2021. Ensure that you activate by 3rd May 2021 so that your teachers have enough time to complete the census.
Step 3. Nominate someone to coordinate the AEDC
As part of school activation, you will need to enter information about your school and nominate an AEDC School Coordinator.
The school principal can either coordinate the collection themselves or nominate a staff member to coordinate the AEDC collection.
The AEDC School Coordinator will facilitate the smooth running of the data collection in your school.
As part of the nomination, the AEDC school coordinator's details will be entered into the data collection system as part of the online school activation process.
The AEDC School Coordinator will liaise with teachers about when they will be completing the collection for their students.
Step 4. Distribute the parent letter
The AEDC School Coordinator will arrange to send out the parent letter to parents of Kindergarten children and record the names of children whose parents opt out of the AEDC data collection.
More guidance on this provided through the Preparing for the AEDC fact sheet which is part of your School Leader pack that you will receive.
Step 5. Set up your teachers
The AEDC School coordinator should provide each kindergarten teacher completing the data collection with their teacher pack
And coordinate the teacher training and maintenance of class lists in the secure data collection system.
It is the AEDC School Coordinator’s responsibility to ensure that teachers have the information they need to complete the data collection.
The survey includes a number of questions relating to child demographic information that schools might already have access to.
Step 6. Teacher registration and training
After registering, AEDC School Coordinators will be responsible for entering the names and email addresses of each teacher participating in the AEDC data collection.
Teachers will then be sent an email to register for the data collection and participate in online training.
Teacher training usually takes about an hour to complete and this is included in teacher relief
To support teachers in managing their time, it is recommended that they read through the Guide to Completing the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument. This guide contains every question that will be asked in the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument as well as additional information and helpful hints.
Further information will be provided in the Teacher registration fact sheet included in the Teacher Pack.
Step 7. Create your class list
When teachers have completed training, they will prepare their own class list. For most schools, the master list of children in Kindergarten will be pre-populated.
Teachers can select the children who are in their class from the master list.
Step 8. Engage with your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural consultant
For non-Aboriginal teachers who have at least one student who identifies as Aboriginal, it is recommended that you work with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Consultant.
The Guide to the use of Aboriginal Cultural Consultant provides an indication of items that are culturally sensitive. The cultural flag icons on the collection system denotes which items may be subject to cultural sensitivity.
Teachers have knowledge and expertise about child development and education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff bring a cultural lens and knowledge of context of children, families, and communities.
Further information can be found in the About the AEDC for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fact sheet in your School Leader pack.
Step 9. Plan for teacher relief
The AEDC School Coordinator will need to estimate the number of hours of teacher relief that will be required to complete the data collection.
This is calculated using the total number of children as an indication of the number of instruments to be completed, (allowing 20 minutes for each child) plus one hour of training per teacher.
Step 10. Complete the instrument
The data collection beings 3rd May and will run until the 25th June 2021.
Teachers should plan to undertake the data collection within this time. It is recommended that schools plan to complete the data collection in one block.
The AEDC School Coordinator can follow the onscreen prompts to monitor teachers’ progress with data collection activities.
For more information check out the Preparing for the AEDC fact sheet.
Step 11. Finalise your school’s involvement
After the AEDC School Coordinator confirms that teachers have completed the collection, they should confirm the bank account details. This will be the same for all NSW government schools.
Once the AEDC School coordinator indicates in the system that the school has completed all instruments most of the invoicing information will be pre-populated based on the number of children and teachers involved.
You can then finalise the school’s involvement in the AEDC collection and the invoice will be automatically generated.
More information will be available in the Teacher relief reimbursement fact sheet.
School coordinators are to finalise the invoice by 17th September 2021 (that is end of Term 3 2021)
The data collected does not provide information about a school’s performance but provides a snapshot of children in your school and community.
The data collected will provide useful information that teachers can use support their school planning to meet the learning and wellbeing needs of children.
The data informs government allocation of resources and policy decisions. Schools leadership teams also use the data for their situational analysis and school planning.
More information can be accessed on https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/early-learning/australian-early-development-census and https://www.aedc.gov.au.
If you still have questions or need to clarify anything, please contact NSW AEDC State Coordinator at aedc@det.nsw.edu.au or call 1300 083 698 or 02 7814 3083
[End of transcript.]
Further information on the process of data collection can be found on the 2021 data collection key dates calendar and on the National AEDC information for schools webpage.