Children in kindergarten in the Mountain View County area are doing well when it comes to physical health and well-being, with 81 per cent developing appropriately, while fully 29 per cent are experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in communication skills and general knowledge.
The findings were shared last month at a policies and priorities committee meeting of the Town of Olds.
The data, collected on a provincewide basis by the Ministry of Education between 2010 to 2012, is designed to show how kindergarten children are doing in key areas of personal development and put in place supports to help children that may be lagging in development. The project is a five-year project that runs through to August 2014.
"The reason we're feeling that the data is significant for communities is the fact that it gives them a snapshot of their community and how they're supporting young children. And it also gives us a potential way to measure any growth or strength that the community might engage in to make a difference in those areas,î said Launa Clark, early childhood mapping initiative coordinator for Mountain View County.
Clark said science has consistently shown that the period between birth and five years old is a critical time period for a child's development.
"If we can get it right in the beginning, we can curb a lot of the things that happen later in life,î she said.
Other findings of the early development instrument include 75 per cent of the 281 kindergarten children evaluated in the survey were found to be developing appropriately in regard to social competence, while 24 per cent were found to be either experiencing difficulty or great difficulty. A total of 77 per cent of children were found to be developing appropriately in regard to emotional maturity and 78 per cent were found to be developing appropriately vis-‡-vis language and thinking skills.
The findings will be used to develop community and parental supports to address areas that may need shoring up.
"There's lots of ways to support that through, just even relationships between the parent and child, conversations, peer group programs such as preschools, ParentLink,î Clark said.
Aside from helping at the community level, the EDI can also be used as a tool to influence policy and potential funding agencies. Clark said the Ministry of Education is currently evaluating the data and developing a plan on how to use the information beyond August 2014.
"I know one of the things they're really hopeful for is continued collection of Ö the (EDI). There's a lot of strong conversation about the need to continue to collect and measure and monitor to see if we are in fact, making a difference for children and families in our local communities,î she said.
The presentation to the Town of Olds was the first to councils around the county.
"The reason we're feeling that the data is significant for communities is the fact that it gives them a snapshot of their community and how they're supporting young children."Launa Clark, early childhood mapping initiative coordinator, Mountain View County
