City of Greater Geelong Councillor Lou Brazier said the Geelong region is to be part of an exciting new national project aiming to help the community understand how children in the area are developing.
Cr Brazier, who holds the portfolio for Community Development, said the Geelong region was one of eight Victorian sites chosen to implement the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) in 2005.
"The AEDI is a population measure of how children are developing by the time they reach school," she said.
"The Australian Early Development Index: Building Better Communities for Children is a project of the Centre for Community Child Health (based at the Royal Children's Hospital) in partnership with the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Western Australia."
"The project is part of the Australian Government's National Agenda for Early Childhood, and is supported by Shell Australia," Cr Brazier said.
She said the City of Grater Geelong's Family Services Unit was enthusiastically supporting the project, and was encouraging strong partnership support among local primary schools and the local business sector.
"Shell is already showing the way, agreeing to sponsor the involvement in the project of 14 schools in Geelong's northern suburbs," Cr Brazier said.
Shell Australia Community Development Officer, Caroline Ritchie, said the AEDI project was an important plank in Shell's national social investment program.
"Shell's program is aimed at delivering long-term benefits to local communities in the areas of education, health and the environment," Ms Ritchie said.
"Shell is very pleased to lend its support to the AEDI project."
Ms Ritchie said the project was a perfect example of a development that would lead to long-term benefits for both individuals and communities.
"Not only is Shell supporting the AEDI project at a national level, it is helping to fund the participation of local primary schools in the area around the company's Geelong refinery," she said.
"Being part of the community means, in our view, that we have a responsibility to support programs that in turn, support the community."
Family Services Development Officer for the City of Greater Geelong, Frank Giggins, said that until now, specific demographic information about children's development had not been widely available.
"The AEDI project will enable us to work together as a community to determine the most important local priorities to support young children throughout the municipality, and ensure that they get the best possible start in life," he said.
"We will be inviting all local primary schools across the municipality to become part of the project," Mr Giggins said.
"As part of the project, teachers will complete the AEDI checklist on children enrolled in the first year of primary school."
"The checklist measures five key developmental areas, including language and cognitive skills, emotional maturity, physical health and well being, communication skills and general knowledge, and social competence."
Professor Frank Oberklaid, Director of the Centre for Community Child Health in Melbourne, said the experiences that young children have in their first years of life have a major impact on their life course.
"The AEDI provides communities with the opportunities to understand what is going well for children in their area, and where the priorities for action could be when children are not going as well," Professor Oberklaid said.
"We are very excited that the City of Greater Geelong has decided to join this project," he said.
For more information on the Australian Early Development Index: Building Better Communities for Children project, visit the website www.australianedi.org.au or contact Frank Giggins at the City of Greater Geelong on 5227 0775.
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