National Indigenous Reform Agreement: PI 10-Proportion of Indigenous children who are enrolled in (and attending, where possible to measure) a preschool program in the year before formal schooling, 2015-16; Quality Statement
Data Quality Statement Attributes
Identifying and definitional attributes | |
Metadata item type: | Data Quality Statement |
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METEOR identifier: | 664694 |
Registration status: | Indigenous, Superseded 07/02/2018 |
Data quality | |
Data quality statement summary: | Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016) is compiled from data from the National Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Collection (NECECC). Data for the NECECC have been compiled according to the national standards outlined in the Early Childhood Education and Care National Minimum Data Set (ECEC NMDS) Statistics in this publication are presented according to Sector, Statistical Geography and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). |
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Institutional environment: | Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016) is compiled from data from the NECECC. The NECECC is mainly derived from administrative and supplementary survey data provided by state and territory and Australian government departments with responsibility for early childhood education and care. A data quality statement for each jurisdiction can be found within the ABS’ explanatory notes. Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2001 to 2026 (ABS 2014) is compiled based on experimental population estimates derived from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and Post Enumeration Survey, and assumptions derived from analysis of data sourced from a variety of institutional environments. Detailed quality information for this product is available via the ABS website, see Data Quality Statement. For information on the institutional environment of the ABS, including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, see ABS Institutional Environment. |
Timeliness: | The collection is released within approximately 8 months of the August reference period. |
Accessibility: | Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016) contains estimates of children enrolled in, and attending preschool in Australia collected through the NECECC. If the information required is not available as a standard product or service from the ABS website, then the ABS Consultancy Services can help you with customised services. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. |
Interpretability: | Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016) and National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2013 (ABS 2012) contain detailed information on the data sources, terminology and other technical aspects associated with the National ECEC statistics. |
Relevance: | In 2008, the importance of education in the early years of a child's development was formally acknowledged through the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) endorsement of a new National Partnership on Early Childhood Education (NP ECE). The NECECC was part of data improvement projects under the NP ECE and the National Information Agreement on Early Childhood Education and Care (NIA ECEC). The aim of the NECECC is to provide comparable state and territory statistics on early childhood education. Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016) presents counts of children enrolled and attending preschool programs and episodes of enrolment and attendance at preschool programs across Australia. The scope of the collection consists of all service providers delivering a preschool program. A preschool program for the NECECC is defined as a structured, play based learning program, delivered by a degree qualified teacher, primarily aimed at children in the year before they commence full time schooling. This is irrespective of the type of institution that provides it, or whether it is government funded or privately provided. Programs may be delivered in a variety of service settings including separate preschools or kindergartens, long day care centres or in association with a school. Long day care centres that do not operate a preschool program are considered out of scope. The operational collection scope of child information for the NECECC is all children who at 1 July were between 3 and 6 years of age (inclusive) and were enrolled during the reference period at a preschool program. To be considered as enrolled, the child must have attended the preschool program for at least one hour during the reference period, or be absent due to illness or extended holiday leave and expected to return. The collection date for the NECECC is the first Friday in August of each year. In 2015, the collection date for all jurisdictions was Friday, 7 August 2015, with a reference period of 3 August 2015 – 9 August 2015. Some jurisdictions preferred to incorporate a reference period of two weeks that included the collection date, to better reflect their preschool program delivery model. A summary of jurisdictional collection reference periods for 2015 can be found within the ABS’ explanatory notes. Regional and remote areas are based upon the ABS’ Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2011. The ASGS replaced the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2006. The ASGS is based on the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and represents a more comprehensive, flexible and consistent way of defining Australia’s statistical geography than the previous classification. |
Accuracy: | Data for the NECECC have been compiled according to the national standards outlined in the ECEC NMDS in order to maximise consistency of data across the various jurisdictional collections. Alignment with these standards may not be completely achieved by all jurisdictions, and care should be taken when comparison across jurisdictions are made. Data limitations for the collection include:
Care needs to be taken interpreting data relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children due to reporting issues associated with both the identification and reporting of Indigenous status. Where information on the child’s usual place of residence is not available - that is, where insufficient information on the child’s address was collected or, where no address details have been provided, remoteness area is assigned using the address of the service at which the child is enrolled. For more information on the collection methodologies and current data limitations for each state and territory, see Preschool Education, Australia (ABS 2016). More information on the ECEC NMDS can be found on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website, /content/index.phtml/itemId/457129. |
Coherence: | There can be differences in the data across jurisdictions due to the differing collection methodologies and alignment with the ECEC NMDS across jurisdictions. |
Source and reference attributes | |
Submitting organisation: | Australian Bureau of Statistics |
Origin: | numerator — ABS (unpublished) 2012 National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection. denominator — ABS (unpublished) Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2021 (cat. no. 3238.0). |
Reference documents: | ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2012. National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2013. ABS Cat. no. 4240.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS. ABS 2014. Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2001 to 2026. ABS Cat. no. 3238.0. Canberra: ABS. ABS 2016. Preschool Education, Australia. ABS Cat. no. 4240.0. Canberra: ABS. |
Relational attributes | |
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Indicators linked to this Data Quality statement: |