Below you will find relevant reports and resources relating to the Best Start initiative. All links will open in a new browser window. Some
documents are in PDF format and will require a program such as Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print them.
The sections included on this page are:
BRANTFORD/BRANT EARLY YEARS STATS
EARLY YEARS RESEARCH IN BRANT: COMPONENTS
1.) Early Years Data Analysis Coordinator
The Early Years Data Analysis Coordinator assists with the collection, analysis, mapping and dissemination of data to support communities in using evidence to plan services with the goal of improving outcomes and promoting positive environments for children and their families.
What kinds of data? Community services; census; Early Development Instrument results; health; child care; housing; social services; Children’s Aid; library; grade 3/6 assessment; children’s mental health.
What does the community do with the data? Data is disseminated to community agencies/groups to support evidence-based planning. Data will help identify patterns/trends; community strengths/gaps; measure capacity; identify partnerships to encourage service integration and avoid duplication.
How Does the DAC role fit into the Early Years Initiative?
- Encourage evidence-based policy and planning by…
- Sharing information with Early Years planning tables, community organizations, municipal and provincial governments to…
- identify partnerships and service integration to…
- Mobilize the community… with a goal of painting a true picture of the community and answering the question…
- How can the community work together to ensure the best outcomes for children and their families?
2.) Early Literacy Specialist
The Early Years Study, written by Dr. Fraser Mustard and the Honourable Margaret McCain found literacy to be critical to a child’s lifelong health, behaviour and learning capacity. Literacy skills are established early in the developmental stages and provide the foundation for children’s academic and career success. Parents play a key role in their child’s literacy and language development and programs that support parents in this primary role are crucial.
The Early Years Literacy Specialist (ELS) is part of the Ontario Early Years Initiative. The primary objective of the ELS is to support and promote effective literacy and language development for children by showing parents/caregivers how to help children develop their literacy skills. For example, they provide “Train-the-Trainer” sessions for people who work with children and their families including child care centre staff, home child care providers, librarians, and kindergarten teachers.
The Early Literacy Specialist collaborates with libraries, parenting, recreation and other programs to ensure links between programs are created and also identifies gaps in the community’s literacy supports and resources. The ELS maintains an Early Literacy Resource Collection that is available for community use. The ELS also assists families whose first language is not English or French.
3.) Census
Statistics Canada gathers data that assists in understanding Canada’s population, resources, economy, society and culture. The census is conducted every five years and the resulting data provides information on family structure, ethnicity, housing issues, existence of poverty, etc.
Within the ‘Early Years’ context, the Census provides valuable information on existing resources and socioeconomic characteristics of a community. The social and physical characteristics that make up a child’s environment can either act as promoters of healthy development or as barriers to appropriate access to services.
The Census provides communities with information that enables them to make informed policy decisions. Policy and planning departments can explore the relationship between family and neighbourhood environments and their impact on children’s development.
Visit www.statcan.ca to view 2006 census information.
4.) The Early Development Instrument
The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a population-based tool used to assess children’s development as they enter the formal education system. The EDI was developed in 1997 by Dr. Dan Offord and Dr. Magdalena Janus of the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University ( www.offordcentre.com ). It is a checklist consisting of over 120 questions about children’s behaviour and developmental characteristics within the classroom. The EDI questionnaire is completed by teachers after several months of classroom interaction. The teachers base their answers on their knowledge and observations of the children. Although the EDI is completed for individual children, it is not meant to be used as an individual diagnostic tool. Data is interpreted at the group level (eg. neighbourhoods, school boards, municipalities) and is best utilized when linked to other population and neighbourhood information. It is important to emphasize that the EDI is not a measure of a school’s performance but is a measure of the community’s ability to support early child development.
The EDI collects information about a child’s pre-kindergarten experiences, demographic characteristics and the child’s abilities in 5 developmental domains:
- Physical Health and Well-Being – physical preparedness for the school day, fine and gross motor skills, physical independence
- Social Competence – competence and cooperation with others, ability to remember and follow rules, curiosity, problem-solving
- Emotional Maturity – social behaviour, aggression, anxious behaviours
- Language and Cognitive Development – ability to use the language correctly, cognitive development aspects of literacy and numeracy (basic skills)
- Communication Skills and General Knowledge – ability to communicate needs, ability to understand others, aspects of general knowledge
Purpose of the EDI
- to examine populations of children in different communities to help those communities assess how well they are providing support for healthy child development
- establish a baseline so communities can monitor progress and improve outcomes
- provide evidence for planning bodies to mobilize resources and improve outcomes for children so they enter school ready to benefit from the learning environment
- assist schools with planning by indicating areas of strength and identifying challenges
Use of EDI Results
EDI results establish a baseline of children’s developmental skills as they begin school. Policy and planning bodies will use the results to formulate service plans based on evidence. EDI results should not be used in isolation and when combined with other indicators will help planning bodies understand where communities are strong in early child development and where communities need support to provide better outcomes for their children.
5.) Community Mapping
Community mapping looks at the environments in which children live and the local resources available to them and their families. By producing a series of detailed maps through Geographic Information Systems (GIS), communities can indicate the location and variety of programs and services available in relation to the physical and social characteristics of a community. GIS is a computer based tool to store, manage, manipulate, analyze and display database information on full-colour, digitized maps. This information can help determine whether existing resources actually meet the needs of families and children they have been designed to support. Mapping social data provides planning bodies with evidence so that they can plan, prioritize and allocate the most effective resources for early childhood development.
6.) Understanding Community Data
REPORTS
1.) Brant Early Years Community Report Card
2.) Brant Child Care Programs Salary Survey Summary (January 2011)
This summary includes an assessment of: (1) child care staff salaries; (2) benefits; and (3) child care fees in Brantford and Brant. The survey results are intended to help with future decisions regarding wages, benefits and child care fees. Data was collected December 2009-January 2010 via mail-back surveys that were filled out by licensed child care centre administrators on behalf of their agency.
Brant Child Care Programs Salary Survey Summary
File Type: PDF
3.) EDI (Early Development Instrument) - February, 2007
The EDI (Early Development Instrument) helps communities understand how well their children are developing before they enter school. This understanding is fundamental to improving outcomes for children and providing families with vibrant services in their neighbourhoods. The purpose of this report is to inform the Brantford/Brant Best Start Network, stakeholders, decision makers and community members about the EDI and how each neighbourhood scored in comparison to EDI data collected in 2002.
Early Development Instrument(EDI) - County of Brant and City of Brantford - 2002 & 2006 Results Summary
File Type: PDF
BRANT EARLY YEARS MAPS
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