AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

DATA QUALITY STATEMENT

In 2012, in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) there were two data collections in relation to preschool programs, both of which collected data using a child Unit Record Level (URL) data collection methodology:

• ACT Public School Census

• ACT Non-Government Catholic School Census

a] ACT Public School Census

Institutional Environment
The organisation responsible for the Public School Census was the ACT Education and Training Directorate (ETD). Data for the 2012 census were collected under the Education Act 2004 (ACT), the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT), and the ACT Childcare Services Standards 2009.

Relevance
Data collected from the ACT Public School Census contributed to a variety of reporting requirements and were used to ensure effective delivery of children's education services within the ACT public sector.

Scope: The scope of the early childhood component of the ACT Public School Census included all children between 3 and 6 years of age attending public school preschools. Children enrolled in a preschool program at Jervis Bay School were included in the census, as that school is administered by ACT ETD on behalf of the Australian Government. Children who were absent for more than 4 continuous school weeks prior to the census date were included if the principal received written documentation signed by the child's guardian indicating that the child would return to school.

The scope for data provided on workers included all paid primary contact teachers that delivered a preschool program during the reference period at public schools in ACT.

Coverage: The 2012 ACT Public School Census included all government managed schools with a preschools program. Data from Catholic schools, independent schools, and community (not for-profit) and private for-profit managed preschools and Long Day Care centres were not included in this census.

Data collection methods: The 2012 ACT Public School Census collected data using a URL data collection methodology for the following statistical entities:

• Child: data at the child record level

• Service provider organisation: data at the service provider record level

• Worker: data at the worker record level

Timeliness
The ACT Public School Census is an annual collection and in 2012 was undertaken on 3 August 2012, with a reference period of 30 July 2012 to 10 August 2012. The reference fortnight was adopted by ACT ETD to reflect the preschool delivery model in ACT. The reference fortnight was then derived by ACT ETD to a one week reference period to enable comparison with other jurisdictions for the National ECEC Collection. Completion of data processing and validation stages took approximately 2 months from the collection date, at which time the data were delivered to the ABS.

Data sourced from the ACT Public School Census for the purposes of the National ECEC Collection are published by the ABS in Preschool Education, Australia, 2012 (cat. no 4240.0).

Accuracy
Child level data: In 2012 data were obtained from a point in time sweep of enrolment and attendance data stored in the public school administration system (MAZE). Individual child information was captured from data supplied via an enrolment form which was entered into MAZE by school staff. Each ACT public school had access to their own MAZE database, where teachers or administrators uploaded information on each child enrolment. The principal of each school was required to sign off on their school's total enrolment count by sex and year level. Any inconsistencies were followed up. Every school's MAZE system was linked to a central database, which could only be accessed by central office staff. At census time, child enrolment information was extracted from the central database and cross checked with schools.

The following list includes key approaches undertaken by the ACT in managing the quality of its data processing for 2012:

• ACT's system included automatic edits and mandatory fields, such as date of birth, sex, family details, attendance status and Indigenous status

• ACT cross-checked addresses for the preschools ensuring one existed for each service provider

• Child addresses were geo-coded to produce valid CD and SA1 codes

• A MAZE manual was available to users to assist in data entry and extraction. Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs guidelines were also used for instances where key data items were unknown. In addition to this, face-to-face training was provided to users of the MAZE system in both entering data and also extracting data, including training on extracting non-routine data

• Survey of schools to confirm number of preschool classes and identity of teachers in the collection period

The ACT carried out validation of 2012 data in a number of ways, including but not limited to:

• Manual data entry was avoided where possible through an automatic transfer of child information when the child had previously attended another ACT government school

• Addresses could be updated through a geo-coding cross check

• Date of birth was checked against year level and outliers were followed up

• Duplicate records of one child attending two schools were followed up

• Data checks included matching back to the original census data and running aggregate counts for each field

Service provider level data: The process of obtaining service provider information from public preschools in the ACT was managed through the MAZE administrative system.

Worker level data: Teacher data were also sourced from MAZE and extracted at the same time as child data. Data were provided on the teacher who was normally assigned to the class and recorded by the school in MAZE. Once extracted from MAZE, teacher data were on-provided to the Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) who linked the teacher with the highest level and field of relevant qualification from information within their database.

Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) also performs manual qualification assessments of all teachers prior to their employment. Teachers are required to provide certified copies of all qualification documents so that a qualification assessment can be undertaken.

In 2012, ACT teacher qualifications were manually assessed and aligned with the classifications outlined in the ECEC National Minimum Data Set (ECEC NMDS) specifications. In the event a teacher had more than one qualification, the qualification that specifically related to Early Childhood was recorded. Any teachers with a 3 year undergraduate degree combined with a 1 year post graduate education qualification were assessed as having a 4 year qualification.

Coherence
Data collected through the 2012 ACT Public School Census were comparable with data collected in 2011, as both collections were undertaken using a consistent URL data collection methodology.

An analysis of the coherence of this collection with other jurisdictional collections should be undertaken on an individual basis, taking into account any data elements that are not consistent with the ECEC NMDS specifications.

Counts of Children: It is possible for a child to be concurrently enrolled in and attending two or more preschool programs and attend preschool across years. In order to address collection requirements, it is important to be able to identify accurately matched episode records for a child both within a collection cycle and between years.

Children in a Preschool Program in 2012:

Counts of children enrolled in and attending preschool programs in 2012 were able to be derived as data were collected using a consistent URL data collection methodology.

Children in a Preschool Program in the Year before Full-time Schooling:

As ACT government preschools sector contains two years of comparable data collected using URL methodology and had a child/client database, counts of children enrolled in and attending preschool programs in the year before full-time schooling were also able to be derived for the government sector.

Interpretability
In 2012 the ACT ETD provided face-to-face staff training in the MAZE system, supported with a handbook which outlined how to enter data, extract data, find data and validate data.

Accessibility
Data sourced from the ACT Public School Census for the 2012 National ECEC Collection are published at the state and territory level in Preschool Education, Australia, 2012 (cat. no4240.0) on the ABS website. Data are also made available on the ACT ETD website: http://www.det.act.gov.au/publications_and_policies/publications_a-z/census.

b] ACT Catholic Preschool Collection

Institutional Environment
The organisation responsible for the ACT Catholic Preschool Collection was the Catholic Education Office – Canberra. Data for the 2012 census were collected under the Education Act 2004 (ACT), the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT), and the ACT Childcare Services Standards 2009.

Relevance
Scope: The scope of the early childhood education component of the ACT Catholic Preschool Collection included all children between 4 and 5 years of age attending a preschool program in a Catholic school. Children who were absent for more than 4 continuous school weeks prior to the census date were included if the principal received written documentation signed by the child's guardian indicating that the child would return to school.

The scope for data provided on workers included all paid primary contact teachers that delivered a preschool program during the reference period at Catholic schools in ACT.

Coverage: The 2012 ACT Catholic Preschool Collection included all primary Catholic schools delivering a preschool program or programs.

Data collection methods: The 2012 ACT Catholic Preschool Collection, collected data using a URL data collection methodology for the following statistical entities:

• Child: data at the child record level

• Service provider organisation: data at the service provider record level

• Worker: data at the worker record level

Timeliness
The ACT Catholic Preschool Collection is an annual collection and in 2012 was undertaken on 7 December 2012, with a reference period of 30 July 2012 to 3 August 2012. Fortnightly data were converted to a one week reference period to enable valid and reliable national comparisons

Data sourced from the ACT Catholic Preschool Collection for the purposes of the National ECEC Collection are published by the ABS in Preschool Education, Australia, 2012 (cat. no 4240.0).

Accuracy
Child level data: In 2012 data were obtained from a point in time sweep of enrolment and attendance data stored in the ACT Catholic School administration system (MAZE).

The Catholic Education Office - Canberra carried out validation of 2012 data using data from the MAZE administrative system and through consultation with Catholic Education Office personnel and service providers. Data from each Catholic school delivering a preschool was assessed by the Catholic Education Office.
 
Service provider level data: The process of obtaining service provider information from public preschools in the ACT was managed through the MAZE administrative system, and verified by service provider Directors.

Worker level data: Teacher data were also sourced from the MAZE administrative system.

Coherence
The 2012 National ECEC Collection was the first time Catholic preschool data were included.

An analysis of the coherence of this collection with other jurisdictional collections should be undertaken on an individual basis. Data will not be comparable to 2011 data as 2012 was the first year data were included for ACT Catholic preschools in the National ECEC Collection.

Counts of Children:
It is possible for a child to be concurrently enrolled in and attending two or more preschool programs and attend preschool across years. In order to address collection requirements, it is important to be able to identify accurately matched episode records for a child both within a collection cycle and between years.

Children in a Preschool Program in 2012:

Counts of children enrolled in and attending preschool programs in 2012 were able to be derived as data were collected using a consistent URL data collection methodology.

Children in a Preschool Program in the Year before Full-time Schooling:

As this is the first year of ACT Catholic School Preschool data, the YBFS population only related to child repeating experience in the ACT Public School Census.

Interpretability
In 2012 the majority of data were collected by MAZE sweeps and cross-checked with personnel at the catholic Education Office and Centres. The Catholic Education office liaised closely with the Director of each centre to verify details.

Accessibility
Data sourced from the ACT Catholic Preschool Collection for the 2012 National ECEC Collection are published at the state and territory level in Preschool Education, Australia, 2012 (cat. no4240.0) on the ABS website.

Information Source
The information contained within this report has been sourced from the ACT ETD and the Catholic Education Office - Canberra in consultation with the ABS. Further information is available from the ACT ETD website: http://www.det.act.gov.au/.

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