TASMANIA


DATA QUALITY STATEMENT

In 2011, Tasmania (Tas.) was responsible for two data collections in relation to preschool programs, the Government School Census and the Non-government Preschool Census. Both the Government School Census and the Non-government Preschool Census collected data using a Unit Record Level (URL) data collection methodology.


a] Government School Census

Institutional Environment
The organisation responsible for the Government School Census was Tas. Department of Education (DoE). Data for the Government School Census were collected under the Education Act 1994 (Tas.). Worker data were also collected under the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 (Tas.).

Relevance
The data collected by Tas. DoE in the Government School Census were used to report on Tas. achievements against performance targets, as well as progress against Australian Government ECEC targets and COAG reforms. For preschools, the information obtained was also used in determining the funding of services by the Tas. government.

Scope: The scope for the early childhood component of the Government School Census consisted of all children aged 3 to 6 years old who were enrolled in a preschool program at registered government schools in Tas.

The scope for data provided on workers included all paid contact workers that were employed in government schools during the reference period and were involved in service provision for the preschool program. Workers were included irrespective of whether they delivered a preschool program during the reference period.

Coverage: All registered government schools in Tas. participated in the Government School Census which collected data using a URL data collection methodology. For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, data were sourced for all government schools offering preschool programs. Data from non-government preschools were collected in a separate census.

Data collection methods:
The 2011 Government 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 Government School Census is an annual collection and in 2011 was undertaken on 5 August 2011, with a reference period of 25 July to 5 August 2011. This reference fortnight was adopted by Tas. DoE to reflect the preschool delivery model in Tas. This reference fortnight was then derived by Tas. DoE to a one week reference period to enable comparison with other jurisdictions for the National ECEC Collection. Completion of the data processing and validation stage took approximately 2 months after the collection date, at which time data were delivered to the ABS.

Data sourced from the Government School Census for the purposes of the National ECEC Collection are published by the ABS in Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 4240.0).

Accuracy
Child level data: The process of obtaining and processing data in Tas. commenced with service providers uploading information from each child enrolment form into the Government Schools Administrative Computer System (SACS), which stored the information in a data warehouse. The data warehouse has a number of in-built data quality checks that provided timely data feedback to schools. An exception report was produced daily, with the central business support unit following up all issues. Data from the warehouse were then used to populate the Schools Census. A reference table of children enrolled in Tas. government schools was then created in the Tas. DoE data repository.

Worker level data: Teacher data were collected directly from the government data warehouse. Qualification information for teachers and principals was collected from the Tas. Teacher Registration Board, which registers teachers and holds a record of all qualifications. All non-teacher worker qualification data were collected directly from the government schools, as the government data warehouse does not hold non-teacher data centrally.

If a worker held more than one qualification, the following rules were observed:

• The highest ECE qualification is reported for the worker if applicable

• In instances where the worker does not hold an ECE qualification, then the highest teaching related qualification is reported

• In instances where the worker does not hold a teacher qualification, the highest non-teaching related qualification is reported.

All teachers in Tas. must be registered by the Tas. Teacher Registration Board. As a result of the registration process, some long-term teachers have Certifications of Teaching or 3 year degrees. The registration process requires all teachers to demonstrate, through teaching experience, that they have the same level of qualification as a 4 year degree. If a teacher meets this criterion, they are deemed to have a 4 year teaching qualification for registration purposes.

The census data were reviewed and cleaned by Tas. DoE staff. This process included numerous quality checks such as confirming student ages, hours enrolled, and verifying duplicate enrolments across schools. A declaration report was sent to schools, which the principal reviewed and was required to declare that all data were true and correct. This set of students became the authoritative dataset for the census date. Preschool data were extracted from this census dataset to match with all other data collated for the National ECEC Collection. Extensive quality assurance occurred for the attendance and teacher qualification data, to ensure that data were consistent with other Tas. DoE data sources.
 
Some specific validation methods for Tas. government preschools included:

• Identifying and flagging various types of matching records, i.e. duplicates analysis

• Verifying all addresses by child and service provider using specialised software

• Ensuring data were within expected ranges

• Ensuring counts (e.g. of males and females) summed to totals.

Coherence
For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, data collected through the 2011 Government School Census were able to be compared with data collected in 2010, as both collections were undertaken using a URL data collection methodology.

Coherence was achieved between the Tas. Government School Census and the Non-government Preschool Census, as both collections complied with the significant majority of national standards specified in the ECEC National Minimum Data Set (ECEC NMDS). Specific data elements which were collected using methods which did not align with the ECEC NMDS specifications are outlined below and should be taken into account when comparing data collected from each dataset. 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.

Data Element	Details of Deviation
Maximum preschool program hours available (Child)	The data element ‘Preschool program attendance hours’ was used as a proxy for this data element.
Child attendance and enrolment data	About 30 schools in Tas. had professional learning days during the reference period and were therefore not operational. For these schools, enrolment and attendance data were not representative. The data for the affected schools were corrected by imputing attendance data for the missing days. Imputation was carried out by Tas. at the child level using the average attendance rate for the days where data were available. Enrolment hours for the missing days were allocated using each school’s nominated regular timetable.

Counts of Children:
In the collection reference period, it is possible for a child to be concurrently enrolled in and attending two or more preschool programs. In order to address collection requirements, it is important to be able to collate all matching child records.

Children in a Preschool Program in 2011:
For Tas., counts of children enrolled in and attending preschool programs in 2011 were able to be derived as data were collected using a URL data collection methodology.

Children in a Preschool Program in the Year before Full-time Schooling:
As Tas. had two years of comparable data collected using a 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.

Interpretability
An online training system was available to users of the SACS system to assist with collection of the data.

Accessibility
Data sourced from the Government School Census for the 2011 National ECEC Collection are published at the state and territory level in Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011 on the ABS website.


b] Non-government Preschool Census

Institutional Environment
The organisation responsible for the Non-government Preschool Census was Tas. DoE. Data for the Non-government Preschool Census were collected under the Education Act 1994 (Tas.). Worker data were also collected under the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 (Tas.). In addition, Tas. DoE has a Memorandum of Understanding with the independent and Catholic school sectors which specifies a data collection agreement.

Relevance
The data collected by Tas. DoE were used to meet state and Australian Government reporting commitments and to assist with the evaluation and planning of service provision. For preschools, the information obtained was used to determine the funding that would be provided to services. The data were also used for reporting to the Australian Government on achievements against reporting targets.

Scope: The scope of the Non-government Preschool Census consisted of all children aged 3 to 6 years old who were enrolled in a preschool program that was part of a registered non-government school or registered Long Day Care (LDC) centres in Tas.

The scope for data provided on workers included all paid contact workers that were employed in registered non-government schools during the reference period and were involved in service provision for the preschool program. Workers were included irrespective of whether they delivered a preschool program during the reference period.

Coverage: All registered non-government schools providing a preschool program participated in the Non-government Preschool Census, including one LDC registered with the Schools Registration Board. The Non-government Preschool Census collected data using a URL data collection methodology. Tas. did not collect data from LDCs that were not registered with the Schools Registration Board.

Data collection methods:
The 2011 Non-government Preschool 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 Non-government Preschool Census is an annual collection and in 2011 was undertaken on 5 August 2011, with a reference period of 25 July to 5 August 2011. This reference fortnight was used by Tas. DoE to reflect the preschool delivery model in Tas. This reference fortnight was then derived to a one week reference period to enable comparison with other jurisdictions for the National ECEC Collection. Completion of the data processing and validation stage took approximately 2 months after the collection date, at which time data were delivered to the ABS.

Data sourced from the Non-government Preschool Census for the purposes of the National ECEC Collection are published by the ABS in Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011.

Accuracy
In 2011 data from non-government preschools were collected using an Excel spread sheet format. There were five worksheets to be completed by each service provider, which included details regarding the school, workforce, students, class sessions and attendance. Detailed explanations and definitions were provided for each question.

The process for collecting data from the non-government sector commenced with service providers uploading information from each child enrolment form into the non-government service provider data repository. Teacher qualification data for independent schools were also stored in this repository. Data from the non-government data repository were then forwarded to the Tas. DoE data repository.

Teacher data for the Catholic school sector were collected directly by Tas. DoE from the Tas. Catholic Education Office. All Catholic school non-teacher worker qualifications data were collected directly from Catholic schools, as the Catholic Education Office does not hold non-teacher worker data centrally.

Worker level data: If a worker held more than one qualification, the following rules were observed:

• The highest ECE qualification is reported for the worker if applicable

• In instances where the worker does not hold an ECE qualification, then the highest teaching related qualification is reported

• In instances where the worker does not hold a teacher qualification, the highest non-teaching related qualification is reported.

All teachers in Tas. must be registered by the Tas. Teacher Registration Board. As a result of the registration process, some long-term teachers have Certifications of Teaching or 3 year degrees. The registration process requires all teachers to demonstrate, through teaching experience, that they have the same level of qualification as a 4 year degree. If a teacher meets this criterion, they are deemed to have a 4 year teaching qualification for registration purposes.

Once all Tas. data were received and quality assured, Tas. DoE reviewed the data and returned a summary to each service provider of the final enrolments.
 
Some specific validation methods for Tas. non-government preschools included:

• Identifying and flagging various types of matching records, i.e. duplicates analysis

• Ensuring all address data fields were populated, with no PO Box addresses. Data were reviewed to establish a valid CD

• Ensuring data were within expected ranges

• Ensuring counts (e.g. of males and females) summed to totals

• Ensuring single sex schools were reported with only one sex

• All main teacher data were confirmed with the Teacher Registration Board to ensure the teacher was registered

• Teacher data were checked against data provided in 2010 and any inconsistencies were investigated.

Coherence
For the purposes of the National ECEC Collection, data collected through the 2011 Non-government Preschool Census were able to be compared with data collected in 2010, as both collections were undertaken using a URL collection methodology.

Coherence was achieved between the Tas. Government School Census and the Non-government Preschool Census, as both collections complied with the majority of national standards specified in the ECEC National Minimum Data Set (ECEC NMDS). Specific data elements which were collected using methods which did not align with the ECEC NMDS specifications are outlined below and should be taken into account when comparing data collected from each dataset. 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.

Data Element	Details of Deviation
Maximum preschool program hours available (Child)	The data element ‘Preschool program attendance hours’ was used as a proxy for this data element.

Counts of Children:
In the collection reference period, it is possible for a child to be concurrently enrolled in and attending two or more preschool programs. In order to address collection requirements, it is important to be able to collate all matching child records.

Children in a Preschool Program in 2011:
For Tas., counts of children enrolled in and attending preschool programs in 2011 were able to be derived as data were collected using a URL data collection methodology.

Children in a Preschool Program in the Year before Full-time Schooling:
As Tas. had two years of comparable data collected using a 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.
 
Interpretability
The census spread sheet provided to non-government preschools included a definitions page, which explained the relevant concepts and definitions for the census. A contact phone number and email were also provided to assist those completing the form.

Accessibility
Data sourced from the Non-government Preschool Census for the 2011 National ECEC Collection are published at the state and territory level in Experimental Estimates of Preschool Education, Australia, 2011.

Information Source
The information contained within this report has been sourced from Tas. DoE in consultation with the ABS. Further information is available at the Tas. DoE website www.education.tas.gov.au/.

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